The Closet Planning

While I was waiting for the contractor to come over to give me an estimate I went online for some ideas on how to get a bump out for my closet on a budget. I found cantilevered additions. OMG this is PERFECT!!!

Ever heard of it before? I never had, although being in a real estate type profession I certainly know what it looks like, I just never knew the name of it. I already have a regular bump out on one side of my house that is about 2 feet deep. Regular not cantilevered.

The one I have was a good idea BUT it really is the most useless space in history right now because of the way it is laid out. It serves the purpose of having the air return on one side and a deep deep narrow dust trap of a closet on the other. Cant’t imagine it can you? Looking at it from the living room its an eye sore (this photo was taken before I had my new furniture)

On the right side of the dresser there is the air exchange for the AC unit and I hang out of season coats above it. On the left side I have a 2’x5′ closet (two rods deep) and I hang all my skinny clothes in front and the old me’s fat clothes in the deep recess (I have to keep them in case I gain weight again).

I have a real couch in my living room now that has a pullout bed and it’s heavy as sh*t so it is basically unmovable. I have to literally climb over it to get anything out of the closet, thus the dust trap status… because I am not really into gymnastics just to get a blouse. I want to eventually use that as storage space that I put a door or curtain on, throw in some rat poison and moths balls in that puppy and forget it exists until I move. WELLLLL? I need a place for my junk that I can’t part with under any circumstances even if I never even look at it in 10 years or so. Yeah I am a packrat like that. Don’t judge me.

I still have dreams of one day owning a house with a sexy closet room.

But for now I will have to settle on a 5×14 his and hers closet. I will be making the attached room my master bedroom. And maybe take the fake wall down in front of the door so I can get to the bathroom fast.

So what do I have to work with to make this bump out a reality? I already have a roof-line waiting for the addition…

The problems I see that will cost me extra money are moving the gas line and making sure there is still access to get under the house

oh and a close up of how the windows look. It will be a blessing to get rid of them!! I know they needed to be replaced but did not want to do so until I was sure what I was doing. I been living with plastic over them on the inside to calm down the draft, the ropes are broken in them so I have to use some thing to prop them up if I want to open the window and they leak air like mad but it made no sense to fix if I was possibly going to be replacing them.

On the inside here is the the wall to wall closet I made.

Here are the windows on the inside where I will be putting the doorway. Excuse the mess!! I really need more room in this joint!!

Once I put the closet outside in the bump out and I tear out this closet this room will be MUCH bigger. Ummm hmmmm this will definitely work!!

The layout is pretty simple. Here are my choices…look at the photo on the left I will have my rods like that (wood ones) but the right photo shows the general idea of a deep closet layout. Not quite walk in but 2′ deeper than a normal reach in closet. In other words FUNCTIONAL. Hopefully I will be able to store some stuff up top as well. I am going to ask them to make the ceiling height high.

Pants will have to be on gliding roll out bars. They are part of the Pax closet system at Ikea (KOMPLEMENT Pull-out pants hanger). I am doing my own Ikea hack as I am not spending thousands on a closet system when I can build my own.

Check out Driven by Decor’s closet (two of my photos come from her site…I hope she doesn’t mind)

My pole racks have to be solid wood or metal as I am not into wire shelves at all. I had someone build these for me before and they held up really well

One end needs to have a full length mirror and the back wall should have rails for my stilettos. Flats and boots will go on shelves or racks or something.