Closet Design: One Change, Plus More Of Your Questions Answered
I had another successful workday yesterday on the walk-in closet, and things are getting more exciting with each passing day. I share another update with y’all either tomorrow or Friday. In the meantime, I made a design change to the closet that I want to share (some of you will be very happy with this one), and I also want to answer some questions that I keep getting over and over again.
First, let’s get to the design change. I had mentioned previously that I was going to use tile in the washer and dryer area just to give that area a bit of separation. Remember that pretty blue tile I found at Lowe’s?
Well, I did a mockup of the room with that tile in the washer and dryer area (and then lost it before I saved it…ugh) and then figured how much that tile would cost. It was going to be around $400 for the tile and supplies to tile that area.
But on my mockup, I tried to include everything — the cabinet paint color, the wallpaper, the tile, the light, natural wood countertops on the washer and dryer, etc. And I started to feel like I was including too many finishes in one space. And while I loved the small sample of grouted tile that I saw at Lowe’s, I didn’t really love how it appeared in this photo on the Lowe’s website.
In the small grouted sample at Lowe’s, the tile didn’t seem to have that much color variation to it, but I think once it’s applied to a larger area, it actually does have that much color variation. That’s not really the look I want.
So I weighed my other options based on my new realization that I don’t really want to add another finish to the room and make things look too chopped up. So that really left me with two options. I could either paint that area the blue of the cabinets, or I could wallpaper.
Paint seemed too boring and safe, so I decided on wallpaper. I know many of you have said it’s a shame that the wallpaper will be confined to such a small area with my plan to just put it in that one section of the middle cabinet on the right side of the room.
Well, now it’s going to be much more prominent in the room because I have ordered two more rolls so that I can put it above the washer, above the dryer, and on the window wall.
I didn’t plan on that originally because of the cost. The wallpaper is $219 per roll. But then once I figured the cost of the tile and supplies, and I realized that it wasn’t going to save me very much money to go the tile route, I decided that spending a little extra to do more wallpaper would make me happier in the end. And it would give everything a much more cohesive look without adding yet another finish to the room. I keep saying that I would drench my whole house in flowers if I could, and since this closet is pretty much my closet, this is my opportunity to get as many flowers in as possible. 😀
The downside is that the wallpaper comes from a U.K. company, and it takes them 14-21 weekdays to ship, and then once it’s shipped, it takes 5-10 days to be delivered. I don’t know why it takes so long. Maybe they don’t print it until it’s ordered. I’ll just have to be patient. But I think it’ll be worth it!
Now let me answer a few questions that I keep getting.
With the island in the middle, will Matt be able to get into this room? Where will his clothes go?
Yes, Matt will be able to get into this room. I’ve made sure that there’s three feet of space between the island and the side cabinets. BUT…he will never come into this closet. Matt doesn’t do laundry, so he has no need to access the washer and dryer. And this closet will mostly be mine.
Because of Matt’s situation, he wears only the most comfortable cotton clothes, so he has no need for hanging clothes storage. We will have a dresser in our bedroom, probably similar in size to the nine-drawer dresser that we had in our previous bedroom, and that whole dresser will be his.
And because our new bedroom will be quite a bit bigger than the previous one, I’m going to try to find (or build) a deeper dresser so that the drawers can hold more. But that whole thing will be his, and that’s all the storage he’ll need.
I can assure you that if his situation ever changes, and he actually needs hanging clothes storage, I’ll make room for his things in the walk-in closet. Matt is always my main priority, and I always make decisions based on what he needs, and I try to include him on all decision making (even when he doesn’t care 😀 ). So I’m totally flexible. But for now, a dresser is all he needs, which means the closet is pretty much just mine.
However, I will have these two cabinets flanking the walk-in closet door, and those cabinets will have doors on them.
For now (until we can convert the current guest bathroom into a storage room), those two cabinets will be used to store a lot of his non-clothing items. That’s why those will be closed cabinets. 🙂 We do need somewhere to store items for him, but they’re not items that I want to be on display. So those will go behind doors in these two cabinets.
