Master Closet Makeover - Step 3: Design & Install!

All of the hard work is officially done - organizing, rehanging the clothes, painting, stenciling, and accessory shopping is complete.  Check out Step 1: Organize! and Step 2: Decorate! for further details.

Now it's time for me to kick back and let Laura VanSickle from Closets by Design coordinate the design and installation of the perfect closet system that will meet my husband's and my needs.  Again, we are on a budget here - as much as I would love mirrored doors, spotlights, and drawers with glass pulls like Big and Carrie's closet, we've got to be realistic.

For our initial consultation, Laura looked at our current system and asked what we were using and what was lacking.  She took measurements of the actual room and also measured how much space to allow for each of our shirts, pants, and folded clothes.  Again, this is what we came from - ClosetMaid wire shelves with no utility and wasted space:

Far Wall - BEFORE

Shoe Wall - BEFORE


A week later Laura shows up with a professional design with a room layout and 3 walls complete with shelves, hanging bars, a shoe wall (yay!), belt rack, valet bar, and laundry basket.  With a couple of adjustments, she and I have agreed on the perfect layout that will fit what's left over from our organizing purge a few weeks before.

She shared 20 different color options with me, and knowing the low lighting situation and future green walls, I chose classic white cabinetry to brighten up the space.  I asked that we keep the back of the units open to feature the green paint and stenciling that would be featured on the walls behind the cabinetry.  The only upgrade that we added was crown moulding across the top of the cabinets for $350 to go with our glamorous dressing room design.

We scheduled the install for the morning of December 21st, which was supposed to take approximately 3-4 hours.  Promptly at 9:00 AM the installers from Closets by Design show up ready to work.  After speaking with a friend about her closet installion nightmare from a competing closet company, I was unsure what to expect when they arrived.  However, Victor and his partner are extremely friendly, courteous, and were very prompt in the installation, completing the entire project in 2 1/2 hours.


Far Wall - AFTER Install

My Wall - AFTER Install









Husband's Wall - AFTER Install



Shoe Wall - AFTER Install



Now I just have to load everything back in an organized fashion.  So many options - this closet system is completely interchangeable.....you can move the shelves and hanging bars to wherever or whatever height you want.  And I have a dining room full clothes waiting to be hung in their beautiful new home.....

Our makeshift closet while painting and installation was completed

2 1/2 hours later I have rearranged and fit (with room to spare) everything in an organized fashion back in the new space.  I sit on my newly upholstered ottoman for 5 minutes, relishing in the calmness and beauty of having a perfectly organized and decorated closet.  Oh, ahem, I mean "dressing room". 

 

Far Wall - AFTER



Shoe Wall - AFTER

 

Husband's Wall - AFTER

My Wall - AFTER

When I now walk in my closet, I am no longer stressed by the chaos that had taken over, but am blissfully happy by the fact that everything has its own beautiful place to be stored or displayed.  What a wonderful way to end the year!

Master Closet Makeover: Step 2 - Decorate!

I'm already feeling better.  The process of getting rid of all of my junk that I didn't need and giving it to other families in need is so cleansing!  Missed that part?  Check out Step 1 of our Master Closet Makeover: Organize!

Now it's time to focus on the fun part - decorating!  Yes, I am an interior decorator, and I will decorate my closet.  I think we all remember Carrie's closet in "Sex and the City 2" (available with Spanish subtitles below!) and who wouldn't be inspired by that dream?  My goal was to create a glamorous dressing room but with a much smaller budget and space than Carrie and Big had to work with.

My professional organizers from Simplicity suggested buying new hangers to create a uniform and streamlined look.  Bed, Bath and Beyond offers thin, no-slip hangers from Real Simple in 3 colors: white, black, and "blue", which actually was similar to my future paint color.  I picked up 4 boxes of 50 hangers for $29.99 each (or save $6 each with your 20% off coupon!) for all of the hanging shirts. 

Real Simple no-slip hangers from Bed, Bath and Beyond

For pants, Ikea offers curved wood hangers in packs of 8 for $4.99.  They just expanded their color offerings to include black and white wood hangers in addition to light wood and dark wood.  I bought 7 packs in the white color to match the future closet system.

Bumerang curved hangers in white wood from Ikea

My best decorating tool when on a budget is PAINT.  Paint is an extremely inexpensive way to make a big impact and completely change the look and feel of a room.  There are millions of colors and hundreds of different treatments that your possibilities with paint are endless.  What I chose to do here was match the color of my master bedroom, Halcyon Green by Sherwin Williams, but use a stenciling technique to give the walls some interest and that "glamorous feel".


Far Wall - BEFORE Paint



Far Wall - AFTER Paint




Yes, I said stencil.  I know, I would be scared, too.  However, Cutting Edge Stencils, has a great selection of updated stencils that are far from the 80's and 90's country border stencils that I automatically think of when I hear that word.  They offer large plastic allover stencils that can be taped directly to the wall, and you can paint a large portion of the wall at one time. 

The stencil I used for the closet is called "Casablanca" and is only $39.95 from Cutting Edge. I used Valspar's metallic paint in the color "Silver Patina", which can be found at Lowe's in their "Earth Elements" Brilliant Metals paint line. 


Casablanca Allover Stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils



During the stenciling process

The key with stenciling is PATIENCE.  I used a small 4" cabinet door paint roller found at Lowe's or any major hardware store.  Using a level while stenciling is also important - once you've got the stencil positioned level  for the the first placement you should be OK as long as you use your painted pattern to guide your future placements.  Don't assume your floor or ceiling is level - it usually never is!  Here are more stenciling tips online for those interested trying out this painting technique.

