Closet planning - master bedroom (many details! long post!)

amother

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 12:21 pm

I don't have any budget left for a professional so I'm hoping the very talented imamother crowd can help out. Dumping allll the info here, sorry it's long, only read if you are passionate about space planning I guess. I added chapter headings, lol.

We are moving and building the master bedroom from scratch.

Room setup plan and available space: The plan calls for two closets, one 36" wide but there's theretically room to make it wider if needed, and one 60" wide which cannot be made bigger. No walk-in closet, just standard 24" deep. There is also room for a dresser, though it destroys the symmetry/balance of the room I think, but I guess that can't be helped because I'm sure we'll need it. The way the plans are now, both the 36" and 60" closets will be regular hanging rods with a shelf on top.

Current closet I like: In my current room, in addition to a basic rod-and-shelf closet, I have an Ikea Pax system which I love. I do NOT have a dresser. Instead I have a number of drawers in that closet and I left a large space inside the closet at approximately dresser-height by not installing any shelves or drawers for a few feet, and I use that space for things like my wigs, standing/hanging jewelry rack, deodorant can... things that tend to go on dressers. It doesn't collect clutter as fast as an open dresser, and it certainly doesn't collect dust.

It is 39" wide and I also have a 19" matching unit with top and bottom hanging rods that until now I used for kids' clothes. So theoretically I can cancel the 60" closet and take these two with me.

Will we have enough space? My concern is that I don't know if it'll be enough hanging space. I'd still have the 36" full hanging closet, and then the 19" top-and-bottom closet. I can't figure out if that's going to be enough. Currently most of my hanging is full size but I'm assuming most of DH's can fit on a top-and-bottom. My current hanging part of my wardrobe can fit in a little under 36" but it feels a bit iffy to cut it so close. (Most of my everyday clothes I currently keep folded in the Pax drawers, less hanging.)

It's hard to estimate how much hanging and drawer space DH needs because he claims he is going to purge his wardrobe as we move. I did mine in advance because I'd rather have an easier time packing by just taking whatever's left. (Don't worry, the purge wasn't THAT thorough so I'm not underestimating how much space I need, if I get more clothes then there are things I can still get rid of) So he looks like he has a lot of hanging things but claims that in reality he only needs half that much hanging space and I'm not sure what to believe. We do have extra room in our coat closet and guest room where we can store off-season clothes.

A whole nother idea Until now I was thinking what if I use my wide+narrow Pax unit in place of the 60" closet - Instead of a 60" rod with a shelf above, I'd have a 39" drawers-and-dresser/shelf situation and a 19" top-and-bottom rod. But I could also just take my 39" drawers-and-shelves part, put it in place of the 36" built in closet because that space isn't as much set in stone, and leave the 60" closet to be all hanging. (It would be all full hanging, not top and bottom unless I find a way to retrofit it, so I'm not even sure if that nets more hanging space overall. Though it could net shelf/shoes space beneath part of the hanging space where we'd hang shorter things.)

More factors: I'd still need a dresser for DH's non-hanging stuff so bringing my Pax closet won't save me from throwing off the symmetry in the room nor from having a surface to clutter. But it could still help me dust-proof my wigs and jewelry...

However, moving the Pax closet would be a big project. It is very large and would need to be fully disassembled and reassembled. So that also needs to be considered when deciding if it's worth doing. I'm not at all sure what the relative cost is of having the contractor who's already building the room also happen to build in a closet, vs the cost of having the movers bring a big heavy closet system along with our boxes of stuff (we're not really moving other major furniture. Maybe a bookshelf but basically just moving our stuff.)

Also the Pax shelves are adjustable while once I have the contractor build shelves and rods and stuff it would probably be a big pain to change.

Customize closet? Recommend a system? Another option is forget the Pax, build the closet, but get some kind of system for the inside of that closet other than just a rod. Find a way to make it half rod and half drawers/shelves or something. Open to suggestions of how this can be done, what system is good for it, how expensive that would be... One advantage I could see is if it could be divided up differently than the Pax, meaning my Pax needs to be 39" of the shelves/drawers unit and 19" of the rods, but if I could split the 60" closet more like halfway then I think I could much more comfortably have enough hanging space and still the benefits of the drawers/shelves. Would I have to have a wall built inside the closet for that?

Thank you so much for your input, I would really love to get this right and advise the contractor accordingly before he starts building closets! I hope you found this some weird kind of entertaining!

