Tips for Reconfiguring a Closet

We have now reconfigured all three closets in our family bedrooms—our own and our two daughters. It’s one of the BEST DIY projects almost anyone with basic woodworking skills can do. I know there are so many fancy closet systems out there, and I would totally do one of those if I had a walk-in closet.

But for our standard-size closets, I found it easier to do it the DIY way by moving things around and adding shelves. Each one needed to be a bit different due to our storage needs.

I’ll start off with Marigold’s since it’s the newest!

For Marigold’s closet, I decided to keep the one long closet bar. It was repainted gold using Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer, the Metallic Stops Rust in Rose Gold, and the Crystal Clear Enamel finish.

We had some wallpaper left over from her wall, that we used in here as well. You can see here that the shelves up top are the same, but we added more shelving to the bottom. This is a super easy way to update a kid’s closet. They always have so much wasted space.

We used the cheapest white dresser from Target and added shelves to the sides of it to give it a built-in look. We also added vintage hardware, which I purchased from eBay.

I am a BIG fan of having more drawers in a kiddo’s closet. Even though both our girls have dressers, there are just SO many little things to organize—especially when they are still in diapers. These drawers are very helpful!

Look at how much more custom and useful this closet is now! And if, for some reason, the next owner of this home didn’t want these bottom shelves, they are easy enough to remove.

Next up, Nova’s closet. This one has a bit more of an elaborate design. It’s also a wider closet, so that makes a difference. I wanted a lot of little shelves for her sunglasses, which had been useful.

They could also be used for shoes. The one thing I like better about Nova’s design is the bottom clothing rack, because I put all her coats and sweaters down there. It keeps it organized.

Again, these are custom built. I know some people think we should post a DIY, but unless you had the exact same closet and the same storage needs, that wouldn’t necessarily be helpful. Anyone who can build a shelf can build a set up like this. I do recommend buying the drawers though, it saves a lot of time!

For my closet, I have a double closet, which is awesome (Jeremy has his own too, we just happen to have three small closets in this home). Before we did anything, the smaller one had two bars (for tops and skirts/jeans, I assume) and the larger one had one high bar (for dresses), which was too low.

So many of my dresses and jumpsuits dragged on the ground.

I thought long and hard about my priorities and how I wanted to best store what I owned. I decided to make the small closet a floor-to-ceiling shoe closet. It holds all my shoes and is the perfect amount of space for me! I did have to cut down my collection to fit them all in initially, but I really needed to do that anyway.

In the larger closet, we made half for long dresses and jumpsuits (and it’s higher now so nothing touches the ground) and half for tops, skirts and pants. It’s not a huge closet, but again it’s absolutely perfect for the amount of clothing I want to own.

I don’t consider myself a minimalist per se, but I do find SO much value in keeping a tightly edited closet with only items I am excited to wear and that fit and flatter my body. xx – Elsie

Looking for more closet organization tips? Be sure to check out our guide for organizing your home (room by room).

Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Photography: Amber Ulmer. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.