organization

Space planning is simple once demo is complete, or so we thought . . .

Now for a problem solving exercise:

Square shaped room (almost) with three interior doors (bathroom, hall and bedroom), one exterior (access to area above screened in porch) and two windows. Hmm. Conventional closet solutions make use of small, well defined areas with lots of wall space. Not exactly the Branchville 1923 scenario.

The original plan was to use cabinetry similar to that from the mudroom renovation. The possibilities were gorgeous and endless, but created a space more specific and costly than desired. After extensive internet elimination (the hours of internet searching only to eliminate possibilities, not resulting in solutions), I stumbled upon a local expert to help.

Closet Factory, a national company, with a locally owned branch sent a designer to the rescue. While the company primarily works with modern materials (melamine, etc.), their local craftsman were willing to create a solid wood alternative in order to achieve our main goal, a modern functional space with the look and feel of an original feature.

The proposed plans:

Next: A colorful dilemma.

For some it’s January, but with school aged kiddos, the Fall signals the start of a new year and time for a fresh start. What began as a simple closet clean out became a construction project- less than efficient master bedroom closet be gone!

The master is divided into two almost identical sized rooms. One a bedroom, the second a “closet” or as I like to refer to it, dressing room (sounds much more 1920’s). This dressing room also serves as the pass through to the bathroom. With every project, our goal is to maintain the integrity of the home’s original craftsmanship. As such, anything we do needs to be relevant to the year of construction (evidenced by our painstaking window restoration last year). As a result, we will likely never reconfigure the space to include a spa like master bath, the existing one is redone and sufficient. So why not make the closet something fabulous?

The original state.

First day closet pics. First step was carpet removal, floor refinishing and painting.

Initially we removed the mirrored closet doors, vanity and painted the space.

This weekend we emptied the space of its contents (lots and lots to donate) and kept only what we use. Then a call to our favorite contractor, and in less than one day all existing closet components and walls were removed. The result, a blank slate.