Any organization obsessers out there, Cakies? Wait, aren’t we all at this point?! I wanted to pop in today to share something that I am 100% positive helps with marital harmony… a fully and freshly organized master closet build out from California Closets. *sighs with relief* I didn’t know something could spark THIS much joy in my daily life! And for the record we have been very happily married for 10 years without said amazing closet situation, but people, this can’t hurt.
Hi! Kristina here. A little backstory on our house, before I delve into the closet deets. We bought and remodeled our house five years ago, but not surprisingly we ran out of money and had never gotten around to properly building out our master closet. (Wait until you see the before photos.) So you can imagine how elated I was when California Closets suggested that we work together to finish this part of our house. Considering they are the créme de la créme of closet design, it goes without saying that I jumped at the chance.
I was paired with a designer in my area, Chloe O’Keefe, who in addition to having great ideas for how to maximize our space, was kind and professional and didn’t mind working through designs with my three kids running around after school. (Thanks for that Chloe!)
Initially I’d imagined putting our dressers together on one side of the closet to make one large surface for our computers and phones and such, but we quickly realized that for the sake of marital harmony, keeping our stuff separate made waaaay more sense. Anyone else have a different philosophy on organization than your significant other?
It’s a true walk-in closet, galley style, so not the easiest to photograph (thank you Marisa for working your magic!), but you get the picture. You want to see the before, right? So embarrassing! It’s amazing what you can get used to.
This space used to be the most stressful part of our entire house for me. I kept the door closed, shoved things in the corners, and pretended it didn’t exist. But now…
BLISS. Seriously. I hide in here! I would sleep in here! It’s so organized and quiet and kid-free.
One thing that was really important to us was making space for our computers and phones in the closet, in order to keep the screens out of our main family living space. I hired an electrician to run new electrical to our proposed dressers so that we could have USB outlets available for all things needing to be charged. Which now keeps all technology out of our bedroom and out of our living space. It was one of the best things we’ve done for keep work time separate from family time. Totally worth the expense of the electrician and the drywall repair and me spending two days repainting our whole closet… which has 11 foot ceilings on one side. Didn’t exactly think that one through until I was halfway through painting!
And because our closet has vaulted ceilings, we were able to maximize all of the upper space that used to be completely unused. Those super high bins above hold luggage and other things we don’t use regularly. The mid-height bins hold my cameras and lenses (soooo nice to have a proper home for that stuff!), my purses and small bags, and honestly I don’t know what my husband stores in his, but more importantly, we don’t have to look at any of it! It amazing what proper organization can do for your mental state.
Side note, I Kondo-ed my existing closet before the new system was installed, and WOW. Life-changer. Do it. Yes, you can actually keep up with the folding!
Thank you so much, California Closets for quite literally making my closet dreams come true! They generously split the cost of this build-out with us, which made it all the more attainable, but to be honest it would have been worth it to pay in full if we had the budget. It has legitimately brought an immense amount of satisfaction and serenity to a typically hectic family home.
Closet design by Chloe O’Keefe with California Closets.
Photos by Marisa Vitale Photography.