Wow, it's been a few months since my last post, but I am proud to announce that I have completed my first official Chaos Tamer project! It was a woman's master closet in a 100 year old Victorian home in San Francisco.
The client wanted a more functional use of the space which was 36" deep and 85" wide. She wanted drawers to house her sweaters, shoe racks to get her collection off the floor, shelves for her purses, and plenty of rod space for separates and a section to hang her long, formal wear.
The biggest challenge of the space was a band of wood wrapping around the entire closet which the existing shelf rested upon. Having such an old home with plaster lath walls, we were unable to rip out this band of wood fearing we'd have to patch the walls, much more work than we were willing to do. Another challenge was a built-in bench on the right side that we were unable to remove and were forced to work around.
 |
| Looking straight in from the doorway. Her sweaters were stacked on top of each other on the top shelf. |
 |
| She was unable to vacuum the floor without having to remove the shoe racks. |
 |
| Looking to the right, you can see the top of the built-in shelf. |
 |
| Looking toward the left, you can see the wood band the shelf was resting on top of. This band could not be removed. |
 |
| A close up of the band that had hooks attached all around from the previous owner. |
After a bit of research and presenting my ideas to my client, we decided to go with a very modular solution from the Container Store, Elfa. The plan was to use the back wall as the main source of storage with various components to meet her needs.
To prepare the closet, we removed the existing rods, hooks and shelves that were on all three sides of the closet. We painted it a very pretty blue to match her master bathroom with white trim. Her very handy husband installed new lighting located above the door, giving much more light than the existing one bare light bulb. Working around the wooden band, he installed wood furring strips along the same structure as the top track and hanging standards as the Elfa system, giving sturdiness to the system.
The component solution consisted of:
- 4 deep drawers adjacent to the door to house her sweaters.
- To the left of the drawers we installed 4 shoe racks, 2 for heels and 2 for flats to get all her shoes off the floor as requested.
- Above those shoe racks we installed a solid birch shelf and above that 2 white ventilated shelves with dividers to store her purses.
- A solid birch shelf running the entire length at the top
- "Short hang" rods above and to the right of the drawers
- A "Long hang" rod at the far right above the built-in bench.
 |
| You can see the wood furring strips used to give a flush surface for the top track and hang standards. |
 |
| Work in progress: installing the shelves and rods. |
 |
| Finished product straight view from doorway. Four drawers for sweater storage. |
 |
| View to the top left: ventilated shelves with wood fascia and dividers for her purses and solid shelving on top as well as waist level. You can see the new lighting on the far left of the photo. |
 |
| View to the bottom left: solid shelving with sliding shoe racks below for heels and flats. |
 |
| View to the right: hanging rods and top shelf. The mirror is reflecting the accessory storage to the left side. |
The beautiful thing about this closet solution is the client will be able to add or remove any component as her needs change giving her flexibility and freedom that she didn't have before.
Once she replaces her existing hangers with new matching ones, I'll snap a few photos on the closet actually in use. But for now you can see the solution without her clothing and accessories. (Except for that one top she
just got back from the cleaners that's hanging up next to the bench) She plans to install hooks for belts and scarves on the opposite wall on both sides of the doorway, utilizing even more of the space.
I have to admit it's a great feeling to give someone a more functional and beautiful closet to use. I hope my client smiles every time she needs to get dressed in the morning!
3/28/11 Update!
I was able to take a few photos of the closet in use. My client expressed how efficient her new system has been working for her and how it's been helping her
keep organized. Since she has a spot for all her items, putting things away is a no-brainer. This proves the old organizer's adage, "A place for everything and everything in it's place."
 |
| The left side is reflected in the mirror. |
 |
| New lighting. |
 |
| Purse storage. |
 |
| Gliding shoe racks. |
 |
| Drawers for knitwear. |
 |
| Hooks for scarves and belts. |
Eventually she will buy some decorative boxes to line the top shelf and will possibly replace her old hangers. But for now she seems very pleased with the end result. Which of course makes me happy too!
