The Closet is Finished!

Maybe I should start calling it a dressing room? Sounds way fancier.

I reached out to Ballard Designs and they provided several pieces from their Sarah storage collection. The 14″ depth works well for our closet, I love the details along the top and bottom, and the three units I chose fit perfectly along the wall. Tops go on the top, bottoms go along the bottom. Pretty straight-forward, though I did have to get new hangers so that my skirts wouldn’t hang too low.

We started here, remember. Wall-to-wall carpet concealing some major floor damage and subfloor structural issues.

This is a long post. Brace yourselves, let’s keep going!

The carpet was ripped out and replaced with hardwood flooring, and then I figured, hey let’s just go all out on this and totally redo everything. I made a 3D model when I was planning the layout. It’s an odd space with two doors, a curved wall, a window, a radiator, and a sink.

My photos are showing a lot of details and angles that make it look like I’ve taken over the entire closet, but it is a shared space. Maybe a 60/40 split? As far as main clothing storage goes, I need more hanging space and Brandon needed more space for t-shirts, so the shelves behind the mirrored door are all his.

The mirror opens toward the closet doorway so that we can angle it to see ourselves from farther back, rather than having to stand right in front of it, and inside are the shelves with Brandon’s shirts, shoes, and ties. He’s got a really good collection of ties.

My purses go along the top, next to a couple of linen boxes that are gloriously empty. I’m sure we will fill them in due time.

On the opposite wall, I have a garment rack with all of my dresses and long skirts. It was a local find from Yearbook a while back. It tipped over and I had considered replacing it, but I was able to fix it (hooray!). I went with a garment rack because I can pull it forward slightly to make room for the curve of the wall behind it. I have room to put my boots behind it, and I can put shoes on and below its wooden base, too.

The prettiest shoes get prime placement even if I don’t wear them as often as my more practical footwear, just because I like seeing them there.

To keep the rack from tipping again, I’ve anchored it to a wall stud with heavy-duty mirror hanging hardware. You can’t even see the wire unless you are specifically looking for it.

Next to the garment rack, I have shoe storage. My shoes used to hang on the back of the closet door before, on a rack like this that left indentations on each pair and that would occasionally fall of the wall. I hated that thing! This is far better, and nicer to look at too.

I have a brass tray, also from Ballard, above. I cut a piece of felt with pinking shears to prevent the tray from scratching the top of the shoe cabinet, and inside I keep a few girly things. Perfume, barrettes in a pretty container, a magnifying mirror, and flowers. Fake flowers, because I like seeing them there, but realistically I’m not about to buy a fresh bunch every week for my closet. These silk peonies are expensive, but I rationalized the purchase, figuring it’s about five weeks’ worth of real ones before the price equals out.

I joke about how fancy a “dressing room” sounds as opposed to a closet, but I do get dressed in there and there is a sink. So it is more than your average coset — maybe that actually would be a more accurate term? We have a bathroom on the second floor for all of us to share, but this sink is mine all mine. Brandon is more than welcome to use it, but he doesn’t so have indeed taken over this section.

It looked like this while I was fixing it all up, so I’m feeling good about this little nook. Those corners were not easy to repair!

I hung a tall, narrow mirror, small glass and brass shelf, and a new brass sconce in the sink nook. My toothbrush and toothpaste are in a pretty tumbler, I decanted mouthwash and transferred face wash into amber apothecary bottles, and I added a ridiculous soap dish. My makeup and brushes are out, split between a gold polka dot tray and another tumbler.

Below the sink, I have a trash can and an under-cabinet organizer to hold things like a hair dryer, hair products, a lint brush, and other things I may need for getting ready but that don’t look nice sitting out — all hidden behind a sink skirt that I made. I was going to add a hook for a hand towel above the sink, but the little nook is so narrow that it started to feel crowded. There are two doors in the closet (such an odd layout), and on one of them, Brandon and I hang our bath towels. I would set things up differently if this was a sink that guests (or even the kids) used, but it’s not a big deal for me to just use my bath towel that’s hanging right there when I’m washing up.

The last wall, between the two entrances to the closet, got a couple of new shelves. I used brass and iron brackets that reference the metal finishes elsewhere in the space, paired with white shelves. They hold another tray with makeup (I have a thing for lipstick), pretty brass and glass jars holding not so pretty things like cotton swabs, and a small lamp. Gifts from the kids are on display, too.

* Someone in the comments wondered why I keep a dictionary in the closet. It’s not, it’s a clutch! *

Laundry goes in a Steele canvas truck that fits perfectly next to the radiator. The wheels make it easy to scoot out of the way if we want to open that second door, but we don’t use that entrance often.

We had an antique/vintage Tibetan rug in the hallway that works well in here, and the blue tufted ottoman next to it gives us a place to sit, to throw clothes, or to stand on when reaching above the closet units.

The stool sits in front of the window, and most of the time the curtains are drawn. I can’t imagine all that light would be good for clothes — especially since ours have a lot of color to them. When I’m in the closet (dressing room?) though, I do pull the silk curtain to the side by the tie-back to let the daylight in. The sheers give just enough privacy, and they have sequins and embroidery — they’re the same ones from the living room in our old house! The only curtains we took with us when we moved.

And finally, the light. I had the junction box moved over 8″ which left us with a plate where the old one was. The electricians suggested a ceiling medallion as a solution and while I wouldn’t have put one here otherwise, I do like it a lot. I hung a fixture that had come from elsewhere in the house before swapping out for a bell jar lantern that’s a much better fit for the space.

Want to know where something came from? Ta da, sources!

1. Sarah Storage Master Closet System • c/o Ballard Designs

2. Carleton Brass Sconce with Milk Glass Shade • Rejuvenation

3. 3-Light Medium Bell Jar Foyer Pendant • Wayfair

4. Edinburgh Ceiling Medallion • Wayfair

5. Dupioni Silk Curtain • Pottery Barn

6. Threshold Lidded Milk Crates • Target

7. Antique Brass Hooks • Similar, House of Antique Hardware

8. B&W Wall Hook • Anthropologie

9. Gilded Loops Brackets • Anthropologie

10. Linen White Paint • Benjamin Moore

11. Petite Sarah Storage Shoes Towers • c/o Ballard Designs

12. Bardot Mirror • c/o Ballard Designs

13. Glass Jars • Anthropologie

14. Brass Circlet Glass Shelf • Anthropologie

15. Reclaimed Wood Garment Rack • Yearbook

16. Blush Pink Towels • CB2

17. Vintage Tibetan Rug • Other Options

18. Threshold Small Tufted Turned Leg Ottoman • Target

19. Harlow Brass Tray • c/o Ballard Designs

20. Silk Peonies • One Kings Lane

21. Canvas Laundry Cart/Truck • Steele

And there you go. The closet with the odd sink dressing room.