Have you seen HGTV's “Million Dollar Rooms? This show gives viewers an all exclusive sneak peak at some of the most luxurious rooms and homes across the USA. A few weeks ago, the series aired a special episode with million dollar closets. Lisa Adams, one of L.A.'s hottest high-end closet designers, takes on the challenge of transforming four celebrity closets.
I was blown away by Adams' ability to take a cluttered closet lacking in any strategized organization and convert it into an attractive, welcoming space that presents an abundance of purpose and user-friendly qualities. The finishing touches were extravagant. Drawers upon drawers with individual cubbies lined in velvet provided delicate storage room for jewelry, belts and scarves. Angled floor to ceiling shelving units provided a striking display for shoes and folded garments. Plenty of hanging space gave home to other clothing items, which were then categorized and arranged according to seasonal wear, color and even style. Everything in the closet had its place, and not one thing went unseen.
It seems silly to put your hard earned money into a space that you don't spend that much time in and no one ever really sees. Consider this though: There are only a few rooms in your home that you will without a doubt use day after day. Your kitchen, bathrooms and bedroom probably come to mind instantly. However, I'm confident that you forgot your closet.
We can't avoid getting dressed every day. But how are you supposed to achieve that high-design closet without digging for spare change in the sofa? All of these attractive closet design options being used in these high-end closets don't need to come with a million dollar price tag. You can affordably achieve your dream closet. Take true pleasure in getting ready every day.
You put an emphasis on design and visual appeal in many areas of your home, so why not put that same level of consideration into your closet? You deserve to live like a celebrity. If you long for a closet that looks like it's worth a million bucks, you can utilize today's newest closet design concepts to assist you in creating your dream closet in our realistic world.
Inspired by: Kalyn Johnson - SummitDaily.com
Today's article is brought to you by Charlie Hafter of the Closet Hanger Factory.
Deciding which hangers will work best in your closet can be tougher than you thought! There are so many styles to choose from and each style has its own types and features. Each type of hanger is designed with a specific purpose in mind, making it even more difficult to decide which is best. We’ve created this guide to help you determine which clothes hangers will make your closet the organizer’s dream that you’ve been hoping for.
Hangers for Suits and Coats: Coats and suits need to hang right to keep their shape. The shoulders of these types of garments are often made with unique materials that can bend and lose shape over time. The wider shoulders and curved design of suit and coat hangers give these garments the support that they need to stay in shape. Many wooden hangers are made this way, as well as cedar hangers and specialty suit hangers. Even if you’re looking to save room in your closet, you should at least hang coats and suits on these larger hangers. It’s better to use a little more space for them and then use space saving hangers for your shirts and pants that can be kept in a more compact space.
Non-Slip Hangers for Shirts and Pants: Nothing is worse than finding your clothes crumpled up on the floor when you need them. Hangers with non-slip grips or clips that don’t crease clothing are great to have. Additionally, your closet can look sloppy if everything is not staying in place.
Hangers for Delicates: Some fabrics can be easily stretched out at the neck or snagged by hangers with protrusions. Z-Hangers are perfect for delicates because they allow you to slide the shoulders of shirts around the neck, avoiding stretching and pulling. Satin hangers are also great for hanging delicate fabrics and look nice in your closet.
Hangers for Accessories and Storage: Specialty hangers are great for organizing belts, scarves, and ties in your closet. You can also get ones that are made to hold sheets, table cloths, quilts and comforters, making organization easy for you.
Hangers for Saving Closet Space: Space saving clothes hangers have a flat design so that you can hang your garments close together. Sometimes they also have clips and hooks that you can add on. Clips are great for pairing shirts and pants together on one hanger. Hooks go over the neck of the hanger and allow you to drape other hangers from the first one. Using these space saving marvels can double or triple the space available in your closet.
Blog Courtesy of: Closet Factory.
Do you ever forget about a pair of shoes because you have so many shoes or shoe boxes? “Out of site out of mind,” is not just an old saying!
Here is a quick and easy she organizational tool that will have you justifying the cost of those stilletos to your husband in no time. Starting with boots and sneakers, start using a picture labeling system that many professional organizers use. you will be able to find your shoes so quickly!
If you are a shoe addict, I strongly suggest trying out the following steps. Like many shoe addicts you have spent years collecting beautiful footware, now make them visually stunning in yoru closet! There is something therapeutic about getting organized and this shoe storage project is actually pretty fun!
You will need:
- Shoes
- Shoe boxes
- Digital Camera
- Scotch tape, gluestick or adhesive
Let's Get Started!
