Large closets may be impossible, but organized space is achievable.
Unless you've remodeled your own home with an extensive closet, you probably don't have enough closet space. Some homeowners and apartment dwellers have none at all. Synthetic fabrics hang out nicely and need no ironing, and an affluent economy has provided more to store. Thin the wardrobe and inventory your space. Then check under staircases, empty corners and out-of-the-way nooks to find places to establish inventive storage. Does this Spark an idea?
Urban Solutions
Cover a screen with fabric or hang a drapery or curtain to conceal storate you don't want guests to see.
When you rented that industrial loft, you invested in urban space recycling--and a lack of closets. Stay in recycling mode by searching out used steamer trunks, shelves or cabinets in resale shops and spray-painting them to match your decorating scheme. Those with less time and more cash might prefer to invest in garment racks, rolling under-bed storage containers and some stacked baskets. Check stores that cater to young urban professionals for simple wardrobe cases that you can take with you when you move. Camouflage storage you don't want guests to see with a folding screen or a sophisticated cloth shower curtain on an expandable rod.
Handyperson's Solutions
Rehabilitate an antique or find unpainted furniture.
Closets are simple boxes, but the handyperson with limited living space can make a clothes closet part of a storage complex. Apartment Therapy recommends building an 18- to 24-inch deep window seat with book cases on each side facing in. Frame out cabinetry on both sides of the book nook; fill them with racks and baskets or closet organizers. If you don't like the idea of curtains or screens, get some bi-fold doors for accessible closet space and a place to curl up with a good book. Visit an unfinished furniture store for some cabinets or chests to paint yourself.
Victorian House Solutions
Older homes may have lots of rooms but few closets.
According to "Old House Journal," the Victorian house suffered from a rabbit-warren of small rooms until the advent of central heating. When central heating and indoor plumbing became commonplace in the last half of the 19th century, little bedrooms were opened up to make larger suites. If you have a house with too many little rooms, try setting the smallest aside as a closet; install racks, a dressing table and chest of drawers to make a stylish closet/dressing room. Large wardrobe cabinets called armoires also held clothes for Victorians with no closets; look for a fixer-upper at an antique warehouse or at an unfinished furniture store. They are the size of an enclosed entertainment center and new ones are expensive. Install rolling under-bed cabinets under high iron and brass beds; if you have one of those bathrooms made from a bedroom, install wire rack cubbies for linens.
Tags: central heating, closet space, furniture store, rolling under-bed, unfinished furniture