Simplify, simplify, simplify Simplify, simplify, simplify (February 20, 2004)

A good closet design can open doors for easy access

By H. Tom Nguyen

One simple way to look and feel better is to clean out the closet and pamper yourself.

Regina Hoffman decided two years ago that she wanted to start every day with more order and less frustration. So she hired a local designer to create a modern closet system for her Palo Alto home, and she hasn't looked back since.

"I love simplicity," Hoffman said. "The closets show me all that I have and give me immediate access to what I need. There was a feeling of freedom, a feeling that serious and frustrating obstacles had been removed to the fullest extent possible. The simplicity is literally beautiful."

So beautiful in fact that she ended up remodeling three closets in her home.

Hoffman hired Cheryl Moore from Segale Brothers (then in Menlo Park, now in Hayward), who assessed her client's daily habits and needs and then tailored a system, which not only maximizes Hoffman's closet space, but also gives it more luxury and purpose.

"She helped me envision my closet system and helped me come up with my own personal categories," Hoffman said. "She discovered my lifestyle clothing patterns and designed storage facilities to meet those particular patterns."

While the size of and space surrounding the closet drive much of the closet system's design, Moore's primary objective is to make the closet work as much as possible for her clients.

Hoffman stands at 5 feet 3 inches and has clothes for every occasion, from warm, cozy sweaters to elegant evening gowns. She needed a design that allowed her to reach everything easily.

In Hoffman's bedroom closet, Moore put into place more hanging rods to double the amount of clothes Hoffman could put in the closet. She installed four pull-out drawers, along with five shelves above and another two beneath for Hoffman's shoes.

"It's all about maximizing space, floor to ceiling, left to right, and to make everything easily accessible," Moore said. "And if there are lots of shelves, my theory is mini-shelves always work better, eight to nine inches apart. They offer an increased capability to stay organized. You can organize things in usable groups and you can find them a lot easier."

Hiring an experienced designer can make organizing your life and wardrobe a lot easier, but simplicity comes with a price.

According to Moore, an average wall closet ranges from $700 to $1,000, while an average walk-in closet ranges from $3,000 to $5,000. And that's just creating a basic closet system.

Factors affecting cost include the size of the closet and additional accessories, such as new doors, custom wood furnishing, tie racks, belt racks, jewelry organizers, valet rods and hamper drawers -- one for laundry and another for dry-cleaning, of course. It can get expensive.

Sometimes the structure of the room drives the cost. According to Moore, there are always problems with vaulted ceilings, low ceilings, heaters, and having to honor access to attics, saunas and crawl spaces.

"We don't like to do jobs under a thousand [dollars]," Moore said. "I've done closets up to $30,000, closets as large as 300 square feet. But we take care of customers and stand behind our work until they are totally happy."

Although Hoffman chose not to disclose the costs to remodel her three closets -- which were 2 1/2 by 6 feet, 3 by 7 feet, and 2 1/2 by 10 feet, each one complete with eight-foot ceilings -- she said it was "worth every penny."

While cleaning out the closet can be a cumbersome task, staying organized is an equally dreadful chore. But with an organized system -- the space is already neatly divided into usable categories for convenient access -- it makes staying organized a more practical experience.

"It's beautiful and it's functional. It's like having a butler in my house who understands my needs completely," Hoffman said.
Organize without breaking the bank

For those who have resolved to be more shrewd with money, a modern, organized closet system can still be possible.

Here are some tips and strategies to stretch your dollar and build the closet of your dreams, according to Segale Brothers' Cheryl Moore.

While she believes that shelves are the best way to establish efficiency in your closet, because you can see everything clearly and find things immediately, she admits that using boxes and drawers in your closet can be very useful.

IKEA in East Palo Alto sells all sorts of boxes for family pictures, clothes and other personal items at an affordable price. It also sells the Linnan Organizer for $14.99, but Linnan Drawers come separate at $5.99 a piece.

Hold Everything at Palo Alto's Town and Country Village sells a variety of closet furnishings, including a three-drawer unit that goes for $299 and a very convenient shoe cabinet for $229.

Moore said that deep drawers are ideal for storing bulky items such as blankets or huge winter sweaters. To ward off moths, you can buy cedar hangers, closet tiles or blocks, all at Hold Everything. But Moore warned that over time cedar stops giving off its distinctive smell, "so you have to continually replace them once the smell stops and the moths begin to appear."

She also recommends using wooden or plastic hangers in your closet and not wire hangers, because the latter is more likely to bend, scratch and come apart under pressure. Dress shirts, linen and rayon garments should always be hung, along with dresses and 100-percent cotton blouses. IKEA sells Bumerang wooden clothes hangers in packs of eight for $3.49.

You can also use hooks in your closet to maximize closet space, but instead of hanging them on the back of doors, try finding a more camouflaged yet easily accessible spot to put them, Moore said. IKEA sells both the Vippa Hooks, which come in two-packs for $3.99, and the Leksvik Rack for $7.99. As an alternative to buying pricey designer closet accessories, you can use a towel rack for scarves and hanging racks for belts.

And remember when installing shelves in your closet, place the most frequently used items on the low and middle shelves. The lowest and highest shelves should be set aside for clothes and items you rarely wear, Moore said.

Whether you choose to hire a designer or to do it yourself, cleaning out the closet translates into taking care of yourself.

"You should feel good about it; you visit this room at least twice a day," Moore said. "You can dress more efficiently and start your day off immediately without having to fuss and fight."

E-mail a friend a link to this story.