Why don’t you put your laundry hampers next to the laundry area?
I plan to have the laundry hampers in the left section of the cabinets on the left wall of the closet.
I’ve had many people suggest that I move them to the far right section. Believe me, I did consider putting the hampers in the section right next to the dryer, but the reason I didn’t do that (and this probably won’t make sense to anyone but me) is because that section next to the dryer will be for hanging jeans, pants, and dresses.
I don’t care about the dresses so much, but I wear jeans and pants pretty much 100% of the time, so I want them easily accessible. I tried to imagine swapping that section with the section that holds the high bar and the hampers, and I didn’t like it. I don’t like the idea of the section I’ll be accessing the most being up against the cabinets flanking the doorway.
It’s the combination of the fact that those cabinets flanking the door will somewhat block freedom of movement combined with me being right-handed that made me decide against it. I don’t want my left shoulder being jammed against the door on that side cabinets while I’m reaching up with my right hand and searching for pants or jeans. I want the jeans/pants section to be as easy to access as possible since it will be the section that I access the most.
As I said, that probably won’t make sense to anyone but me, but I can assure you that I not only thought about it, but I obsessed over it. 😀 As far as the hampers go, it’s just not a big deal to me to have them a bit further away from the washer and dryer. Heck, some people keep their hampers in a totally different room, like a bedroom or bathroom, and have to trek across the house with dirty clothes to do laundry. So having them a few steps further away from the washer doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.
Do I have too many shelves? Do I have enough hanging storage? Where will all of my items be stored that I don’t want on shelves?
I tried my hardest to figure exactly how much of each storage type I’d need for what I have right now. I don’t think I have too many shelves because…well, I have a lot of shoes. Some may argue that I have too many, but I would disagree. 😀
And while my handbag game isn’t quite a strong yet, that’s because until now, I haven’t had a place to store them, so I’ve held back. 😀
But all of my items that I want stored away will be in the island. Since I’ve moved the jewelry storage to the wallpapered section on the right side of the room, I can now add more drawers to the island. Each long side of the island will have 36-inch-wide drawers. That’s the width of the drawers I have on the long wall of cabinets in the studio.
And while they won’t be as deep as the drawers in the studio (those cabinets are 24 inches deep), I’ll have six to eight of those wide drawers in the island. Plus, I’ll have three or four more drawers on the end of the island that are almost 30 inches wide and 18 inches deep. I think that will be plenty of space to store any and all items that I don’t want on shelves or on hanging bars.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
More wallpaper is a great idea, what an elegant lovely room you will enjoy. It is always evident Matt is your top consideration. Your videos are a treat and what a soft sweet voice you have. I have long thought you have to have “thick” skin in your response to comments at times. You appreciate helpful ideas from others and are open to considering them. I just think at times people need to remember their manners.
God’s blessing upon you and Matt.
Amen, Kathie, and beautifully said.
I completely agree Kathie! Thank you for saying it.
Hi Kristi: I love that you are extending that gorgeous wallpaper to the laundry area. It will be stunning!! Even in it’s current state, it looks great and you are making amazing progress.
I’m trying to plan storage for my closet. Your ideas are so helpful. I do not have time or the talent to build my own storage like you are doing, but I can’t wait to complete mine as well! Your shoes are amazing!
It is looking great, and I love that the wallpaper will now be more prominent. I am a big fan of paint and wallpaper, probably because we rented all 16 moves in the Army and had to return the house back to boring white. Although most of the landlords asked us to keep up the decor, they liked how it made the house look better. Our laundry hamper is a three-section wheeled cart that my husband made for me. Our home is a Cape Cod, and the master bedroom and laundry room are on the same floor, as was the plan when we retired, also, we have no thresholds throughout the house, I have mobility issues as do a lot of our guests. Our bedroom and the laundry room are on opposite sides of the house, so my loving hubby made me my rolling thunder cart. Super heavy-duty casters and out of oak that I finished, and I got the bags at Walmart. This thing rocks. The only way to travel at my age. I love your laundry room/closet, I wish we could do that with ours, but I now have a Butler’s pantry/laundry room, not a bad way to go. Keep on chugging along. It’s all coming together beautifully.
