This year my list of New Year resolutions included getting my home organized. With all of the renovations taking place, I have had to empty out each area of my home, giving me a great opportunity to organize a space as it is renovated and re-organize it as I go.

Today we are so honored to combine our blog with top design bloggers who are each giving tips on arranging their spaces! After you see my closet project, be sure to click on their links at the bottom. Get ready for some great tips on organization to inspire you for Spring cleaning!!!

Although I won’t have a closet like this, because we opted not to totally redo the space, my closet received what I like to refer to as ‘a lift’. A nip here, a tuck there, a few injections of new storage and our dressing room looks ten years younger!

Embarrassing to show—this is what the space looked like before we moved out! I had already gone through and gotten rid of clothes that I could no longer wear, hence the open areas. Although spacious, it was definitely unattractive!!!

When we originally added the closet onto our master bath twelve years ago, I called on the Houston based firm Programme Martin. They had done so many of my client’s homes and had gotten rave reviews! They have even done the closets in The White House!!  Although, at first glance, they seemed more expensive than cabinetry built on site – when you add up the carpentry, the painting of the cabinets, the design time included and the time savings in installation cost, I felt it was a wash. All I had to do was make a list of my clothes and they came up with the design. I felt they doubled the capacity in my kids smaller closets. They installed everything in one day and left my closet clean as a whistle!! But…… my closet doesn’t look like this one in their showroom!

I called on Programme Martin again for another consultation. The material of the current system is such that we never have to paint and – more importantly – we already owned it and his product still looked new!!  After taking careful stock of our clothing, they tweaked the system we already had to accommodate our changing wardrobes and added a space for purses and longer hanging garments!

I talked to owner Randy and said that I wanted my closet to be prettier. He said it was not the closet but the way I was folding, hanging and organizing it which caused the look of disarray!! This is where Hilda, a professional closet organizer, came in.

In my previous closet I used wooden and slim line hangers. I think I bought them all at Marshalls / Home Goods.  Taking the acrylic cabinet fronts into consideration, Hilda recommended I use clear plastic and metal pant hangers for a more streamlined look.

She provided them all for me but the website, Only Hangers, carries them all. I wouldn’t have chosen this route originally, but when all was said and done,  it proved to be a less cluttered look!!!

After the redo; look what a difference the hangers made!!!

Another smart use of those pants hangers? Using them to hold scarves! They look so pretty all lined up!!

Though, perhaps a bit more than you wanted to see, my favorite part is how our clothes are folded! Notice the acrylic dividers that have been added! This makes your drawers so much easier to keep neat looking. Although I bought them from Programme Martin, you can purchase them at The Container Store and many other online sites.

Source

Here is one I found online for just $19.95.

I filmed Hilda giving a demonstration of how she folds items just in case I forgot how or you’d like to do the same with yours!! T-shirts and cami’s are included as well!!! Pin this so you can view later!!

Notice how a simple folding method for clothing and organizing your closet provides everything a place, giving you more space for future growth.  On my husband’s side, a wall mounted belt rack made for a great use of a narrow corner! Another small but wonderful addition – the pull out bars on the shelf dividers that give me a place to preview outfits and hang dry cleaning! Now I know I can keep it looking pretty!

Seeing  and displaying my purses has always been an issue.  I added a purse and boot cabinet with an acrylic front to my closet so that I could easily see what I had. Hilda used plastic bags, or the cases that came with the purse, and filled them with bubble wrap. They were then inserted back into each purse, allowing them to stand up and better keep their shape. Because the stuffing is in a bag, it is easy to take out the packet and replace it when you go to put the purse back. To complete the look,  I accessorized with old mirrors and antique hat boxes from Joyce Horn Antiques

Putting boot shaper inserts into my tall boots also lent a less cluttered more organized look to the closet.  If you don’t have shelf space, there is a wide range of boot hangers available where you can hang your boots on rods.

Hanging necklaces so that they can be seen easily has also been an issue.  Seeing how well the wall mounted jewelry cases worked for my daughters, I wanted one of my own! I had gotten theirs on Rue La La, a discount shopping site, for $100.  It only comes up sometimes, so in searching the web I found one that looked similar on Hayneedle.com for $169.

As you can see there are many styles to choose from!! With not much space on my closet wall, it also doubles as a mirror to use while dressing. This combined with the Lucite hanging elements attached to my cabinets gave me plenty of space to view what I have.

Wanting to make the closet feel like it was more of a furnished room and tie it into the bedroom…

I used the fabric from the head board and the linen from the drapes to recover an existing ottoman that I had! The perfect finishing touch – a beautiful black and gold tray from The Longoria Collection! The carpeting I chose is Dixie Home in Genteel from The Great Rug Company and it is super soft and was very reasonably priced!

Source

In order to add a stencil to the walls, a look I love for closets, I would have had to remove and reinstall all the built-ins that were currently there. This translated into way more time and money than I was willing to spend. Instead I opted to enhance the ceiling with a design.

Well, I am thrilled at the way the closet turned out!! I can now see what I have easily and I feel like it is a true extension of my master suite!To view some beautiful closets, check out my Pinterest board here! Thank you to all the talented designer participants below who have shared their own tips and tricks on organizing their spaces. Follow the links below to view each of their makeovers and considering following their wonderful blogs – they are some of my favs!!!

Mary Ann Pickett at Classic Casual Home

Kristy Woodson Harvey at  Design Chic

Tina at The Enchanted Home

Sandy Lucas & Sarah Eilers at L|E Journal

Kelley Motshenbacher at The Polished Pebble

Mona Thompson at Providence Design

Taylor Greenwalt at TG Interiors

If you are close to Dallas don’t forget I will be at  Aidan Gray’s home store, Gray Living, in McKinney, Texas on March 5^th from 6-8pm!! Hope to see you there and happy organizing!!