Wardrobe on the Edge

Like Apollo 13 engineers trying to fit a square peg into a round hole using only what was on the table, we had to turn an awkward, sloped-ceiling closet into a wardrobe for two adults — with no prefab solutions (trust me, I looked).

Jump ahead to read about the…

1. space constraints
2. solution
3. construction process
4. organization!

The Constraints

The original closet is up against the roofline, with a 79” ceiling height in the front and only 48” at the back, but 40.5” deep. Prefab closet systems are only 20-24” deep, meaning I needed a custom solution to utilize the depth of the closet.

Here is the pile of clothes (from our original bedroom, soon to become my older son’s) that I needed to declutter and organize to fit in the space:

I also needed to clear out the stuff stashed in the original closet!

You can see that the builder-installed rod would never have accommodated long dresses.

The Design

I measured everything and designed a wardrobe with four 24”-wide sections:

• leftmost unit would have a 30” pull-out rod for hanging dress shirts.
• two middle units would have his and hers extra-deep drawers (30”).
• rightmost unit would extend deep enough (36”) to stash nested suitcases behind full-length dresses.

I maximized all dimensions while minimzing the cost of plywood sheets and drawer slides, which skyrocket at dimensions over 30–36”.

The Process

This job needed specialty trades (i.e., carpentry, demo, electrical, paint) that, although I would have loved to DIY, would have taken me too long for a (likely) subpar end result.

Step 1: Carpenter

I scoured FB groups for recommendations, contacted four carpenters for quotes, and eventually hired Oak ‘N’ Flannel, based out of Western Mass, to build the cabinets off site and then deliver and install them. He did a fantastic job!

Step 2: Contractor

I again got quotes from four contractors, and hired someone based in East Cambridge to demo the existing closet and pull up some hardwood to use in the downstairs bedroom for another project.

Step 3: Electrician

When we uncovered a discolored electrical wire in the wall, I hired an electrician to check and seal the wire and relocate the outlet. This was the hardest trade to nail down, with three electricians telling me they were too busy, and another quoting me $8-12K “just to check out the job”.

🎨 Step 4: Painter

Some drywall repair, replastering, and trim finishes were required, and then I hired Baldoyle Painting for priming and all paint touchup!

The Organization

Would this even be a post without showing you how organized the wardrobe is, now?! Check out the clever storage for clothes, suitcases, jewelry, and scarves!

1. Clothes

The pull-out clothes rod enabled us to use the full depth of the closet for my husband’s dress shirts and pants, polos, and suits! 👔

“File folding” clothes enables us to immediately see what we have and decide what to wear when getting ready. 👕👖 This also saves time putting clean laundry away! 🧺

2. Suitcases

Our rolling suitcases are nested and stored behind my hanging dresses. The front suitcase holds our regularly-used travel backpacks (Osprey 26+6), which are some of the best designed products in our entire house. 🎒🧳 You know I love it.

3. Jewelry

I store my (cheap, fake) jewelry on trays in this shallow top drawer. I decided years ago that I have no interest in owning “nice” jewelry that I’d be stressed to lose or break.

I also spent a quick morning sawing the corner of my bulletin board and fixing the trim to fit against the slanted ceiling to hang my bead necklaces!

4. Scarves

My scarves used to be stored in an over-the-door clear shoe organizer, which was great (!), but which wouldn’t work in the new room. Instead, I now hang them in a (sun-deprived) corner of the room while also covering up the ugly furnace access panel!

In our previous Cambridgeport apartment.

Cost

Admittedly, this wardrobe solution was substantially more expensive than my previous DIY projects. 🤑 That said, I have no regrets. The space is absolutely beautiful and perfectly functional, which delights me!

Finishing this built-in wardrobe enabled us to move upstairs into the master bedroom. 🛏️ That in turn required redesigning our living room to accommodate the relocated sleeper sofa 🛋️, and led to a redesign of our son’s new room in our old bedroom as well. 📌 The many steps of the Big Move of 2025!

Shilpa Kobren is the Associate Director of Rare Disease Analysis at Harvard Medical School where she focuses on analyzing genomic sequencing data with patient clinical information to derive insights into human diseases. Shilpa lives in an 1890s urban apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and two energetic toddlers. She retains her sense of peace amid the chaos by creating and iteratively improving systems that optimize daily efficiency in her family's constrained living space.