If those four words showed up in a New York Times Connections puzzle, I’m not sure I would ever find the category. 
But in this case the answer is: Things that replaced my son’s closet. (Yes… I’m on a closet-demoing rampage.) 
Skip ahead to read about why the original closet was no good, construction process, design choices, and the much improved organization.
Another closet down
At this point, I already axed our closet and axed my older son’s closet , so our home’s last remaining closet (in this bedroom) needed to store some family/household items 
in addition to my younger son’s things 
. The current space didn’t allow for this separation, and the organization was lacking:
Problems: Unused/inaccessible space above and to the sides of the closet doors. Closet doors get stuck on the rug and in their frames (pinched fingers, anyone? 
). Entry door crashes into the closet!
Accessing items behind the divider wall was also infuriating. 
So, I do what I do… 
out closet 
built-in wardrobe!
But wHaT Ab0uT ReSaLe?! It’s okay if I don’t turn a profit or break even on my house projects whenever we eventually sell this place. I spend money to improve the quality of my life right now for how we live! (Plus, with any luck, I don’t intend to move imminently.)
The Process
The construction section of this blog post is under construction. 
(teehee #punny)
Stage 1: Closet demo & construction
- Pictures of demoed closet
- Installation (and links to) Ikea pantries and shelves with 1/2” spacers to accommodate door swing + panels
- Floor patching (+4” of floor space!)
- Wall/ceiling patching
- Filling in baseboard gap with flexi caulk
Stage 2: Wall treatment
- Description of sound-absorbing tiles and pinboard quality
- Zinsser bin primer for wood and freshly-plastered walls, two coats of color-matched paint, then polyurethane as a top coat on cabinet frame and doors.
Stage 3: Final touches
- Glow-in-the-dark stars (with pushpin points for tiles)
- Filling in mountains with fabric (TBH, looking quite weird.)
- Selecting and hanging artwork that my kiddo is so proud of!
View from the Hallway
The colors are a little intense, I know. 
But they’re perfect for my kiddo (he wanted even more color than this 
), and the saturation level feels right given our home’s current aesthetic.
You can read more about our family pictures wall and my wall-mounted linens cabinet.
I fixed up (…and axed the closet from) our older son’s bedroom last year.
And here’s the other end of the hallway looking into our living room.
Organization
I’ve saved the best for last !
Details about labeling the wire mesh drawers and deep cloth bins are coming soon!
Cost
Costs for the project are also coming soon! Stay tuned.
| Materials | Cost (+ tax/shipping) |
|---|---|
| Test item | 0 |
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.