Amarante

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 12:33 pm

Hire a designer to design the closet with you as you will wind up with the best closet for your needs. Your GC can only build what he is told to build and a skilled experienced designer knows exactly what is available that is most suitable and what the cost would be for every level of option.

I used my designer to help me customize my closets and we went over everything in terms of how it would work in real life - alternatives etc. We would discuss how everything would function in the same way as we discussed how my kitchen cabinets would function in terms of how I wanted those configured.

amother

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 12:35 pm

We already broke the bank and went over budget with the designer to just set up the outlines of the rooms in the first place. We're really really running out of money. That's why I'm hoping some hobbyists here can help or share personal experiences of what worked.

Amarante

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 12:38 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Depending on what system you use the store will have designers to work with.

You can also post your questions on houzz.com as the people on those forums are quite knowledgeable and offer great help in terms of design and other issues.

You are much more likely to reach a pool of people who have designed closets for their homes and/or professionals who will chime in than on imamother because the user base is larger and consists of people who are doing remodeling of all kinds or have done it.

amother

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 12:49 pm

Thank you so much, I'll see if I can get on houzz. I really do wish I could get a professional but we're just bleeding money all over with this move/reno and these people charge a lot and by the hour and I just can't anymore Sad

Store will only help with their own system, won't help with deciding which system or whether to do built-in.

Amarante

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 12:53 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Store will only help with their own system, won't help with deciding which system or whether to do built-in.

Best way to get help from houzz.com forums is to post a diagram showing the room and the dimensions of the closets. People use graph paper as the easiest way to get scale drawing. And state what you want - your limitations etc.

If you do post over there you can post in three "forums". Use Design Dilemma as that gets the most readership but also Storage and Closets since it is on topic and then maybe bedrooms as the third since you are designing for your master bedroom.

I did a search on houzz for "closets" and these immediately popped up but by staring your own thread you would get custom suggestions

https://www.houzz.com/discussi.....osets

amother

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 1:11 pm

Thanks for the tip! I will get sketching and then try posting there Heart

Amarante

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 1:49 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thanks for the tip! I will get sketching and then try posting there Heart

It is extremely difficult to design stuff when you theoretically have the ability to design anything you want. I know I found it extremely stressful because I felt that I had to make it "perfect' since I had this opportunity.

Ironically it was easier when I just worked within the limitations of what I had before I remodeled because I just accepted and found solutions that worked even if I wouldn't have chosen that to start.

For myself I don't really have a "fancy" configuration. I have rods at two lengths except for one section for longer clothes. My closet ceilings are pretty tall so I have there is room two rods that hold very long stuff but not full length obviously. I also have shelves high up which I store for stuff that I never use but it is theoretically accessible if I was desperate.

I opted for a "bureau" with shelve above it and a portion with a lot of shelves which theoretically is for shoes. I like my built in bureau because it is right next to the entrance to the master bath and so I store stuff like underwear, work out clothing, socks etc, sleep stuff and some linens so that I can grab on my way in to shower. However, I do also have other bureaus as actual furniture and my closets aren't huge walk in size so I use my bedroom furniture for clothing storage as well. My designer taught me the Kondo method of rolling up clothing and it is amazing how much less space it takes.

But as I wrote I obsessed about exactly how to configure since I was working with a blank space. It is really stressful to think about stuff you take for granted like where is the best place for the toilet paper holder. LOL

amother

Ivory

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 3:01 pm

I will admit to not having read the whole post through thoroughly, but I'm wondering if you're saying you don't have the money for something custom designed, and I'm assuming your current set up is working, why not just stay with what you have?
When we moved, we had put all our money into buying the house (we were lucky it was in good enough shape to just move into) and we've slowly over time done some upgrades. We brought all our old furniture and have slowly changed. We only replaced the carpet a long time after moving in, even though it was worn out.
It's easy to get caught up in a new house, need to have everything perfect and new, but it isn't always the case.

amother

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 3:16 pm

amother [ Ivory ] wrote:

It's a good question but -

current setup working - in current space. New space is set up differently and also currently has NO closets yet (current setup includes built in closet that is different size and shape than new space has available.)

slowly upgrade over time - we have the contractor building the room already. Having him build in a closet now is going to be much much much more cost-effective than changing anything later.

amother

Mulberry

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 3:28 pm

I will admit that I didn't read through your whole post, but I used the Pax system to create my own built in. We put it together on our own for fun and had the contractor install it and put hanging racks on either side.

Crookshanks

Tue, Jan 11 2022, 8:21 pm

OP if you're going to post on Houzz, can you pm me?