My "Creative" Oasis in the Desert: August 2014

Hey everyone! I hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend and are excited about it being almost September with Fall just around the corner. I certainly am, and my inside Fall decor is all finished, but you are just going to have to wait until next week to see any of it. Why? Well, I have something else to share first, and it's a reno that I am beyond thrilled with.......MY DREAM CLOSET! The Man with "the plan" did such an incredible job, and I simply cannot wait any longer to let you in for a look-see.

I just hate starting off with one of the ugly "befores," so I thought I'd first give you a little

sneaky-peek of one of the beautiful "afters."

Now for some of the "UGLIES!" I'm truly hanging my head in shame that you are having to see this.

1) I was literally breathless when I saw this closet for the first time before we bought this house! At roughly 10 x 10, it's the size of a bedroom.

2) A lot of wasted space with this builder-basic setup.

3) We knew from the get-go that this closet would get a makeover at some point, but that wasn't a priority for a couple of years.

4) We pretty much just "existed" with this space and lived in somewhat of an organized but chaotic mess!

5) Wow, cannot believe I'm showing you all of this!

6) More messes were to come as we emptied the closet for demo and had clothes & "stuff" every where else in the house.

7) Now the fun begins with The Man's well-thought out and great plan, ready to go into action!

1) The very first pieces of the closet went up, and I was literally "jumping for joy!"

2) The Man had planned for lots of lights and actually doubled the number he had originally planned for. He also ripped out the stationary shelves to make way for adjustable shelves for lots of shoes.

3) We have 10' ceilings in our house, so The Man built custom storage all the way around the perimeter of the closet, up high, for off-season clothing, suitcases and all those other things that need to be stashed away.

4) There was not one single "Do you suppose we could.....?" or "Would it be too much trouble if we.....? that I dropped on The Man that he ever said "NO" to. Case-in-point, a built-in ironing board, and ........

5) Slots for my purses. There is another one of these on the other side of the closet. I know, I am completely spoiled!

Okay people, get comfy because there are a ton of photos as I take you on this tour!

These doors will eventually be changed to a single door but no hurry on that.

The minute I open the door, the lights go on automatically!

I almost fainted when I saw this for the first time in all its completed beauty!

Plenty of adjustable shoe storage. The little gadget above the top shelf is a sensor that turns the LED puck lights on. There is another sensor for the other lights (I'll show you later). And I am thrilled to have this built-in ironing board!

Another beautiful custom creation by The Man. This was one of those "Do you suppose we could......add an outlet so I can do my makeup here?" To which The Man replied, "Who is this WE; and, yes, I can do that as well as add more LED lights, too." He is such a sweet man, but he does not hire out! Sorry ladies!

He measured all 5'2" of me so as not to have it too high and then designed the base from there. We found the mirror at Kirklands.

The top three drawers are mine & then we each have 2 of the deeper drawers for undies, socks, nighties and such. Didn't think you needed to see those things! My makeup is in the top drawer. I bought some clear acrylic trays from IKEA, and they are working perfectly.

The next 2 drawers are for jewelry. Most of these trays I've had for years but didn't have a good place to use them. They are from Bed Bath & Beyond.

This black velvet pad and the black divided trays are from a local jewelry supply store. I am enjoying my jewelry so much more now that it's all separated and easy to see.

These simple little hooks are from IKEA and work perfectly for chains.

This is my section for longer clothing items. It's also where I have my scarves on shower curtain rings attached to a good sturdy suit hanger. I also have the same setup for my belts.

I love these slots for my purses. Between this one and the set below, which is over The Man's long hanging space, there are slots for 14 purses. Shhh.......some slots have more than one purse! I might be a "purse hoarder!" Yes, no, maybe? I have used a Hefty Jumbo Ziplok bag for each purse to keep then clean and dust-free.

I do plan to make cloth bags for my purses, but that's not a priority right now.

I'm just a bit OCD when it comes to arranging my clothes (I know....some of you are snickering and saying that's true for more than just clothes and you wouldn't be the only one around here who thinks that). I have 2 upper and 2 lower sections to work with. This lower area is for my gym clothes, veg-out things, capris, shorts & a couple of skirts. WHEN the weather gets cooler, I'll switch out the shorts for long pants. The upper section is where I plan my outfits for every-day wear and for trips. I love to go into Pinterest and get ideas for outfits and then shop my own closet to see what I can create. I know, I'm weird, huh?

These two sections have all of my dressy, dressy-casual, and just casual tops. As you can see, I use the ROYGBIV rainbow method for organizing these items. All of the whites, creams, browns, grays & blacks are on the lower section.

Okay, you will notice I have 4 sections, and The Man has 2. But, seriously, he's not even filling up the space he has! I also haven't implemented the "rainbow" organization method for his clothes. Why? Because #1, he is color-blind and #2, he would think I had lost my ever-lovin' mind!

Enough said!

The Man does have this additional space where he has a couple of light jackets, etc.

And here we come to this beauty!

The Man added strip lights around the perimeter of this upper cabinet, plus on top and underneath. These all come on automatically upon entering the closet. This upper cabinet will house mostly sweaters for both of us, but I only had a few that I could grab easily to do a simple display. I also have a couple of pretty evening bags that I thought looked nice in here.

This counter is going to be our charging station for iPhones & iPads. It's also a great spot to use when I'm switching out purses.

Plenty of outlets & a sensor that turns on all the lights except for the LED pucks. Doesn't my little turquoise bird planter look perfect in here?

YAY, covered and contained dirty clothes bins -- love this!

This little bench is not only a spot to sit and put on your shoes, but it also contains.........

An air purifier for not only the dirty clothes, but also for shoes -- they can get very stinky!

Each end of this cabinet is vented which makes the air-purifier work much more efficiently.

Would you just look at that molding -- so beautiful!

This light (from IKEA) really doesn't have to do much more than just look pretty, but it does illuminate quite well. I just love this upper storage. These two cabinets are the only ones with hanging rods. Most of the rest are just open storage, but the one over the shoe area has shelves in it and is completely empty right now. What?

We each have one of these for off-season heavy jackets & bulky sweaters.

My side has some dressy coats and evening wear in bags.

This section is perfect for all of our luggage.

Haven't really planned out the best use of this space, but for now it is holding cooler weather items in some boxes from IKEA.

Now who gets beautiful crown molding in her closet? Me, me, I'm the Queen!

The Man has installed 3 of these slide out hangers. They are perfect when we are planning for a trip or when I'm ironing.

Just thought you needed another peek at this beauty before you exit my closet.

Are any of you still awake? I know this was really long and certainly photo-overloaded, but I just didn't want to leave out anything. I have to give full credit to The Man for coming up with and carrying out this brilliant plan. He is quite a craftsman, and I am so very lucky to be the benefactor of so many of his endeavors. He's definitely a keeper -- MINE!

It has been so much fun to finally get to share this reno. We got sidetracked a few times, so it took longer than we had planned, but sooo.......worth the wait! If you have any questions about anything, just ask and I'll be happy to answer if I can. Thanks so much for stopping by.