We remodeled the main areas of our home in 2019. After living in our home for nine years, we knew how we wanted it to function not just look. Functionality is what you should always focus on when doing any new design. That is always the hardest part to decide, but will be the most rewarding! Our remodel included a top to finish makeover of the kitchen, master bathroom, dining room and enclosing outdoor space. Be sure to get my newsletter for more renovation tips and images. The closet is where you begin and end your day, so of course, we handled that as part of the remodel. We worked with California Closets for the redesign and installation.

My Father-In-Law would share that “Prior Planning prevents piss poor performance.” 😂 I freaking love that phrase! Prior planning does indeed make all of the difference…

For the closet remodel, we moved an exterior wall a few feet in order to make the layout a perfect rectangle. This shape worked best for the new layout we were building in the bathroom and gave us clean angles to work with.

My California Closets designer, Carmin Francisco, has a talent for figuring the right layout. Functionality centers around a great layout. This is far more important than making your closet pretty.

The right layout helps your closet function best and make the best use of space.

Carmin and I spent a lot of time talking through what should hang, and what should be folded in drawers.

In the previous closet we had a lot of drawers, but the room felt tight.

By making the island counter height, versus the tall cabinetry it used to be, we got storage on both island sides, counter space for folding and organizing, and a clear viewpoint of clothes.

You can now walk around the island on all sides to access things.

You’ll have to decide whether to expose shelves or cover them. This is both a functional and aesthetic decision. We did have a good amount of upper area storage space in our original closet. However, because there weren’t doors it looked junky. By putting door fronts on those spaces, we hid the clutter while keeping things organized.

On the reverse, we chose to not put doors on my handbag area. We chose to keep the bags displayed to let them function as both storage and a showcase piece. I have a little extended arm I use to reach high things. Utilize that high space for things you don’t use often!

At the start of the remodeling process, my husband had a few requests. One of which was “Please let the closet light be bright enough so I can tell the difference between my navy and black socks!”

Well, I took that direction and ran with it. We added LED lighting strips everywhere! California Closets does an amazing job of making the lighting hidden within the cabinetry for perfect illumination without bulkiness.

Wow, does lighting make a closet pop! LED lighting strips were added above every hanging bar to illuminate the rack. Puck lights were also added above the vanity mirrored area and along with the shoe display.

So now you can tell the difference between navy and black, plus it makes our closet feel like a store! Maybe this will make me shop less?! 😂

Thank you to California Closet and their team for awesome guidance. Find a California Closets store near you!

Now get some of my closet organization tips here!