Monday, March 9, 2015

45 A Coat Closet Makeover... Again...

There is nothing normal when it comes to our coat closet.  The location is odd and it tends to change roles and evolve as our family grows, yet it has never been easy to keep visually appealing or clutter free.  So, I thought I would take one more stab at it this past weekend.


You may have spotted the coat closet in a few of the past IHeart Kitchen Reno posts.  It is located directly above our staircase, meaning we basically have half of a closet to work with.


Because we use a credenza style piece to hold our boy's backpacks and boots, and a slim shoe cabinet for our family footwear, the coat closet is exactly that; a place to store coats.  We also use it to hold some additional outerwear items, extra cleaning rags, water bottles, sunscreen, etc...  The last time we worked on it, we used a lot of materials we already had on hand to do a free update.  For a no cost makeover, I thought I did a pretty good job!


But then we used it and seasons changed and what I didn't do well at was putting away my spring jackets when I pulled out my winter options.  And then we removed the door to pull trim and flooring for the kitchen renovation.  Funny what no door paired with a construction zone will do.  Suddenly the closet was holding more clothing than jackets, our winter jackets were instead being hung on the backs of folding chairs or tossed in our bedrooms.  And other random things that didn't have a home were being stuffed in the open alcove.  Below is a quick shot I took with my cell phone before heading out to look for new organizing options.


The baskets on the left side were clutter catchers and the shelf was beginning to bow from the lack of center support.  With the kitchen makeover, we also wanted to update this closet, hopefully once and for all.  That includes new storage and ultimately ditching the bi-fold door (those things drive me crazy anyway).

Here was the initial plan for the closet:


I love drawers because they make it easy to organize and conceal everyday clutter.  I also figured they would work much better than the flexible shoe pockets which were always overly stuffed with items.  We set off to IKEA to look for drawer options which would of course include soft close hinges.  We found an IKEA Family sale on the KOMPLEMENT system (designed to fit their PAX wardrobes).  For $17 each, we picked up six drawers, which included pre-finished white drawers and all of the drawer hardware.

IKEA also sells frames that support the drawers, however, we needed something that would custom fit our closet, so their option was completely over priced given our needs.  We headed to Home Depot and purchased two plain 8' x 16" white melamine boards.

Once we returned home, we ripped everything out of the closet, patched things up and I painted the closet with two coats of Sherwin William's Deep Sea Dive.  Don't you love cozy Saturday nights at home?

(cell phone night shot - all I had to work with)

The following evening, once the two coats of paint were dry, it came time to cut the melamine boards down to size and to fit the new IKEA drawers.


We wanted the frames for the drawers to be about the same depth, so we cut down the melamine to 14" deep.  We always recommend using painter's tape when cutting any finished material.


We had a total of 6 drawers to work with (one for each family member and another for our furry pups) and each drawer is 6 1/4" tall (6 3/4" with attached gliding brackets).  To allow a small bit of space between for opening, we spaced each drawer 7" apart.


The bottom of each rail was installed in 7" intervals, measuring and pre-drilling before attaching each rail with the provided drawer hardware.


The holes were also measure to ensure the face of each drawer would remain flush with the edges of the frame boards.


Once the rails were attached, we placed the boards inside of the closet to determine installation placement.  We both decided that keeping the unit centered seemed to really chop up the hanging area, and keeping it aligned right flush with the wall made for better use of the space.


To be sure everything was nice and secure, we screwed the side board of the drawers into wall studs.  We then added the drawers and affixed the top shelf by screwing down into the center of the vertical boards.  Oh!  And we installed a bit of our new kitchen flooring (sneak peek alert!) as well as some new white trim.


No more sagging top shelf!  And I loved the drama of the deep sea blue paired with the pretty white trim and new closet system!  In fact, I have been itching to bring in a bit of deep hued drama to play with all of the white and light happening in the rest of the space.

Although I didn't want to compltely split the closet with the drawer unit, I was a little nervous about accessibly of the drawers being installed so far to the right of the closet.  However, when pulled out as far as the rails allow, everything really worked out beautifully.  Once the new closet door is installed, because we are not doing bi-folds again, we still should have no issue getting at the contents of the drawers.


Next step was to add back the hangers and label each drawer.  I also swapped out the baskets with our pretty white laced options (truly one of my most favorite basket purchases ever).


This time, I decided to only add the same number of hangers as jackets we want to store within the closet; one hanger for each family member.  We have never used the closet for hanging guest jackets as they are typically hung on hooks near our front door or in a spare closet in our guest bedroom for larger gatherings.  This truly is all the hanging space we should need. 


The label holders are the adhesive Martha Stewart bookplates from Staples.  I am on my last bunch of previously stashed purchases and the tears are flowing because they have since been discontinued.  Staples and Martha, if you are listening, "For the love of all things pretty and organized, please bring back the bookplates!!"


The drawers are labeled by family member in order of our height to make sure everything is as easy to get at as possible.  Pets on the top and our youngest son's items at the bottom.  And just like the kitchen cabinets and drawers, these are soft closing, making them even more of a win in the name of the storage game.

Delightful before and after?  Why of course!


This is about the 26th makeover the closet has received, so if this doesn't work out, I may have to go into hiding...  And I still have to organize the drawers, but I have a pretty little plan up my sleeves for those, so stay tuned!

45 comments:

  1. I love it Jen! The drawers, the color, the new flooring! It's perfect and sure to keep everything organized!

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  2. Wow!! What an amazing closet redo!! I need you to come and redo our tiny apartment to give us more space ;)

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  3. I have never seen a half-closet like that but it looks great! I love the labeled drawers. This makes me want to re-do our coat closet (which looks like your before pic). Thanks for sharing!

