4 Dumb Mistakes to Avoid When Designing a Custom Closet System

Closet design mistake #1 – You have dead space above the top shelf

If you asked me the #1 mistake I see in ‘so-called’ custom closets, it’s dead space above the top shelf. I’ve seen this mistake repeated even in million-dollar homes. When I see top shelves 24” or more from the ceiling of the closet you’ll undoubtedly experience dead space. Sure, you can put boxes up there and folded clothes, but once you get beyond 12” of stackable materials – piles start to lean or are hard to access. There is a simple fix for this.

Solution to closet design mistake #1

It’s best to design the top shelf 12” from the ceiling. This will give you enough space for suitcases, a moderate sized stack of clothing or shoe boxes. 

Closet design mistake #2 – Your builder or remodeler doesn’t use an adjustable system

If you walk into a closet system made of wood, or multi-density fiberboard (MDF) which is painted, and they have a mix of shelves and double hanging space you may think (at first) – this will work fine. However, what you may not consider is the fact that you’re 5’2” tall and your husband is 6’1”. You may not think about where you’re going to put your longer dresses. You may not know (yet) your husband suit coats are going to be curled at the bottom.

You not only have your own unique mix of clothing, but this mix can/will change over time. Can you relate to working in suits and dresses early in your career and now ‘Casual Fridays’ are every day?

Styles change. Your closet (and clothing) needs to change with them.

If your closet rods are at all one level (and can’t be move) your custom closet (no matter how sharp it looks) isn’t ready for the prime-time (or the long-term). Here’s the easy fix.

Solution to closet design mistake #2

It won’t take a brain surgeon (or an astrophysicist – if I can even spell that) to solve this problem. Make sure your custom closet system has side support rails with ‘increment’ holes. These are tiny holes on the side allow you to adjust rods, shelves and drawers up and down.

They make a ‘flexible’ vs. fixed closet.

Closet design mistake #3 – Your shelves aren’t deep enough

This is a ‘hidden’ problem many people don’t see unless they compare their closet to a professionally designed unit.

The problem is your shelves are too shallow.

Since it’s cheapest to make 12” shelving some closet manufacturers only use this system. It’s simple for them. The manufacturers take a 4’ wood or laminate board and cuts it into 4 equal pieces. Or to really drive costs down they use cheap 12” deep wire shelves which leave their ‘lovely’ (sarcasm intended) lines along the bottom of your favorite sweaters.

While 12” shelving will work OK if you have small shoes, when you stack bigger t-shirts and longer shoes your things will hang out.

When things hang over the edge, they look sloppy.

Solution to closet design mistake #3

The fix for this problem is a breeze. Use 14” (or deeper shelving). It’s not hard to find 14” deep shelving from custom closet companies. Companies knee-deep in this niche know 12” shelves work poorly. The companies who do skimp with 12” shelving save 14% on materials (many rarely tell customers they are doing this – so their bid seems lower). Don’t get fooled again (as The Who would say). Use shelving which is the right depth.

Closet design mistake #4 – Getting dressed in a closet which is darker than you’d like

The idea of a custom closet which is as well light as the shoe department at Nordstrom’s sounds cool in theory, but there’s 2 reasons this likely won’t make sense for you:

• You may have no electrical outlets in your walk-in closet.
• You don’t have the bucks to spend like Nordstrom’s

Although it may not be practical to have a ‘Nordstrum-esque’ closet, getting ready in a window-less closet with your husband who is colorblind isn’t easy for either of you.

Although you don’t want to spend a ton of money with a custom lighting system, there are options to brighten up and improve functionality. See below.

Solution to closet design mistake #4

The simple – cost-effective – solution to your lighting problem is to use rechargeable LED motion-activated lights. These units cost about $65 installed and will make dark spots light again.

Fuente:   InnovateHomeOrg

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