One other item that I added to help acheive my dressing room look was a 7 foot tall leaner mirror, found at HomeGoods, for $100 with an antiqued silver frame.  I didn't have a full-length mirror in my closet before and that item is definitely a must-have for a dressing room.

The only other accessory to add (I had to keep reminding myself that this is only a closet) was some sort of step stool for me to use to get up in the top shelves.  I opted to use a small upholstered ottoman, which could also double as a place to sit when putting on shoes.  I found the one below again at HomeGoods for $80, which was the perfect size and style for the space.  It just needed a little facelift, which my upholsterer was happy to oblige.

I chose to have it recovered in Premier Prints "Traditions" cotton linen print in their Eaton Blue/Linen color for only $10.49/yard.



With all of the paint and accessories selected, all that's left to do is wait for our custom closet to be installed by local company Closets By Design.  Read our next entry - Master Closet Makeover: Step 3 - Design and Install! to see the dramatic AFTER pictures and find out about the benefits of having your own custom closet system.

Master Closet Makeover: Step 1 - Organize!

I have a confession to make. As much time, energy, and money I have spent on decorating my home, my poor master closet has lacked the attention it deserves and, over time, I lost control.

Spending 10 years in retail had created quite a collection of clothes, shoes, purses, and accessories that have slowly been mounting in my large walk-in closet over the 5 years we have lived in our house.  And I admit to doing something that we all do - freak out at the last minute when company is coming over and throw various items (from papers, books, small kitchen appliances, etc) in my closet.  So when a friend suggested that I enter a closet makeover contest sponsored by local organizing and closet companies Simplicity and Closets By Design, of course I jumped at the chance!

The images you are about to see may be too graphic for young children.  It had gotten to the point where I was worried to let my 1 1/2 year-old son in our closet for fear that he may end up in Narnia.  Below are the pictures that I sent in with my entry and, I really hate to admit it, they were NOT staged.

Far Wall - BEFORE

Shoe Wall - BEFORE





Top Shelf - BEFORE

 As you can guess, our closet was SO bad, that yes, we won the makeover!  I received the news on my phone while my husband was driving and I squealed so loudly that he almost drove us off the road.  They explained to me that the process would be organize, design, and install.  Our goal was to have it completed by the new year.

OK, Step 1 - ORGANIZE.  That should be easy to do, right?  Well, I guess if it were that easy, I would have done it before we had gotten to the-point-of-no-return.  Enter Simplicity Certified Professional Organizers.  Simplicity quickly sent me an assessment questionnaire and I met with Anne Steppe, a professional organizer, at our home to discuss the project, what my needs were, determine where our current system was lacking and what could be improved.

A few days later Anne shows up promptly with another partner-in-crime, Andrea, ready to help me dig through my mess.  They immediately started pulling everything out of the closet and laying it in designated areas for me to sort through and determine what was Keep, Donate, or Throw Away.  The amount of stuff that was literally stuffed in that closet was unbelievable when it was spread out all over my first floor.  I had 3 whole rows of shoes lined up spanning the length of my foyer which had previously been stacked up on 4 small shelves.

In my purse collection I found change, make-up, lipstick that had been misplaced for years, and a $50 Spa Finder gift card that had not yet expired.  SCORE!  Andrea pulled out all of my husband's t-shirts, shorts, ties, etc, and did an inventory of his things for me.  He had OVER 100 t-shirts piled up on our dining room table once she was done.



Andrea refolded all of my husband's clothes, including over 100 t-shirts!

After 3 hours of sorting, we had accumulated 14 trash bags full of clothes, shoes, and purses that Anne packed up in her Suburban to donate to local charities. 

Packed and ready to go to local charities in Charlotte

The next step that Anne and Andrea assisted with was transferring the clothes that were remaining to the new no-slip Real Simple hangers that I had found at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $29.99 for a box of 50. 

After a mere 4 hours, we had managed to pull everything out of my closet, sort, and organize it back in the closet, all while feeling great about the charitable donations I was making (and the tax write-off I was getting)!

Far Wall - AFTER Simplicity





Shoe Wall - AFTER Simplicity

I certainly could not have done this (and clearly had not done this) without the help from Anne and Andrea from Simplicity.  Below are a few tips that they gave me to help keep myself organized and avoid another out-of-control situation:
 

Organizing Tips



1) If you are starting a large reorganization project, be realistic about how much time it will take and make sure to set aside that amount of time in your schedule.  It took 3 of us each 4 hours to complete the reorganization of my closet, which means it would have taken 12 hours for just me to accomplish this.  If you don't give yourself enough time, it's easy to get frustrated halfway through and lose focus of the end goal.

2) When you buy a new pair of shoes, shirt, or any other item, it must be REPLACING a similar item in your closet. Yes, we all love to have MORE clothes, MORE shoes, and MORE purses, but do we really need everything in our closet?  The average person doesn't wear 70% of what is hanging in their closet at any one moment.  Replacing items versus adding will allow you to maintain a place to put everything, which is the key to keeping organized.



3) Transfering your clothes to one type of hanger will streamline the look of your closet.  It also will help you stick with the idea of using your brand new shirt to replace an old one by allowing yourself to use only the nice matching hangers that you have available.



4) Use small clear plastic bins on shelves to store items such as purses, scarves or other accessories. Clear plastic allows you to see what is inside without having to pull the bin down and the small size keeps it from becoming a bottomless pit that large bins can easily turn into.

More tips are available on Simplicity's blog, with new entries and ideas added weekly to help anyone stay organized!

To read how the paint, closet design, and other fun items were chosen, check out the next entry: Master Closet Makeover: Step 2 - Design!