Your Dream Walk-in Closet - Gilbert + Burke

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Your Dream Walk-in Closet 1

Your Dream Walk-in Closet

A dressing suite designed for style and function

Many homeowners aspire to have a walk-in closet modelled after a multi-million dollar listing in Beverly Hills, home to the rich and famous. The movies have helped to fuel our obsession with “the dream closet”; think of the romantic scene where Sarah Jessica Parker is proposed to in her Manhattan closet filled floor to ceiling with Manolo Blahniks Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin.

That’s not real-life. A very small percentage of us will ever achieve the wealth and status required to have a closet featured on the pages of Architectural Digest Magazine. But you can have a dream walk-in space designed for both style and practicality.

Stylish trends:

Recently, we’ve seen a rise in the trend of building custom drawer bank units, dedicated shoe shelves, and open shelving. The open shelves can be lined with stylish and/or colourful baskets to add an element of design flair. It’s much easier to select clothing and accessories from open shelves, rather than digging through a closed drawer. People are very visual beings; out of sight, out of mind.

If your space and budget can afford it, a huge trend in closets is a centre island, or a seating area. An island will give you extra storage, and a tabletop for accessories, a make-up mirror, or a staging area for choosing the perfect outfit! A seating area, like a bench, daybed, or chaise lounge, is both a stylish statement and a practical element because it will provide you with a place to sit while putting on socks, shoes, etc.

Find ways to bring light and a feeling of openness into the space. Consider building a window into your design, a skylight, or even a Velux Sun Tunnel to bring light in through the roof. Mirrors are another great way to reflect light from natural and other light sources, and it doesn’t hurt to have an extra way to see your reflection at various angles!

Practical Tips

Closets are not just built for style; organization is key to making the closet fit your lifestyle. Here are a few ways to maximize your space, and keep your closet functional.

It’s very important to think about the amount of space you have to hang clothing–there has to be room for the hangers themselves, and enough height to hang long and short items. There are pretty specific parametres around how much shelf space you can fit into closet designs to account for corners, hanger widths, etc. You end up with less space than you think! To mitigate this, try doubling up the hanging racks for shorter items, thereby doubling the space available for clothes.

Spring is the perfect time to clear out your closet, and think about new ways to get organized. A good rule of thumb is, if you haven’t worn it in a year, get rid of it. A closet can get overwhelmed quite easily, and it will visually (and literally) shrink your space dramatically. There are lots of innovative accessories that can help you get organized. Find stylish shoe and tie racks, belt hangers, pant hangers, varying heights and shapes of shelves – your options are endless!

Another space-saving tip is to reserve the top shelves for storage of out of season clothing.  You can add pops of colour and integrate your own style by putting these items into colourful baskets or zippered clothing storage cubes.


Your Dream Walk-in Closet 2

Lastly, try coordinating your clothes into colour themes within your closet. Why not try to have an editorial-worthy space? It’s a great look from a visual perspective, but also makes daily outfit selection easier.

There are so many ways to turn your dream closet into a reality in your own home. If you’re looking for ideas, take a look at this recent remodel project we completed for the Collver family.  Or, spend an afternoon looking at Pinterest boards for inspiration – then bring them to a professional so that you get a closet that hits the mark on style and functionality.

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Ken Jaquith Director Of Client Experience
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