Master Closet Makeover

The master closet was the last closet in the house to receive my attention. Since it's a walk-in closet it required a bit more work than the other closets I've worked on. A disclaimer: it's really hard to get good pictures in cramped spaces when you don't have a fancy camera with a fancy lens. Some of my pictures are not at the best angle, but I did what I could with the camera I have.

here's what it looked like before we bought the house- two sets of rods on either side, with shelves above each rod

more recently, this was the view to the left, complete with over-long, non-matching curtain

When we moved in, we removed the lower clothes rod on the right side so the dresser would fit, but that's all we did. There was a lot of wasted space and inefficient use of space.

this was the view to the right

a peek at the shelves above

and the space on the right, behind the door

After completely emptying the closet of clothes, bins, baskets, and miscellaneous stuff, I removed the existing clothes rods and lower shelf, but left the upper shelf in place. Next I spackled and sanded where the shelves and rods used to be, and then tackled the painting.

I painted the ceiling flat white- it really does make such a difference! I painted the walls above the shelves white and touched up the white paint on the shelves. I painted the walls below the shelves the same gray I used in the guest room closet. It's a nice light gray that adds a bit of interest without being overpowering, and it complements the light blue gray in the bedroom.

After the painting was done, it was time to move on to the shelving. After measuring the space available, I drew up a plan of what I wanted where, and got started cutting wood.

I purchased 1"x12" pine boards for the uprights, then dug through my wood stash and found enough pieces leftover from the library shelves to make the short shelf pieces (I'm so happy they're not going to waste!). I cut a piece of leftover cabinet grade plywood for the wider and deeper shelves behind the door and I repurposed the old mdf shelves for the wider shelves on the left side. I will probably eventually replace the mdf shelves, but for now it works. I was starting to hyperventilate about the cost of materials for this closet, and I couldn't find pretty pine boards at Lowe's and didn't want to use boards full of knots and cracks.

After cutting all the shelf pieces to size I painted both sides of each. While the paint dried I installed the vertical boards using the same method I used in the guest room closet, then I added the shelf strips.

Once the paint was all dry I was able to figure out the spacing of the shelves and get them in place. Then I put the clothes rod holders up and cut the clothes rods to length (I re-used the original holders and rods).

view of the right side

view of the left side

upper view of the space on the right behind the door

lower view of the space on the right behind the door

upper view of the shelves on the left

lower view of the shelves on the left

We had the larger brown baskets (from wally world a couple years ago- the same as the cream ones in LMS' closet), but I purchased more of the smaller cream and brown baskets that I used in the other two bedroom closets (from Lowes). They're a good size for holding clothes yet don't take up a ton of space. I think dressers are not the best use of vertical space, but these shelves and baskets let us use all available space.

baskets on the left side

I started putting everything back in the closet to see if I liked how it looked and fit. I did, except for the section with the single high clothes rod. There was a lot of wasted space below, which I just couldn't allow to remain. So I moved the clothes rod down (with the added benefit that it's easier for me to reach) and added an adjustable shelf above. Since I was having such a hard time finding good pine boards, I went with a melamine-coated shelf that just had to be trimmed a couple inches to fit. The added bonus was that I didn't have to paint it. (by this point, I was ready to be done with the whole thing)

clothes back in the closet, left side

clothes back in the closet, right side. the file boxes are the same we used in the other bedroom closets and come from Target. we use them primarily for off-season clothes and winter gear.

upper view of the section behind the door, with added shelf above clothes rod

lower view of the section behind the door

The finishing touches:
Hooks on the back of the door. For ties, scarves, belts, etc.

2" faux wood blinds.  For some reason, this was the only window upstairs without any blinds. We've been using the tension rod and curtain from LMS' room in our last house, but it's too long and doesn't match and was supposed to be a temporary solution. Two years later, it's finally taken care...

A fluffy rug on the floor. Because why not? :) I wanted something a little larger, but it's very difficult to find 4'x4' rugs. It's not a standard size, but that was the maximum floor space available for the rug. I like this one, though.

In some ways the closet feels a bit more crowded, but since the space is so much more useable now, I don't mind.

All that's left is to hang a mirror on this wall behind the door. That will take awhile though, since I want to incorporate hooks to hang all my necklaces (there's no room on the walls in the bathroom to hang my necklaces) and I haven't quite decided how I want it to look.

I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again, I really love having a spot for everything and being able to find it easily without having to dig through piles of bags or boxes.

And I'm glad to finally be done with all the closets :)