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  4. I love that you're not afraid to totally overhaul a project over and over again. You looked at what didn't work and what we needed and created the exact space to fit those needs! Great post.

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  5. Can you share more about those pretty lace baskets? Where did you get them? Thank you!

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    1. Hello,

      I purchased the lace baskets about four years ago from the Container Store. I thought they were pricey at $25 each then, but now can only find them for $75 - $100 each. *yikes*

      They are called the Carrie Bicycle Basket if you are looking for additional info.

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  6. I always enjoy your blog posts. Your closet looks amazing. I need to tackle ours soon too.

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  7. What a great closet transformation. IKEA to the win again!
    So instead of the bi-fold doors, are you going to install something else....a fabulous barn door perhaps? ;-)

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    1. We considered some sort of a sliding option, but have to talk to an HVAC professional first as we may have duct work/vents in the way. If that doesn't work out, we have a couple other ideas up our sleeves. :) xo!

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  8. Can you talk more about how to cut melamine? We recently cut some for shelves, but it was chipping left and right. Is the painter's tape all it takes? Thanks!

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    1. Sure! The painter's tape really helps tremendously, but you may still see some minor chipping. We have also found that the sharper/newer/better the blade, the cleaner the cuts.

      xoxo!

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  9. It makes me feel happier to know that I'm not the only one who has to reorganize the same space repeatedly. Love the result and the paint color. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. I love the update! The blue is a perfect choice against the white cabinets. And I couldn't agree more... we need more gold bookplates, Martha!!

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  11. Staples and Martha Stewart - come on! We need to start a petition to bring back the labels. My favorite part is that there is one pink coat. :)

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    1. Amen! I will sign that petition! I was almost in tears after my last trip to Staples when I realized they were phasing out the Martha Stewart line.

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  12. Fab makeover! Nice injection of drama with the colour and those lace baskets are just stunning

    http://highheelsbrownhair.blogspot.co.uk/

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  13. It looks beautiful! I think I've unsuccessfuly organized my coat closet 30 times, I can't wait to see how you organize the drawers.

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  14. I love the inspiration for using the white trim and flooring. I'm guessing they would have been leftover bits and especially with the trim, it is a small extra detail with huge feel impact. It feels like a small room now, not a closet, it's appealing enough to stand doorless IMO but of course it will make more sense to have it covered. Lovely ideas.

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  15. It looks great! But oh my goodness.....SO sad to hear about the bookplates being discontinued! No wonder I've had such a hard time finding them lately :(

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  16. Jen, I looks so beautiful! I have one question for you, are those drawers easy to open without handles? Or are you still planning to add handle hardware to them? If so, where?

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    1. Haha, just noticed my typo :) I meant to say "it looks so beautiful", meaning your closet, of course :)

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    2. Hi Irina!

      The drawers are easy enough to pull out, especially with the space between them, that we opted not to add any pulls/handles. It was handles or labels, I went with the labels. :)

      xoxo!

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  17. You have the best ideas for organizing closets! I love the way this one turned out.

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  18. Wow! It looks amazing! I can't wait to get started on my closet. You're so inspiring....

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  19. Oh my this ended up great. Our closet needs some major work too. We are about to embark on some other renovations so I want to see how well those go and if that changes my ideas for the closet. Keeping this for later!

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  20. This is lovely...love the paint color and white details together. Now I am bummed about the Martha Stewart bookplates. I just heard about them recently through your website and thought they would be awesome for some upcoming projects...and now they are discontinued?! Wah!! :-(

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  21. Looks amazing! I love the before and after. Wish my coat closet could stay as organized as yours all the time :)

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  22. It looks great, Jen! And I'm so on board with the Martha/Staples situation--bring Martha back to Staples! Maybe we should get that trending on twitter.... :)

    Visiting from LorimerLiving.Blogspot.Com
    XO, Jaclyn

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  23. Great post on a great project! I'm glad you moved the drawers to the side. Love the outcome!

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  24. I ADORE this little space...it's so hard-working!! And why is my fave pic the one of you perched in the cabinet painting?! You are so stinking cute! xo

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  25. What dimensions is your closet Jen?

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  26. Oh, to live in a climate that only requires one coat per person any given month!

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  27. Oh, thank you to make me feel good! I am at my 5th closet makeover...and I never seem to find something that works for us! And adding a baby on the next few weeks will complicate things even more :d
    Thank you for all the ideas on your blog! It helps me organize my home as a first time owner and mother!

    Catherine from Montreal

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  28. LOVE the make over, great use of such a small space! That blue is such a statement and really pops with the white. I LOVE those baskets, where are they from?!

    Great work as usual :)

    Lauren | LB Designs
    xx

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  29. This looks great! I think is my favorite version of your coat closet yet, lol! Love the drawers :)

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  30. I love the paint color, the "Ikea hack", and the fact that you are limiting your coats based on what you really need and thinking about how much stuff your putting into a space. It turned out beautifully

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  31. It's absolutely beautiful! You're beyond genius, Jen!

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  32. It's Wisconsin! I Find we need a different coat everyday. I wonder the usefulness of this plan in everyday life to only have space for one cost per family member

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    1. Hi Andrea! As you can see in the photos there is still quite a bit of space between each hanger, so I am sure we could squeeze in a few spring jackets since they are typically much slimmer (or just hang them under the winter ones for a few weeks until we completely transition).

      xo!

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  33. Oh this is just the inspiration I needed! We have the same bizarre half-closet situation over our stairs, and I can never figure out how to organize it. Thank you Thank you Thank you!

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  34. I have a question about the drawers. When looking online it says that they are 22" deep. Are the ones you got no longer available?

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    1. Hello! If you look here: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10246308/#/30246722, there should be a drop down menu that will list all of the sizes available. :) Ours are the 13 3/4" deep option.

      xo!

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