I will also say my husband and I did this in about 24 hours - not recommended, but we did it. I wanted to share my closet again on the blog for a lot of reasons. The first being when I went to find inspiration I had a hard time finding it... so here is yours and the second being that this blog has always shown the evolution of my style and it makes sense to have it feature the evolution of my closet too, right? Also I know that the internets are nosey (heck, so am I!) so I think you gals will like this post! Here is the final product... click through below to get all the details!
Let me also point out that it's very difficult to photograph a closet as there is absolutely no natural light. BUT, I did my best. To go back to the very beginning THIS is what my closet looked like in July of 2012 and this is what it looked like in January of 2011. As you can see it has evolved. The picture below is what it looked like right before I started emptying it. Ugh, is that a mess or what? I had so many beautiful pieces just laying around or smooshed together. It was a total waste. I couldn't see all the amazing investments I had made with clear eyes anymore.
So I emptied it all out and was surprised at how big it seemed! My husband took out the fixtures (which you can see where a mish-mash of junk, like that when we moved in), caulked the holes and we painted the walls a delicate and fleshy pink called "Sea Salt" by Martha Stewart. It's also the color we just painted our master bath. It's very pleasing to the eye, reflects light well and is flattering to your skin tone. Here is the closet empty while my husband was taking out the old fixtures and before paint.
We bought a simple closet organizer from Home Depot and two large book shelves from Walmart. In the end I decided to have the hanging bars go the length of the closet and have the back wall open. This made the whole space seem so much bigger without really sacrificing on hanging space. We also had the hanging bars hang higher than the old ones which got the clothes off the floor (easier to vacuum) and also gives the illusion of more space in the room.
I have organized my tops by color and sleeve type, from left to right. While the closet isn't "full" by any means, I still have some room to grow, I would like to start a one-for-one policy for future shopping trips... as in one in, one out. We'll see how I do on this, but in general I feel like my wardrobe doesn't really need to grow at all, evolve sure, grow... not so much.
Belts are hanging from an old shower curtain hook (you could also use an S hook from the hardware store here as well). Denim is organized by cut and folded with the tag showing so I can instantly identify which pair they are.
This lower rack definitely has enough room for more tops, but I like that I can spread them out to see more of them.
Since the back wall no longer has hanging racks on it I decided that my necklaces would make a fun piece of "art" in the closet. And they do! I am in a major "necklace" phase right now and I love that they are out in the open to see and enjoy. I simply hung two bulletin boards and some thumb tacks, plus this is easy to change out in the future if I would want to.
On the far wall I bought two large book cases with adjustable shelves for shoes, purses, sweaters and boots. I love how much stuff these book cases hold and how they make the closet seem homey. Then I added a small garden stool that I found at Home Goods to hold a few magazines and small accessories in a tray.
In my old closet I had way too many sweaters that didn't get worn that were taking up a lot of space. Here I just kept my favorites and have one stack of winter sweaters and one stack of all-season sweaters. Oh, and my stash of old J.Crew catalogs too!
I debated on keeping all my handbags in their dust covers, but in the end the dust covers are so floppy and hard to organize and the purses look prettier when you can see them. So now I just pop in and make sure they aren't getting too dusty.
Finding a space for my boots was something that was important to me. If you have a lot of boots you know it's hard to find a spot for them in the closet! These adjustable book cases made it possible for boots to have their own perfectly sized shelf. I keep old magazines rolled up in my boots to keep them standing up straight when I am not wearing them.
Shoe storage is a huge challenge in a closet, in my opinion. They are all different shapes and heels sizes, so again the adjustable book cases saved the day. Flats are stacked in pairs and shoes with heels are put in side by side with one toe sticking out so I can identify them. My shoes are definitely at max capacity!
So there you have it! I am really loving this new set up! This space is inviting, neat and tidy and makes getting dressed much easier in the morning. In my opinion, this was the some of the best $350 I have invested in our home. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments!