- Gather together all of your shoes.
- Find a well lit location to take pictures of your shoes. You can place a light piece of fabric on a small chair and drape the fabric over the chair to create a uniformed background for each picture. Another option is to put fabric on a table or the floor.
- Take a picture for each pair of shoes. You may choose to position the shoes identically in each image for a uniformed appearance.
- Upload the photos to your computer and print them on photo quality paper no larger than 5×7.
- Match the shoe photos to the correct shoebox.
- Adhere the photo on the front of the box using glue or tape.
- Place the shoes back in their corresponding box. Most designer shoes come with a travel bag and it is highly recommended to use them for year-round storage. Simply insert the designer shoes in the shoe bag and then place the shoes into their shoebox.
- Finally, neatly stack your shoe boxes in your closet.
The easiest way to organize your shoes is by color. You can also further sort your shoes by season, height of heal, and/or frequency of use. Having pictures on the boxes only simplifies the shoe organization process. Now you can see the shoe you need right away!
Do consumers know where the products they buy come from? We have become more globalized in where our dollars end up. Do most consumers care? Probably not, but I wish they did. Our business, WeDoClosets.ca makes every effort to offer as many Canadian made products as possible. We want to support our neighbours and our country’s economy.
Farmers, small businesses, small manufacturers; these are our neighbours. Whether they are within a hundred miles or a thousand miles, what they do affects us and what we do affects them. They are the lifeblood of our country.
Historically, price is a top priority for the modern consumer followed by product quality. These days many people will consider the “Green Factor”, but how about “Buying Canadian”? Yes, we can buy our products from China for far less, but by and large we sacrifice the quality. Does today’s consumer appreciate a great quality Canadian made product? Are they willing to pay a little bit more to get it? I like to believe they are. I sleep better when I buy Canadian because I know that I have had a positive effect on another Canadian family. Can everything be Canadian? No. Can I make every effort to buy Canadian? Yes. Sometimes it is a happy accident and sometimes it is planned. We like to mentally pat ourselves on the back don’t we? I hope so, because every dollar we put into the Canadian economy is money back into our own pockets.
Offering Canadian made products is half the solution. The other half is buying Canadian Made Products. Let’s make it a priority. Sleep tight neighbour.
We are pleased to welcome Diana Augspurger from Creative Storage as our guest blogger this week. Diana has been in the closet and home storage business for over twenty-five years. She is a past president for the Association of Closet and Storage Professionals (ACSP), the industry’s official trade organization. Diana is as passionate about what she does, as she is creative and professional. When she isn’t following her other passion, sailing… she is striving to be a leader within her field. One of her most recent successes has been creating and launching the e-commerce website http://www.morestorage.com. Welcome Diana, and thank you for agreeing to guest blog for us this week!
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I prepared three estimates this week for properties worth over a million dollars with the worst closets ever. They were small, angular and the cheapest material for closet rods on the planet. I am at a loss for words as to why a contractor would offer this and why the homeowner would accept it. Can I fix it? Sure. Should I have to? No. Many builders do not place value on what happens in the closet. It's a small ticket relative to the overall cost of the house.
I was told once that the closets are only important to me. Wrong. For many men, it's low on the totem pole of wants to begin with. The reality, however, is that often a woman picks the house and women LOVE closet systems. My advice to you the builder, woo your customer by offering a closet she just can't resist. What is my advice to you, the homebuyer? Read the fine print and negotiate up front for a closet that suits your needs and suits the house. You have a lot of leverage before you sign the contract; so tell them you want the closet of your dreams… so you won't be facing a nightmare.
D. Augspurger – Creative Storage.
The leaves are starting to change. It has been noticeably cooler the last few days. Your ride to work in the morning is peppered with big yellow school buses and red flashing lights.
Fall and winter are creeping up on us quickly. It is time to start planning our closet changeovers. That chore was a lot easier when I was single but these days with three children and a fiance, it is a much larger and more daunting prospect.
Each year I use the same formula for consistency sake especially when it comes to the kids. I make sure to choose a time when everyone is out of the house and I can quietly make a start on the changeover.
There are three basic rules I use when I am weeding out the old and making room for the new. First I "Purge and Let it Go", second I "Sort" and third I "Organize".
Purge and Let Go
Some people find it easier with their own wardrobe to decide what to keep and what goes to good will while others find it easier with the children's wardrobes to make those decisions. Whichever category you fall into, the process is the same.
Make sure you have 2 garbage bags and at least one rubber bin or storage container per family member before you begin.
