Dan's fall and winter project is to finish the front room. Originally a bedroom, I set up my big floor room in it and am now using it as a weaving room. Or at least I will be when all the remodeling is done! There are several things that need finishing in this room: the walls where he replaced the original windows, the back of the masonry stove, and the closet. He starting with the closet.
The first step was to tear out the remaining closet wall.
What's immediately curious is that paint job. Why would they only paint it green part way up? Probably because that was a high as they could reach.
Our ceilings are high at 8'10." The original closest door measured 72" in height (standard door height is 80"). The closet shelf was at installed at 64." Include the door molding and this configuration only allowed 7 inches between the shelf and the top of the door for shelf access.
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| You can see more photos including the original room layout here. |
The other problem with this closest is that the original interior depth was only 17.5 inches. That's barely wide enough for a clothes hanger! By tearing out the wall, we gained 4 extra inches in depth. You can see the difference in this next photo looking up into the closet ceiling.
The original closet interior is painted white. The unpainted part is where the wall used to be. The 2x6 is where the new closet exterior will be.
The next step was to cover the exposed bricks on the lefthand wall.
I missed getting a photo, but before he put up the plywood, Dan added a thick piece of ceramic fiber blanket to insulate the wall, the same stuff that he used to insulate the masonry stove core. Because it's just the inside of the closet, he used plywood instead of trying to match the tongue-and-groove.
The plan is to install standard hollow core bypass doors, with a shelf over top to give me access to the additional storage space, similar to what Dan did in our bedroom.
In the bedroom closet, Dan built shelves. He asked me to figure out what I want to do with this closet, so I've had to think about how the space will be used. What I really need is storage space for my totes and boxes, not a clothes closet. Considering that the room could still be used as a bedroom, however, I don't know that it would be wise to put the whole closet in shelves. At the moment, I'm considering some stand-alone wire shelf units, something like these. One on either end of the closet.
So those are our tentative plans. Next step is paint those walls.
27 comments:
I found that we only needed about 24 inches of hanging space per person in our closets. (I don't believe in owning more clothing than you need from one laundry day to the next.) I used the rest of the space for storage of toys, sports equipment, and crafts.
I've found a number of closets painted different colors on top and it wasn't due to the height of the painter but rather what you showed in another picture, the 7" difference between the upper shelf and the top of the door frame. It makes it kind of hard to paint without removing the shelf and people are lazy to do things like that when painting.
I've owned a couple of those linked shelves over the years and as far as shelves go, they are some of the better quality ones and hold up well, or at least the versions I had 30 years ago did. I think they would be a great compromise and would allow a future occupant to easily remove them and redo add shelves in the closet tailored to their use.
Judy, you've got me beat on that and I reckon I own far fewer clothes than most people. :)
Ed, that's interesting. It seems ideas about construction were quite different a long time ago. In that closet, the shelf was quite securely nailed in place and I'm not sure Dan could have gotten it out without removing the wall. I suppose the thought with the painting is that no one is really going to see the wall anyway, especially at the top of the closet!
This sounds like a quick and fun project. Having more storage is always a bonus. One of the first things we did when we moved into our last two houses was put in closet organizers. The space is used more efficiently and I love things tucked away behind doors or curtains.
I agree with Judy, having fewer clothes is better!
Daisy, getting the closet done first will be a real help. Currently, I have all the totes and boxes I want to store stacked up along the walls of the room. Once they have a new home in the closet, it will clear things out for finishing the walls where the new windows aren't the same size as the old.
If you put in a vertical divider, you could have a rod to hang clothes on for one side and shelves on the other. When we get to redoing our closet, I plan on doing something similar. I want a rod for long items on one side and two rods on the other to increase the space for short items like shirts. This will free up some additional space for more shelves.
Katie, that's exactly what we did in our bedroom closet. It works very well. I'm not entirely sure about this closet yet, so I'm thinking removable shelving will give me time to figure it out.
Leigh, in our current apartment we also the issue of a shelf with maybe six inches of clearance between it and the upper closet door frame. It does make things hard to get into and out of.
TB, it makes me wonder what they were thinking when they designed it.
Sounds like a worthwhile project.
Linda, it's hard to believe we've been working on renovating this place for the past 16 years and we're still not done!
Leigh, I have a similar set up with my weaving room in a bedroom with a closet & bifold doors. Like you, we wanted to keep it useful as a bedroom closet. But bifold doors never open all the way, so dh installed shelves up the walls that are behind the closet doors when open. They are useful for some coned yarn storage on one side, and for weaving tools..shuttles, etc. on the other side. The closet is wide enough that I can see and manipulate things on the shelves, but uses dead space in a way that works for me. Also useful is a ceiling light mounted in the ceiling outside the closet that shines into it...kind of spotlight like. You'll figure out what lighting would work best for you, but consider it.
Valerie, that sounds like a good solution. I've never had good luck with bifold doors either, which is why I want bypass doors. Except with bypass, you can only access half the closet at a time because the two doors cover the other half.
Lighting is a good idea too, but I don't have a solution for that yet. We have the same problem with our bedroom closets. A light inside the closet won't work, so maybe I can put some sort of floor lamp in that corner. I still have some time to figure that out!
I have run into a lot of closet remodels that involve me swearing as I try to get those two boards off the wall without destroying the drywall! Whomever decides to remodel one of my closets will be in for a treat as they can easily remove everything and they are painted all the way up to the ceiling!
How about a small solar light one with a stretch of cord to place the panel in the window or maybe a battery operated one that is rechargeable like a camping light.
Ed, that's the way to do it!
Mr. O, I really like our solar lights. The camping one might be a possibility. I'll just have to see how it turns out and what kind of light I need.
I wonder if you even need closet doors? A lot of weaving supplies would probably make a pretty display. I’ve also covered cardboard bankers’ boxes in fabric to store things I don’t want to displayed. Adjustable shelves with pegs are also nice for fitting different things in. But whatever suits your style will be best!
Anon, trying to figure out my style is the challenge. :) No doors is an idea, although not one I'm sure about. Curtains is a possibility too. Although Dan is talking about making them now.
I tend to leave closet doors open, because I find it easier, but that’s probably just me :) Storage solutions are so individual!
It probably depends on what the closet is used for. In the bedroom, I tend to leave the closet doors open more often because things are in and out on a daily basis. But when they get disorganized and I don't want to look at the mess, I close the doors!
For now, the front room closet will be used to store totes of spinning fiber and knitting & weaving yarns. Since I'm less likely to be accessing the totes often, I'll be more likely to keep the door closed to protect everything from dust.
remodling can be exciting but then again, it is a lot of work. Best of luck
I like the no doors maybe curtains then you could change up the vibe of the room depending on the season.
Pam, we've been working on remodeling this old house for the past 16 years and we still aren't done! :o
Mr. O, Dan suggested I weave something. I said I'd think about it!
Great plans Leigh. The closet paint job reminds me of what I discovered after my chimney guy installed the new wood stove...they only painted the floor AROUND the old wood stove lol...so there are some color differences...for me I don't really care because the dogs have pretty much destroyed it at this point anyway. I noticed the same thing when I first moved the stove away from the wall to vacuum. The previous owners only painted the wall around the stove....(???) Funny.
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