5 Little Used Tricks a Woman Needs to Make Her Custom Dream Closet Special

Would you describe your closet today as something so far from special it’s as crazy as someone from Columbus rooting for Michigan? Hanging clothes jammed together like scarlet and gray clad people attending the Red, White and Boom Festival? Piles of shoes and boots as mixed up on the floor as your 18-year-old son or daughter choosing a major or career path? Scarves and jewelry jumbled together on wire clothes hangers. Does your walk in bedroom closet resemble these remarks?

If your closet could speak would it be begging, “Please give me a makeover?”

Whether you can fathom it or not – it doesn’t take a Ripley’s-Believe-It-Or-Not experience to transform your closet from messy to magnificent. Equipped with 5 little known tricks you can enjoy a beautiful closet with a sense of purpose to match no matter if you live in New Albany, Worthington, Columbus (or anywhere in the country for that matter). Let’s dig into these 5 tricks.

Custom closet trick #1 – Make a shrine for shoes

While your husband may be satisfied with his 6 pairs of shoes (one for work, one for weddings and funerals, one pair to work in the yard, and a few pairs of tennis shoes) – this is not your reality, girlfriend! You’ve got boots, pumps, flats, high-heeled sandals, dressy slip-on sneakers, espadrilles, rainboots and the list goes on and on. You’ve wondered if you need to join S.A. (Shoe-A-Holics Anonymous) and enroll in their 10-step program (bad pun intended here). Then again – maybe not.  You do LOVE your shoes and want to get them the heck off the floors and elevate their status in your walk in closet. Not sure how? Here’s 2 ideas:

• Strategy 1 when you have a LOT of shoes and not a big walk in closet – In this situation you want to combine efficiency with looks. One way to make it happen is to install a ‘shoe shrine.’ No -this shrine won’t take the place of a deep religious experience. It will help you get control (and find) your shoes –in an efficient manner. With this ‘shoe shrine’ a series of 12” wide powder coated steel shelves are simple to move up and down. Since the shelves are thinner (yet stronger) than wire or laminate shelving – you get more pairs in a smaller space. You can vary each cubby size – taller for boots and shorter for your flats – to get the max in the minimum vertical space.

• Strategy 2 when you have a room for a mega-sized walk in closet and want to display your shoes like Nordstrom’s –  You and your husband have worked hard and you’re finally building your dream home in Powell or Dublin. Your glamour closet is becoming a reality. To you Jimmy Choo is as important as Urban Meyer is to your husband. You want Jimmy to be proud of your shoe display – but how? It’s simple. Create a retail store look in the privacy of your own closet (without the crowds). Make this happen with elevated shoes shelves spotlighting your shoes with LED lighting. It will make you, and your closet, look and feel like a million bucks (your husband might chime in if he was reading this – almost equal to your shoe investment – or addiction!).

Custom closet trick #2 – Create a feature wall   

What do you see when you step into your walk in closet today? If it’s a crowded kaleidoscope of shirts, skirts, jackets and pants smooshed together on a single closet rod – it’s not an impressive sight. Consider the impact of a dramatic (not dramatic like your 15-year-old daughter being crushed by her break-up to her first boyfriend with the peach-fuzz mustache) feature wall when you enter your closet. Here’s how to create this focal area:

• Vary the depth and height of your closet sections – This strategy is not only architecturally more interesting – but offers more storage as well. Put your nicest clothes (fancy dresses, your husband’s suits) front and center vs. your old ratty tee-shirts you garden with. Put stacks of drawers in the center. Create a look with impact.

• Add a 3-dimensional feature wall – Nothing adds depth and interest like adding depth and interest (wow –that’s deep – ha! ha!). 3D reclaimed wood feature walls are hot. This product had sizzling-hot interest at this year’s 2018 International Builders Show (this show has the latest and greatest products in new homes and remodeling from around the world). Whether you want a Modern Farmhouse aesthetic for the tear-down you’re doing in Upper Arlington – or sleek and contemporary vibe for your Italian Village loft – there is a feature wall pattern to fit.

Custom closet trick #3 – Respect the Bada-bling (the jewelry drawer tray)

As a guy whose been married for 32 years (I’m glad Rose and I got married at the age of 11 – otherwise I might be OLD!) I have ‘amassed’ a grand total of 2 pieces of jewelry. My wedding ring and a necklace with a cross. Rose – on the other hand – stores her multitude of rings, necklaces, bracelets and chains in a beautifully made cherry jewelry chest loving made by her Dad (we miss you greatly ‘Poppy’). It keeps her jewelry organized – and creates a daily visual connection to Dad.

Most women would LOVE a better place to store jewelry without routing through their bedroom drawers early in the morning and waking their partner up. Your closet is a perfect place for jewelry storage. However, most closets don’t even have a few simple drawers. In designing your dream closet change this reality with a one – or even a two-level jewelry drawer tray in a bank of drawers. It will save time in the morning and make you feel more elegant.

Custom closet trick #4 – Go beyond a ‘clothes closet’ into a ‘wardrobe experience’

A functional closet is just that. As Larry the Cable Guy might say, “you can get ‘er done and dressed every day.” If that’s all you want out of your closet – that is A-OK. However – since you’re in this space a minimum of 2 times a day, wouldn’t it be fun to enjoy a ‘wardrobe experience?” Don’t those words even feel different than ‘just a closet?’ It’s not as hard as you may think to create this experience. Here’s two ways to upgrade:

• Add a valet rod to your feature wall – An inexpensive valet rod allows you to stage tomorrow’s outfit tonight. You’ll get ahead of the day – and it’s elegant to see your clothes staged for tomorrow.

• Brighten up your dark closet with LED lighting – Lighting moves you eye to what you’d like to feature. Perhaps it’s your purse collection, or fun bracelets and necklaces in your jewelry drawer box. Perhaps you need lighting to help your color-blind husband (I resemble this remark). If you don’t have an outlet in your closet – don’t fret. There are motion detected rechargeable LED lighting systems today which don’t cost an arm and leg.

Custom closet trick #5 – Let your closet evolve beyond shelves and rods with fine cabinetry

There is nothing wrong with open shelving and well-designed hanging sections in closets, but if you want the ultimate in luxury – cabinetry with glass doors is the way to go. Placing clothes behind closed doors protects them from dust or your dog or cats fur and gives you a finished architectural look like your way-too-expensive lawyer or financial planners offices. For another fine finishing touch add crown molding, decorative fluting or baseboard trims. Closets become wardrobes with the special touches.

Conclusion

Has the time arrived in your life to do something special for you? You’ve spent years raising (another word for love and sacrificing) for your kids, your husband – and now your aging parents.

Create a special custom closet experience and go beyond the poorly-designed ‘system’ you put up with today. These custom closet tricks are fun to think about – but transformative to live with. Can I or my team create a free 3D closet design for your home? 

Can I (or my team) help you further?

If you’d like assistance or custom closet design pricing in Columbus or Cleveland Ohio call Innovate Home Org at 614-545-6888 or 216-658-1290.

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Follow me on Twitter @Mike_Foti or our companies’ @InnovateBuild and @InnovateHomeOrg for more insight on closet designs and remodeling (with a few bad puns thrown in along the way).