Empty the closets and dressers of all the clothing, including under garments. Make sure to put everything in a pile that makes sense to you. I make ten or so piles and break it down by type of item. For instance… long sleeve shirts and short sleeve shirts get their own piles, as does Pajamas, pants, hanging clothing etc. When everything is organized, I go through the piles one by one.
If an item of clothing is in bad shape- they go in the "rags bag". If they are in fine shape but haven't been worn more than once or twice all season they go in the goodwill bag, as does anything that will not conceivably fit the person the next season. If an item is in good shape, will likely fit next season and isn't an item that spans seasons (and will be added back into rotation) it goes in the rubber bin for storage. I typically also start a pile for items that I want to have tried on. My oldest daughter also likes to have a nostalgia pile, which I indulge her with but make sure it stays VERY small. I have a nostalgia bin for her and the rule is if it gets too full, she has to purge to make space. One small bin is all she gets.
Sort
My second step in the process is to Sort through all of the clothing to see what I will need to purchase to get us all through the next season. Firstly I add all of the new season clothing to the piles of items that span the seasons. For example, everyone needs a few short-sleeved shirts throughout the winter season. Children need them for gym class or after school activities; we may need them to wear underneath a sweater or just to lounge around the house.
As I take the clothing from the bins from last year I make sure they are still in good shape, will still fit and are still reasonably fashionable. If I am unsure of the fit I add it to the "try it on" pile. Once everything is sorted into piles I make a list of what I will need to purchase, then start putting them back into the closets and dressers.
Organization
My children are 8 years old and under. Those of you who have been through this phase know that the kids think they know what is best when it comes to what to wear in the morning. I try very hard to let them choose their own clothing. The one hard and fast rule I have is... it needs to be weather appropriate and school appropriate.
To facilitate the ease of school mornings I have a few tricks I use. The items of clothing that I estimate will be worn most often are put at or near eye level with easy access. I make sure they are as colour coded as possible... arranging for the girls that the reds do not sit next to the pinks or else you end up with one clashing girl who does NOT want to change before the bus arrives. This does not guarantee you will not end up with red and pink girl walking up the bus steps but it helps to make sure it happens a lot less.
I also make sure that the good dressy clothes go on correctly sized hangers at the top of the closet hanging system. This makes it a lot more difficult for them to put on the Christmas dress from last year for gym day at school. Yes, they can (and have) pull over a chair and defiantly pull down their best clothing for an average day at school but again; it keeps it to a minimum. I also make sure the undergarments and Pajamas get their own drawer where possible so the kids remember they have pajamas instead of sleeping in the shirt and underwear they wore to school that day.
By the time I am finished, the closets and dressers are organized and fresh. All that is left to do when the brood gets home is to try on anything in the “try on” pile, decide what to do with them from there, put the storage and nostalgia bin under the stairs and lay down the law when it comes to “keeping your clothing neat, organized and logical”. Ya, that’s going to happen! I love my kids, I love my kids, I love my kids!
I know it has been a couple of months since we have had to worry about hectic school mornings. Maybe you have blocked it from your mind like a bad movie… but let’s face facts… the sequel is right around the corner.
Many of our clients tell the same story… school mornings that involve screaming, begging, pleading, crying and ultimately “missed the bus” or “late for work”.
Kids need 3 basic areas in their rooms besides sleeping space. They need a space for clothes and shoes; homework and/or computer space; and a space for toys and books. So how do you make that happen? Well- the logical choice for homework and computer space is a desk. Most people think closets and dressers for clothing and standing storage or shelving for toys and books.
The average children’s bedroom is lined wall to wall with furniture and storage in an effort to get organized. That doesn’t need to be the case anymore. Custom storage can be much more than simply a pretty place to hang your dresses. How about a desk space with shelving and cubbies, drawers and cupboards? It offers enough space to store homework and books as well as toys and a computer. This would be the place where library books are kept so you are not hunting all over the house the day they are due. This space would be home to schoolbooks so the kids are not hunting for that math book as the bus pulls up to the driveway.
How about the kid’s wardrobes? Imagine a custom closet space that allows for easy access to clothing and shoes. No more “where are my favourite jeans” only to head upstairs and find them at the bottom of the pyjama drawer. These closet systems are designed around your kid’s habits… their strengths and weaknesses; and taking time and effort into consideration… things kids these days have typically in short supply.
So- what do we end up with at the end of the day? Two pieces of furniture – one of which is in the closet. Can you imagine the floor space? Can you imagine leaving the toy storage unit at the curb? How about never having to hold your daughter’s hand through clothing selection again?
It almost makes school mornings seem easy… doesn’t it?
