Note: Discover tips and tricks for small closets — or no closets at all! — via the e-reader and hardback versions of my book, Small Space Style: Because You Don’t Need to Live Large to Live Beautifully.
Our last home had a single closet, which we all shared once our first child aged out of his closet nook nursery. When designing our new cottage, we knew we wanted more closet space since we’re now a family of four, but not that much more closet space. We’ve found that setting firm spacial parameters help us keep our belongings pared down and our essentials in check.
The kids share a slim, adaptable kitchen pantry turned wardrobe— details here. An impromptu hallway coat closet — established with the help of a simple wooden dowel and a linen flat sheet repurposed into a curtain (visible through the smaller doorway here) — contains everyone’s coats. So Adam and I used the space on either side of our built-in headboard to create 28” custom wardrobes for each of us, providing us with much more space per person than we’re used to.
Pictured: A thrifted basket with a baguette scarf from Maison Miette.
Usually I find that moving — or even returning home from a long trip — is such a wonderful opportunity to assess clothing and decide what is truly needed versus what is not.
Above: Steamline luggage made of renewable & sustainably sourced rattan for both travel & decor. Through April 20, 2023 use sale code SPRING 15 for 15% off sitewide at Steamline.
But we were in such a hurry to move into our new home (after 5 months of design + 5 months of permitting + nearly a year of construction — half a year longer than estimated), that we didn’t carefully finish our closets or sort our clothing before shoving it into place. We just tossed everything from the moving boxes pell-mell into the closets, using generic storage solutions that didn’t fit our specific needs.
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As such, I dreaded opening those doors every day, knowing that items would topple out, and that it might take me several minutes to find what I needed. Admittedly, Adam had an easier time with this, as he has fewer garments and types of clothing.
We took the recent change of seasons and the need to swap out sweaters for swimsuits as an excuse to finally finish this project.
Above: The unfinished backs of the wardrobe doors,
As the inside of the wardrobe doors were completely unfinished and showed measurement markings, we decided that they first needed some dressing up themselves.
We used Rebel Walls paper for the kids’ bedroom mural, and loved how it turned out. So we opted for wallpaper again, rather than just paint. We chose a peel + stick format (in Song Tree Pearl) from Rebel Walls.
The application was straightforward, and the paper is forgiving in instances when repositioning is needed.
Above: Peel & stick wallpaper from Rebel Walls
Here are some of the eco-minded reasons we picked a mural from Rebel Walls:
They offer a customized product, keeping no stock of wallpaper that risks being discarded.
Their wallpapers are printed on Non-woven FSC Certified paper.
Rebel Walls uses printing technology, that is 100% pure from solvents and other harmful substances. The wallpapers are completely free from damaging VOC substances, and have no negative impact on people, animals or nature.
The raw material is transported to Rebel Walls in large quantities in order to need as few deliveries as possible— currently just 2 times a year.
Rebel Walls produces very little waste, but the waste they do get is recycled locally.
Of all the changes we made to the closets, the wallpaper is certainly the most impactful. It elevates the room, while corresponding nicely with the lime paint and reclaimed wood used on the bed, ledge, side tables, and floors.
Instead of continuing to employ most of the stiff bins (which we repurposed beneath the kids’ bed for books), I once again used my old favorite, flexible and roomy jute baskets from Will & Atlas. The jute bins hold skirts and undergarments. Off-season clothing has, for now, been relocated to a harder to reach area at the foot of the built-in.
A thrifted wooden stepladder that we use throughout the cottage helps me reach the bathing suits and workout gear in the upper portion of the wardrobe.
Above: Work in progress, as we had wallpaper seams left to trim with a boxcutter— an easy task that requires mere seconds.
The wardrobe doors have burnished unlacquered brass knobs and corresponding backplates.
To maximize space on the dowel, we mainly use slim, metal top + velvet / no-slip coated hangers made with at least 80% recycled PET. We also have a few handmedown and thrifted wooden and specialty hangers. Some hold more than one article of clothing, which helps us fit more garments without needing more hangers.
On one interior wall, I’ve added two basic jewelry hangers, allowing me to keep my accessories by my clothing, without requiring extra surface space for a bulky organizer.
A couple of multi-use scarves made from deadstock fabric from Late Sunday Afternoon flank either side of the interior, suspended from loops of jute for easy access.
While a home is almost ever rarely fully finished — needs evolve, tastes shift, and environments change — we certainly feel more settled now that we were finally able to approach this key component of our cottage with intention and care.