Cheers to you and Matt!
When you posted the Lowe’s tile I commented that it was pretty but when I looked at the photo of the tile on a wall on Lowe’s website it looked splotchy. Sometimes a sample looks very different than a full wall. I suggested painting the laundry area the color of the cabinets or using the wallpaper you love. Just my opinions of course. I think you’ll be thrilled having more of that wallpaper in the laundry area. It will definitely be worth the wait!
I like the idea of more wallpaper rather than tile. To be honest I wasn’t convinced you needed to tile to separate that area visually from the rest. So yay wallpaper! I don’t think you’ll regret that decision.
Makes perfect sense to me, probably cuz I’m left handed. So, I think about that stuff.
My hamper is on casters, which I love! Think I got it from Costco. Divided canvas with a collapsable hanging bar, that I never thought I would use, but makes hanging from the dryer and putting away amazing!
I laughed reading about the hamper being not close enough to the washer. Our hampers are on a different floor, LOL.
Kristi, the closet looks great!
It just makes more sense (to me) to have the hamper near to wear things go into it rather than where things are taken out of it (washer).
wear==where
I had the same reaction, as we keep our hampers in our bedroom closets, which are all one floor above our laundry room.
Have you ever considered or seen a sawhorse setup like in this video? It’s portable and relatively lightweight.
https://youtu.be/QFxeKHO_MLk?si=xq8g4XIDky-r-Wk_
We made this as a moveable workbench and put a 2 inch purple foam board on top as a surface to saw on. Saw blades from a table saw will harmlessly bite into the top of the purple foam board if your blade adjustment is a bit too deep. It lasted us for two years rebuilding our kitchen from the studs up.
Love the wallpaper plan. Funny, my hamper is in my small walkin closet and I grab a bunch of clothes and walk the 20 steps to my hallway laundry room. So simple at 60y/o with health issues.
I think some people who aren’t “addicted to decorating” want to put function before the pretty. Whereas someone like me asks the question , how can I make this work, still look pretty and be functional for my life style.
I LOVE the idea of more wallpaper!
I absolutely LOVE the idea of more wallpaper! I’m utterly obsessed with your wallpaper and thought it a shame to have such a small area for it and also covered by the mirror. Good on you for going bold!
I think that your island would look great in a darker hue of the blue of the rest of the cupboard, if you haven’t already considered the option. It would give a slight interest but not detract from the wallpaper and any other statement pieces of the room.
I think this is a nice idea Nick.
The other advantage of having your hanging clothes right next to the dryer is you will be able to remove them from the dryer, grab a hanger, and immediately hang them up while taking maybe one step. Talk about convenience! I’d choose that over closer hampers ANY DAY.
This!
I love the wallpaper idea. Good for you. I like what you have planned for the rest of the build-out. You are a fabulous designer and a fantastic builder.
Have a good rest of the week.
I don’t think you have too many shelves, but I do think having them be flat for shoes will make things more difficult and inaccessible. I’d put them on an incline, all of them, and add a strip of quarter round running across the middle of each to serve as a stop for the back row of shoes.
I did a poll on my Facebook page, and about 90% said they preferred flat shelves for shoes. I was shocked that it wasn’t more evenly split, but I went with it.
I liked somebody’s idea about painting the island a different color than the closet to set it off, but I’m still stuck on an aqua/teal green for doing that. Please consider that!!
You are an amazing designer. Your focus on details blows me away. I get so many ideas from you, but I love that you get so many ideas from your readers! I call you “my favorite blogger” and quote you continually to family and friends. 😁 Thanks for sharing a ridiculous amount of your life and thought processes with your fans. And huge thanks for putting in the work on an awesome marriage. You two are a fabulous example of love and respect for each other. …And this closet is going to be AMAZING. 😮