In The Woodworker Shop - The Closet

Our workshop is full of wood in various stages of becoming something else. We have three projects going on simultaneously that involve shelving of some sort.

Projects work out better when you begin with a thoughtful plan that gives the client a vision of what the space will be like when completed.  While people agree with that when it comes to kitchens, bathrooms, offices they often just want to put shelves and rods randomly in the closet space. Resist the urge. Plan the closet space.

Closets are all about storage.  It helps if you know what you want to store in the closet before you start construction.  There are basically only two types: wall or reach-in closet, or a walk-in closet. Regardless which type you have in the room, think about what you want to store in it before you start any modifications. What you need to store will determine what you need to build. 

There are basic components that you will need to include:  Rods for long and/or short items,  open shelving of various heights, and some shoe space.  Think about whether or not you need drawers.  A wall closet is only 24" deep so that will be all wall but a walk-in closet could include drawers if you need them. If you have a lot of scarves than you may want a drawer, but scarves can also go on hangers with the blouse they accessorize or on open shelves or hooks.  Drawers are optional and need space for opening them.  Another issue with drawers is that they tend to be expensive compared to just shelves and rods.  Drawers need hardware - full extension glides and knobs/pulls. Our clients were right on top of their storage needs, so we just had to build, paint  and install.


The pictures on the right shows the various pieces necessary for this project. This job will be built on site. The shelves are done and the gray paint is being applied.  We spray paint our cabinets/shelves.  We have about 30 shelves with these units.

Installation day:

Wall Two

wall three

wall five

Wall four

  Lots of storage.