alternative closet

One more reason to love Domino magazine. This storage solution is from designer Adrienne Neff and was featured in the October 2006 issue of Domino.

I see this as a do-it-yourself project. Closet companies will charge you a lot of money for laminate shelving that you're going to be hiding behind curtains and a shade anyway. Plus, they won't hang the curtain or shade for you. I use to design for a custom closet company so I'm going to let you in on all you know in designing a closet. Here are the rules:

1. Hanging clothes require 24" of depth. In this situation the side panels next to the bed should be 24" deep so the clothes don't extend beyond it. You don't want to be pearing into the closet from your bed.

2. Folded clothes and shoes only require 12" deep shelves. Don't go deeper than 16" or you'll find you're neat stacks will turn into messy piles.

3. Double hang clothing for maximum use of space. Measure your longest shirt and build to that height (usually at least 36"). Hang pants folded over a hanger so they take up half the space. Long dresses and coats eat up a lot of space. If you must, make a taller section for them, with shelves above - make this a shared space with any long items your spouse has.
4. Put in a bottom shelf to help with keeping dust off your clothes.

5. Personally, I prefer to put shoe shelves on their own or above a section of hanging clothes. Many designers put them on the bottom, but then you're head goes into your clothing as you rummage for a shoe!

6. Drawers require some carpentry knowledge and a lot of measuring to get right. Consider integrating a few store bought drawers if need be. Check out West Elm, IKEA and The container store.

Neff used a roman shade above the bed, and suspended the curtains on a track mounted behind a 12" high valance to create a finished effect.