"How to Combine Wardrobe Shelving and Hanging Storage for the Perfect Closet"
Designing the ultimate closet takes more than throwing a few shelves and a rod into a room. To get the most out of your closet, you need to have a thoughtfully designed integration of wardrobe shelving and hanging storage that works to maximize the space while ensuring everything is reachable, organized, and tidy. Whether you've got a petite closet or an expansive walk-in, combining these two storage components will enable you to maximize the potential of your closet and actually make it useful.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to mix wardrobe shelving and hanging storage to create the ideal closet.
1. Evaluate Your Closet Space
Step back before you plunge into creating the perfect closet and look at your space. Think about the closet's size, what kind of clothes you wear, and what accessories or items you must store. Measure to determine how much horizontal and vertical space you have for hanging rods and shelves.
Tip:
Consider the layout of your closet—do you have a narrow, long closet, or a square closet? This will affect the size and placement of both shelves and hanging space.
2. Put Hanging Storage for Frequently Worn Clothing First
Hanging storage is perfect for garments that easily wrinkle or those which you use daily, like dresses, blouses, pants, and coats. What's good about hanging them is that they remain wrinkle-free and accessible at all times, making them perfect for your everyday wardrobe.
Benefit
By allocating some of your closet to hanging storage, you can preserve your clothes in their original state and have a more convenient area. Categorize or color-code to facilitate your clothing choice and save time.
Solution
Install a double hanging rod if your closet is tall enough. This arrangement has a top rod for longer garments such as dresses or coats and a bottom rod for shorter garments such as shirts or blouses, utilizing the space in your closet.
3. Utilize Wardrobe Shelving for Folded Garments
Wardrobe shelving comes in handy when stacking folded clothes, shoes, accessories, or even storage bins. Shelves also accommodate numerous objects that needn't be hung, such as sweaters, jeans, and folded blouses. Shelving is also practical for the storing of handbags, shoes, or season pieces such as scarves, caps, and belts.
Benefit:
Having separate shelves for folded clothes helps you store them in an organized and accessible manner. It also avoids overloading your hanging rods, which can cause your closet to become congested and disorganized.
Install movable shelving in your closet so you can alter the heights according to the kind of clothing you have to store. For instance, use deeper shelves for thick sweaters or smaller shelves for folded tee-shirts. Stack smaller shelves or baskets for storing accessories and shoes and keeping everything organized.
4. Use Baskets and Bins to Increase Wardrobe Shelving
To make your wardrobe shelving even more effective, add baskets and bins to hold the smaller items or harder-to-fold-in-a-pretty-way items like scarves, hats, and belts. Bins are also ideal for those items which you do not need to access on a daily basis, like doonas and winter coats.
Benefit:
Bins keep everything organized, stopping clutter from overtaking your shelves but still making it easy for you to access your items. You may label each bin or basket for even more organization.
Solution:
Use clear plastic bins or woven baskets that fit your closet's style and make it easy for you to see what's inside. Stack the bins or put them on the top shelves where you keep less-used items.
5. Include Pull-Out Drawers for Small Items
Pull-out drawers can be fitted inside wardrobe shelving to hold smaller items such as jewelry, scarves, or socks. These drawers prevent everything from falling off shelves and provide a specific area for your smaller items, which could otherwise get lost or jumbled in with larger clothing items.
Benefit:
Drawers organize your small items and make them accessible without letting them accumulate on your wardrobe shelving.
Solution:
Use a combination of open shelves and drawers in your closet. For instance, keep bulkier items such as sweaters and jackets on the open shelves and small, folded items in the drawers. This offers you the advantage of both worlds—open storage for visibility and drawers for organization.
6. Maximize the Closet Door Space
If you have limited closet space, don't overlook using the back of your closet doors for extra storage. Hooks or shelves inside the doors can be an excellent means of storing accessories, hats, or even shoes.
Benefit:
Maximizing your closet's interior door space is a wonderful means of gaining storage without consuming any extra floor space.
Solution:
Add a door-mounted organizer or hooks for hats, belts, or scarves. You may also use over-the-door hangers to hold shoes or bags. These small touches can greatly improve your closet's storage capacity.
7. Balance Shelves and Hanging Rods for a Well-Rounded Layout
The secret to closet efficiency is achieving a balanced design in which hanging storage and wardrobe shelving support one another. Having too much hanging storage can make the closet feel claustrophobic, and having too much shelving can have your hanging garments disorganized or hard to reach. Try to find a balance that works for both your wardrobe size and your needs.
Benefit:
A well-balanced closet enables maximum organization and accessibility, making it an enjoyable, stress-free experience each time you access your closet.
Solution:
Section your closet. For instance, dedicate one side for hanging garments and the other side for shelves. If your closet is large enough, divide the closet into zones for various categories of items—such as one for long gowns and another for shoes or bags.
8. Make the Most of Vertical Space
In the smaller closets, utilizing vertical space is vital. By placing shelves high, you have the ability to put away off-season or seasonal clothing and accessories out of sight but not out of reach. Combine this with a lower hanging rod for easier-to-reach everyday clothes.
Benefit:
Maximizing vertical space guarantees you're making the most use out of every inch of your closet without overstuffing it, enabling more storage.
Install upper shelves for items such as extra bedding or off-season apparel and complement them with lower hanging rods for high levels of use items such as shirts, jackets, or pants.
Conclusion: Make Your Closet a Parfait Closet with the Optimal Blend of Shelving and Hanging Storage
The combination of wardrobe shelving and hanging storage is the secret to having a very functional and organized closet. With some planning, you can make the most of the space available and customize your closet to meet your specific storage requirements. By adding hanging rods for your everyday clothes and wardrobe shelving for folded clothes and accessories, you can have a clutter-free, effective closet that functions for you.
With changeable shelves, pull-out draws, baskets, and a well-considered arrangement, you can design a closet that not only houses your clothing but also makes it simple to locate and retrieve everything you need. Ultimately, an optimal mix of wardrobe shelving and hanging storage will assist you in attaining the ideal closet that's well-organized and simple to clean.