Looking at the second photo above, you can see the exterior of the closet (the door on the right) so you know what I was working from. I chose Waterfall blue for the base coat in the closet for two reasons — one is that this hue of blue (it's a soft turquoise) looks lovely with the pink and cream colors of my bedroom, and two, I don't have any blue elsewhere in my apartment. Last year I had tried to wallpaper this closet and failed miserably, so this year I ordered a stencil. I chose gold shimmer paint to echo the gold frames that are hung throughout my bedroom.
Stenciling is a bit cumbersome because you have to wait for the paint to dry a few minutes before you move it to paint again, or else you will smudge your work as you go. This small closet took about 12 hours to stencil. Corners are definitely tricky in small spaces, but since it's a closet I wasn't overly concerned about being perfect. I knew I would be putting lots of distracting things over the painted walls.
Once the painting was finished, I reinstalled the shelving, lowering the racks for better access. I ordered a custom sized wall mirror ($100) from a local glass company and mounted it to the wall in the corner. I then added my new DIY jewelry organization pieces to the left of the mirror and installed six additional hooks around the closet to hold scarves, belts and purses.
I have long arranged my clothing by color, so I added it back in the same way. All of my shoes fit nicely on the floor under the hanging blouses, and I added a few baskets overhead to hold hats and small purses that don't hang.
My closet finally feels like a proper woman's dressing room! The color and the stenciling do not make the space feel small, and in fact make the space feel like a very special, hidden nook.
After finishing this project, I realized that I have always had a thing for decorating my closets. Going back to 5th grade, it was the place I hung all of my Tiffany and Madonna posters. My 8th grade closet was a floor to ceiling collage of magazine ads, and in my first apartment, I hung postcards, posters, and framed prints!
Have you ever dressed up your closet?
Resources:
Stencil: Large Peacock Fancy Stencil by The Royal Design Studio
Wall Color: Waterfall by Benjamin Moore
Trim: French Ivory by Martha Stewart
Stencil Paint: Benjamin Moore Studio Finishes Latex Metallic Glaze in Gold
Jewelry Storage: DIY Quilting Hoop and DIY Vertical Box
Closet Shelving: Elfa by the Container Store
(Images: Tanya Lacourse)
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That gorgeous stenciling makes this well-organized room into a little jewel box. It's fantastic!
Brava! The stenciling is a genius way to add girly glamour to a small closet. Not to mention that it helps disguise the rather utilitarian look of the Elfa system.
Lovely and I am sure you enjoy all the effort every time you enter the closet. I'm gearing up to decorate my utility/laundry room... it's a neglected space and needs some love! Thanks for the inspriation.
Seems a shame to hide such pretty paint color and stencilling in a closet. Good job tho!
love it! My closet is a bit smaller about 5x5 maybe smaller so I don't know if I will have the same effect, but I am going to try!
I'm inspired now! The stenciling is genius! My closet is small, but the ceiling is high and a lot of the space that's wasted could be put to use with the Elfa system.
I love how you made your closet beautiful and resourceful. I too, decorate my closet. On my side a shelf holds beautiful antique vases and on my husband's side his antique marble and tin collection makes for a fun display. Good job!
I dressed up my closet mainly with my accessories. I have the elfa system as well. I was able to fit A LOT of stuff in there with it. I have a walk-in closet so I was able to add the shoe rack, drawers and a couple of shelves to display my accessories. I love it!
That is amazing. I can't believe the difference the stenciling made! I thought it was high-end wallpaper at first. That, my dear, is an amazing transformation.
Really awesome. I had already pinned your jewelry storage ideas for future use, now I love seeing it all put together!!
May I ask the dimensions of the closet? ... Just to see if this is at all possible in my little walk-in.
Also, does the closet have two doors?? What was the purpose of the picture of the doors? It's super cute but it's confusing me :-/
Thanks!
I am a fan! This is LOVELY. I love my closet too - but haven't made it a work of art like yours. Very Sweetly done.
Beautiful !!!, that stencil is sooo elegant !!!. Congratulations
Beautiful! I, too, thought it was fancy wallpaper. I was all set to paint my closet interior a fun color, but was talked out of it by my friend. She told me the color would reflect onto my clothes and make it harder to coordinate. Thoughts? I'm still itching to paint my closet, but less confident about it.
Lovely stenciling! I have a small pen and ink nude that reads "Steal Me Please" that I found stuck to the side of a building during a First Thursday art walk in Portland, OR. I never found a good place to display it without fearing that a friend would steal it (only following the piece's instructions, of course). In our new aparment, the moulding in my closet offers a perfect place to hang it; I see it every day but it's not tempting to others. : )
Love love love!! Instantly reminded me that you can use this company I have bought from before, www.tempaperdesigns.com as they have temporary. Wall paper that is really easy to put up. No glue involved its like putting up a wall decal and they have brilliant metallic hues like the paint chosen here. I'm doing this in my master closet immediately!
drab to fab is always better! :)
Thanks everyone!
@K.M. the closet is 5x8 feet. The door shot is so you get a sense of the room I was coordinating with. There is only one door to the closet and it's the one on the right in that photo.
The stenciling looks fabulous!
I've painted a closet a similar blue before and installed organizers, but the stencil brings this to another level of wonderful.
Fantastic job! You've inspired me to finally get started on my closet! I'm so impressed with the stenciling, I did that once in an apartment and never finished it was just taking too long!
http://www.fourthfloorwalkup.com
it's really quite adorable. i wish i had a closet like that!
Oh my, but this is gorgeous!! I adore the blue and gold color combo and am THRILLED that you used my Large Peacock Feather stencil here!! You did an amazing job, the stenciling looks spot on, and I am super jealous of your closet !! :) I just SO wish that you had tried our Stencil Cremes for the paint though, as is sounds like the metallic paint you used slowed down your process. They go super far, stencil super fast, and dry almost instantly. Let me know next time and I will hook you up! Thanks for such a fab project-I can't wait to share!
Pretty! I don't think I could stand unloading my closet long enough to paint it this nicely, but your results are ALMOST inspiring! ;^)
Hi Melanie! How cool! Great tip about the fast drying paint!
Love it!
So Inspiring!! Makes me want to run home, rip out the crappy shelving, and order my Elfa system right away. Iooooove Elfa. Not cheap. But so much better than the cheap alternatives. You get what you pay for. Love the stencil, too. You'd think a closet is hardly worth the effort, but your results show how much power some great pattern and color can have on a tiny space. We all have to get dressed, right? Why not have a little aesthetic pickme up while we're at it?