I don’t know about you, but I LOVE a good checklist. The feeling of being able to check something off especially when it’s a dreaded project that you’ve been putting off… it’s just so gratifying to know it’s done and you don’t have to think about it anymore.
Our little house in town has two closets in the master bedroom. The first one I tackled as soon as we moved in. The second closet though, was a bit of an awkward one and I really had to think about how best to use the space to fit in with the overall look I was going for throughout the house.
Besides the fact that the whole closet was covered with wallpaper {and carpeted too, but we pulled that out immediately after moving in} the space felt very cramped. And I wanted to fix that… but how? That was the question I wrestled with for months. How do you make a space look and feel bigger than it actually is?
How do you open up a room when you’ve only got a 4′ x 4′ space to work with?
Besides getting rid of the old carpet and wallpaper, I felt like the plastic shelving in the room needed to go as well. The house is nearly 100 years old, and so at some point someone attached a set of plastic shelving racks into the window trim… which looked totally awkward to me. So I had the HH removed them.
Don’t get me wrong, storage space is key when you have a house that’s a bit on the smaller side, but to me, getting rid of the protruding shelving was necessary to opening up the space.
And so was getting rid of the wallpaper.
This time though, the wallpaper came off in giant sheets. I lucked out.
The light fixture also needed to be updated.
But rather than buy something new, I just updated it with my favorite metallic spray paint.
I’ve done this in multiple houses and I’ve always been happy with the results {and the money saved too!}.
After I painted the walls and updated the fixture I scrounged around in the garage and found some extra wood bits in the rafters and had the HH install them for me.
I painted those boards as well and then installed some hooks I found online that would tie in with the overall look I was going for.
And then I had the HH install a matching curtain rod and I hung the same light filtering curtains up that we have in our bedroom.
And this is the end result.
Freshly painted walls, trim {and the ceiling too!}, an updated light fixture, window coverings that bring in light, and a few custom hook racks for coats and other needful things.
Plain and simple, clean and crisp, just the way I like it.
It sure feels good to have another project checked off my list. 😉
Keep calm and STAY BUSY everyone. Have a great day.
~Mavis
Stacey says
Your closet looks beautiful!
Margaret Hudgins says
SURE IS; MINE WOULD BE STUFFED FULL OF NONSENSE AND A MESS ALREADY.
Kim says
What a vast difference !!!! Lots of things about our homes can be improved with a good cleaning, some purging and paint. Great example for us all! Nice job. As always, thank you for taking us along for the ride……..
Kari says
I love it!
Deborah says
Where is the closet located? Is it a coat closet? It looks so good after you finished with it. Y’all do good work. You could flip houses for a living.
Brianna says
It looks amazing! My biggest room dilemma I have been pondering for 3 years is our entryway. I have painted it two years ago and just ordered a new front door as the previous owners drilled stuff into it and with the winters it swells and the core is compromised. It was expensive! I have no coat closet and we are a family of 5 who takes coats, shoes, backpacks, and winter gear off in the entry. It drives me crazy trying think of what to do with the awkward space. I think your closet might be my solution. A series of simple hooks on multiple walls because I have 3 doorways with 32” walls between them. I didn’t think so many hooks could look so uncluttered, but it does the way you did it. Great job!
Mel says
I hear you. We have a similar problem, except we only have about 36″ of wall total, and the area is visible from the rest of the first floor, so I have to stare at any mess that piles up there. After looking at several options, I ended up combining a few things. We have low open shoe shelves (the top shelf of which holds bags), coat hooks above that, and a shelf with bins to hold gloves, sunglasses, etc. (one bin per person) above the coat hooks.
Linda Sand says
I love the new look of your closet. For me it only works for coats and we don’t own many of those but we don’t live in Maine. 🙂
Patti says
Reminds me of a nook we have in our den that is the door to the basement (where your window is). We have the same hooks on the two walls (the higher ones) and used to have an identical row about 3.5 feet between the floor and the top row. We took out the lower row when we moved in and use that space for jackets, dog leash, and walking sticks in the corner. Perfect little spot! I might have to repaint mine to spruce it up again!
JoAnn Moran says
I love the clean simplicity of the outcome. Great ideas. Does the closet have a door! Is it always open?
A. says
Wow! It looks so good!
Linda Practical Parsimony says
A constant source of light in a closet will lead to faded items. The makeover looks great.
jessica says
Such a tiny space to have such a large window isn’t it? Love the new look vs the patterned shelved look!
Kari says
Did you order the drapery rod on Amazon, as well? If so, can you share the link?
Mavis Butterfield says
The rod came from Target. Chelsea Standard Decorative Window Curtain Rod – Kenney