My "Almost" Dream Closet- Closet Revamp Revealed...

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to finally do what I have wanted to do for years, tackle and organize my clothing closet. I'm not talking about just simply cleaning it up and putting clothes back on hangers, ha! I'm talking about completely revamping it in a big way that transforms it into a dream closet-perfectly designed for me-a place of bliss every time I open the door (TA-DA!). I was tired of the lack of bliss and frustration that I felt when I opened the door (or tried to open the door) to complete disorder. Well, it wasn't THAT bad, but I will admit to you that it's pretty sad that it reached the point of a serious New Years resolution.

My closet is probably average in size for what I see in East Texas(long and narrow walk-in). I think there are a lot of people out there like me, who have struggled in figuring out how to get started in reorganizing and revamping our closet spaces or even "warming" it up a bit. It really wasn't as difficult or as expensive as I thought it would be and it made a huge impact in my little world. So let's just jump right in to my closet remodel and my before and after pictures... Are you ready?


BEFORE...

After...

Not bad huh? See what a little paint can do? Oh, and I bought a couple extra pairs of shoes to fill the space.... What?...Well ok, that's really Mariah Carey's closet, I couldn't resist, but does it count if I have had dreams about Mariah's closet and all of her shoes? All one thousand of them that she says she has? Can you hear me say to my hubby, "Oh honey, could you hang this crystal chandelier in my closet please"? Although, nothing at this point would ever surprise him! Ok, ok..... Let's start over from the beginning...


BEFORE...

After...

Ugh, it's almost impossible to take pictures of a long and narrow closet. I had to piece them together and I'm just learning Picasa. You can click on the pictures to see the pictures and details a little clearer.

Since I don't think I'll ever have a closet like Mariah's, this will do just fine and I am thankful for what I have and do love it...Now..

It's an "almost" dream closet to me because let's face it, what woman doesn't dream of limitless closet space and having a closet (and shoes) the size of Mariah's or even one wall of her closet? But more than anything, I just wanted order, matching colors and warmth and storage pieces for every square inch. Everything finally has a place and there is order and I now feel bliss! Just a few inexpensive changes and a little time really made a huge impact for me...Ta-da!

If you're frustrated with your closet and are thinking about revamping your closet space, below are the storage pieces and steps that I took to finally get myself and my closet to my final destination of bliss:

Step One;
Not knowing where to start, I decided to first and foremost figure out what appealed to me most about closets. I started by searching online custom closet companies and I ended up here, at Easy Closets. Because of copyright issues, I cannot post the picture but the link takes you right to my inspirational closet. If I actually bought all the pieces in my inspirational closet at Easy Closets, it would have cost me around $8,500.00!! Yikes! Didn't take me long to figure out that I would have to pass on that after I picked myself up off of the floor! So my inspirational closet looked similar to this:

I figured out that I am drawn to the "built in" look and the richness of dark woods. I LOVED the elegant color combinations of the dark wood and warm tan walls on my inspiration closet found at Easy Closets. As I looked closer, I realized that maybe I could save some money and use what I already have in my closet (shelves, built in shelving, poles, etc..) by just changing the colors and adding a few additional storage pieces. Ok, first step accomplished! I made the decision on what I like and want for colors and overall feel and I'm going to do this by starting with what's already in my closet.

Step Two;
I assessed my troublespots! I just stared at my closet in all its messiness, and stared, and stared... I really started staring because I didn't know what to do next but finally, I noticed something very surprising to me... Shoes! Shoes everywhere. But wait, I'm not a shoe person (so I thought) but look at all the shoes. All over the floor, in drawers, in boxes, hanging from the light fixture, everywhere! Ok, well I think I just assessed a trouble spot on my own without the help of a therapist, I need more space for shoes! So next, I looked for wasted space, which I found all around the top shelving around the top of my closet, so I found perfect shelving units for shoes in my dark wood espresso color at Target, which would add space for 16 additional pairs of shoes!





Step 3;
Finding storage pieces was my next step. Target has the widest selection of the most versatile closet storage pieces. They have great closet storage pieces in many different shapes and sizes. I just looked for pieces online and looked at measurements to determine what would perfectly fit.

Step 4;
I found perfectly fitting storage pieces in the color closest to my inspirational color/finish. The espresso color I picked in my storage pieces now served as the color for the rest of my storage pieces and the color that I asked the painters to match (with a color match machine). I wanted to use an exact color match for paint to use on my already existing hardware and shelves, so I was assured that EVERYTHING would be precisely the same color. I also used the espresso storage pieces to pick out my dresser and night stand (Target) that I used for storage as well.





The large trunk/storage piece on the left is actually a beautifully lined fabric lined tool chest from Lowe's that I added for TONS of additional jewelry and accessory storage, which was another troublespot for me. Why do they need fabric lined chests for tools anyway?



Step 5;
paint! Or... If you're me and you absolutely cannot stand to paint trim or shelves, call the painters! Hey, for $250.00, it was well worth it for my sanity to have a painter done in a few hours, versus two weeks for me to do it, as I have OCD when it comes to trim painting (can never get rid of brush marks)! I also had the painters stain the poles (which I picked up at Lowe's and my hubby cut to size) for my hangers in a very dark wood stain (paint will scratch off). You can save money here if you're willing to all of the painting yourself.

Step 6;
Final touches! I switched out the color of the hangers to better match my new colors, which really does make a big difference aesthetically. Plus, I needed hangers elsewhere. I purchased boxes of black hangers online for everything under $50.00 including shipping. I created additional storage and easy access from a lucite storage drawer from Bed, Bath and Beyond, for up to 12 pairs of flip flops (which is my staple shoe in the summer)and flat sandals by creating a "Flip-Flop Station" (I do NOT have 12 pairs of flip flops and flat sandals).



Lucite Drawer Piece (Bed, Bath and Beyond)

Just stack up flip flops and flat sandals on their heels and they will just rest nicely..

I also switched out the light fixture (Ugh, I had just a lightbulb before!) and added a more elegant fixture with twice as much wattage for better light. I really didn't have any room to add any pictures or decor but I did add this fabulous brown zebra rug for a fun effect!

So that was it! I figured out that I spent around $650.00 or so and that was with having someone do the painting for me and adding two new dressers, a new beautiful light fixture, 120 new black hangers and a lot of additional storage pieces. Not bad at all for such a huge impact in my little closet world! Of course, this project could have been done a lot cheaper had I sucked it up and did the painting myself. So, I have closet bliss now and encourage anyone who has always wanted to do the same thing to just jump right in and do it, you'll be so glad that you did!

Thanks again to everyone for their sweet notes, emails and comments! I so appreciate your feedback!

Cheers!

Cyndy

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