Transformation of a Closet

I am linking to:
Kim's Before & After Party
Thrifty Decor Chick
The Shabby Decor Chick
Vanessa's Inspiration Friday Party
Seasonal Sundays
Organize Your Stuff Now


The closet in question here is the one in our Sunroom.  When The Man enclosed & built our sunroom a couple of years ago, he added a closet.  The reason being that our house is short on storage, so anytime we've remodeled a room, we've tried to add storage if possible.  You have to understand that this room was built a couple of years prior to the re-design of our backyard & the building of the garden shed.  The Man's design of this closet was centered around storage of all my seasonal decorations which are in the large sturdy storage boxes.  He really wanted them out of his garage.  In drawing up the plan, The Man had planned floor to ceiling shelves spaced just right for the large boxes.  All good, you might say, right?  Then, enter the interrupter of all good plans, me.  I suggested how nice it would be to have a wrapping center & a place to do somewhat messy crafts.  Being the great "spoiler" of me, The Man agreed & came up with a new design of the closet.  This included a counter & a bank of drawers to hold my wrapping supplies, & good lighting.  This meant, of course, being able to store fewer seasonal boxes, so he still had a few of those in the garage.  Being the sweet & best DH ever, he didn't even complain.

As this saga moves on, The Man built a garden shed last year & designated one end for the storage of the large seasonal boxes.  These are quick pics of this area with its dust & spider webs.  Oh my!

Okay, on with this transformation.  This is the Before of a very messy closet.  I've been planning this clean-out for a while, so have just been shoving things in wherever they would fit.  Not a good idea.

This picture is the empty & clean closet.  This cleaned out version is actually happening today, because it needed some major re-arranging, and I really wanted to be in Kim's Party.

Where did all the stuff go, you might ask?  Right here!  The plan in my head & on my paper really didn't look so daunting.  Better get to work.  Just remember, one woman's trash is another's treasure!

Now this closet can be all I ever really wanted it to be, a wrapping center/messy craft area & storage for all my home decor collections.  I used to store some old toys from our children's childhood in here for the grandkids, but have found other locations for those items as well.  I do have a rolling 3-drawer cart which houses some fun things for the grandchildren & I acquiesced to keeping Abby's food in here as well.  Otherwise, I'm kind of selfish about the contents of this closet.  The small shelving unit that sits on the counter on the right-hand side holds crafting items, including a glue gun & a heat gun.  There is a rod in the middle that holds a roll of wrapping paper & is easy to switch out when I need to change rolls.

I had this old closet door mirror & thought it might make the space brighter & feel bigger.  Yep, it works.

All of my florals & botanicals are on this top shelf at the left side.  I would prefer to have them on the first shelf for easier access, but they are light-weight & easier to move than all the glass items on the first shelf.  I have to use a step-stool for both shelves.  As my DH puts it, we aren't short, we are just built closer to the ground.  HeeHee!  Ordinarily there would not be Christmas stuff in here, but I've been thrifting & collecting a few really cute items & didn't want to haul them out to the storage boxes in the shed.

On the far right, I have 2 containers.  One holds decorative plates & mirrors, & the other holds empty small frames.  I just have them standing up in these containers so it's easier to see what I have.  Also, all of the items on the far right lower shelf are candle-related, chunky candles, tealights, tapers, holders, burners, etc.  I have a small obsession!

I've tried several different arrangements in this closet & will no doubt try some more as time moves on.  It is, after all, just another place to somewhat decorate & organize so it's pretty & functional when I open the doors.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the transformation.  Actually, I hope you thought it was a transformation.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

Carol