Creating and organising a walk-in closet can feel like a massive project. But with some simple planning and forethought, it’s far more manageable. Here are some tips to get you started.
Choose a Suitable Room to Use
Your closet can be as large or as small as you like. But of course, it depends on the size of the room you wish to use. A suitable room is ideally square or rectangular with no irregular shapes for ease of installation. Therefore, the cupboard under the stairs won’t do. Also, your walk-in closet doesn’t need to be too walkable. Just large enough to step inside and comfortably select your clothing from a fitted or freestanding clothes rail, shelving and drawers. However, it also helps if the room you wish to use is next to or adjoined to your bedroom for convenience.
Image Source – Pexels
Measure the Room and Available Space
You need to measure the available space before deciding on a suitable room. This is important for buying the wardrobes, drawers and units you need. The last thing you want is your shiny new storage units to be too wide for the room. This will eat into your free time and could cost you more money to replace. It’s helpful to draw a sketch of your design and plan where you want each item. Try to organise them based on the measurements. All reputable online furniture stores will give you accurate measurements of their designs. Or you can even use The Sims 4!
Consider the Storage when Creating a Walk-In Closet
Of course, your new walk-in wardrobe is for storage. But there’s more to a clothing closet than simply hanging things up. It’s a functional area, and it’s best to use the available space as efficiently as possible since one poll found that 65% of people feel they don’t have enough. Fortunately, there are an almost endless amount of ways to store your clothes and accessories. First, of course, there are rails for hanging. But you can install storage options like cubbies for smaller items, specially designed drawers for watches, bracelets, and multi-level shoe racks.
Choose a Decor Style that Fits
Finding a decor style is one of the biggest considerations when designing any room. And your new closet is no different. Of course, you can go with an isolated style that you like. However, it’s almost always a better option to think of your walk-in closet as an extension of your bedroom with a matching style. So if your bedroom is decorated in the New England Mission style, go with that. Or, if minimalism is your thing, consider concealed storage. There are tons of options for your designer wardrobe. But it’s your room, so make sure you choose a design you will love.
Use Suitable Materials for Your Vision
The materials of a decor style and a room can considerably impact the finish and how it feels. For example, if there is little natural light in the room, try painting with brilliant white paint. Or, if there is a lot of natural light, you can create an indoor oasis with lots of natural wood and indoor houseplants. Additionally, you can stick to your eco-friendly goals by using sustainable, upcycled or recycled materials. Even the door handles, and drawer knobs can impact the final design. So take the time to carefully consider every detail of your brand new walk-in closet.
Add Finishing Touches
The finishing touches of a room can make or break it. How you use specific accessories can make a room come together. And your closet is no different. More than a large wardrobe, a walk-in closet must be comfy and functional. Here are some popular additions you can make:
- Mirrors: full-length mirrors add light and let you check your new outfits thoroughly.
- Seating: you will need something comfy when trying shoes and clothing.
- A jewellery station: make space for your valuables.
- Cosmetics counter: use your closet’s comfort and lighting for makeup.
- Carpeting or rugs: plush carpeting can make a wardrobe super cosy.
- Gym accessories section: stow your potentially dangerous equipment.
- A safe: hide a secure location for things of high value like diamond jewellery.
Your walk-in closet can be just that. But over time, you will see it can become much more. And using such a room, you can make an all-in-one space where you have everything you need in one place. However, you can evolve the area and add things as and when you need them.
Install the Lighting You Will Need
Once everything is in place, and you are happy with the room, it’s time to think about lighting. Depending on the room itself, it may or may not have natural light. Using natural is excellent for a walk-in closet because it’s abundant, free and white. Therefore, you can be confident you look as good as possible. However, you might have converted a room that was never meant for habitation. In this case, you need lots of artificial lighting. LEDs are the obvious choice because they can be dimmed or extremely bright. And you can control the colour and/or warmth.
Do a Final Clean Before Filling
Finally, when your closet is ready, make sure you give it a final clean. Renovating any room can be highly toxic. Dust will have settled, extra screws might be lying around, and there may even be the odd drop of paint. So do a quick check. Start by wiping surfaces and polishing shiny finishes like mirror effect or glass. Then vacuum the entire flooring space to pick up anything you could stand on with bare feet. Finally, ventilate the room as much as possible to get rid of any lingering odours such as paint and the scent of plastic wrappings and cardboard.
Assess Your Clothes when Organising a Walk-In Closet
Spending so much time designing and creating a beautiful walk-in closet means it deserves respect at the end. Therefore, it’s always helpful to carefully consider what you will put into it; you may have too much stuff anyway. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of the time, you wear 20% of the clothes you have. This means you could donate most of your clothing and still have what you need. Additionally, if you look in your existing wardrobe and you can clearly see what you have, or clothes fall off hangers, you have too much. So consider a clear-out.
Add Your Clothes, Shoes and Accessories
After considering and assessing your clothing, comes the fun part. It’s time to place your stuff in your closet and fill it up with your favourite garments, accessories and shoes. However, the amount of space and how to fill it can be daunting at first. Try working from the back to the front. A good trick is placing your most expensive pieces or things you hardly ever wear at the back. This will make it quicker to find your everyday stuff, But will also help protect them. Putting the items you mostly use at the front of the closet will make it easier to grab what you need.
Use Up Additional Space
Even the best-designed walk-in closet is likely to have additional space. And this is a great thing because it means you can safely store more stuff. For example, you can use top-shelving for document and file storage. This will provide a safe space for things like tax documents, insurance policies and identification. Or you could even consider using excess space to make a small library within your closet if you like to read. And then there’s using some nooks and crannies for hiding things such as Christmas and birthday presents until the time comes.
Summary
You will face some challenges when creating or organising a walk-in closet. However, you begin by measuring a suitable room, adding finishing touches and using up all the available space.
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