We had a similar challenge with our last apartment. We had and expedit in the living room and since it is only about 12 inches deep it didn't seem too overbearing. The key for bedroom storage for us was keeping things in attractive bags (we went with vintage luggage) that could be out or stacked without looking bad. Gym clothes always stayed in a gym bag and bulky items found homes in cool looking suitcases.

I'm sorry to say what you probably know but are hoping not to hear - you need to get rid of one of your impractical pieces of furniture and replace it with something that is practical.

Can you move something to another room? I'm sure you could find a freestanding wardrobe or chest of drawers that would be both pracitcal and aesthetically acceptable.

Can you put a hanging cabinet above your desk?
You can get unfinished kitchen cabinets and paint them to blend into your wall.

A few suggestions:

- First, can you pare down the amount of clothes you own as much as possible? A six-drawer dresser and a closet for two people is tight, but certainly not unfeasible.

- Can you move seldom used clothes (like formal wear for instance, in protective envelopes) to another room's closet?

- Can you add a low dresser in your closet, below the row of clothes? Or an hinged box (think toy box)? This could be a good option for sweaters.

- Alternatively, can you lower the rod in the closet, and add one or two shelves above it for sweaters? Adding dividers like this would help them from becoming a big mess.

Easy... IKEA KASSETT boxes where you have those files on the shelf.

We put a 2x2 brown/black Expedit on top of a 2x8 brown/black Expedit next to our closet, similar situation. Our wall color is brown/black so it blends in great and since we have short ceilings, we gained storage up to the ceiling.

If you decided to use one, you could always paint it to your wall color?

I agree with pp. I'd get rid of non functional furniture for more spacious storage. Also what about shelves all along the top of the room and over the door - also on the inside of the closet? Then you could store stuff you don't use very often in boxes as well as decorative stuff. Utilize closet space to the max- think about moving the bar(s) up so you can add a 2nd row of clothes at the bottom. Install shoe storage and of course downsize as much as possible.

Could you add an attractive file cabinet next to the desk and fill it with sweaters and gym clothes?

However, I'd buy some vacuum bags and be ruthless about storing out of season/out of favour clothes under the bed.

How much do you actually use that little chair in the corner? If it only gets used for dumping clothes on, I'd say that's the first thing that should go to make way for storage. Also, is the thing in the 2nd picture your desk? It's beautiful but it's got a few major drawbacks given your situation: it looks like it takes up quite a lot of space, upwards as well as sideways; you've got ugly folders/paperwork on display which is bad in the bedroom especially; it's inefficient because there's wasted space underneath, between sections, and above. If you HAVE to have a desk in the bedroom, why not have one of those writing bureaux that has drawers or a cupboard underneath? The Ercol ones (loads on UK Ebay, don't know about US) have lots of proper enclosed storage space but look very neat when closed up. How about wall-mounted slatted shelves quite high up for sweaters?

The piece beside the closet with the open shelving is being underused. On the open shelves I would get some cool vintage baksets and fill them. I would use them for smaller stuff which would free up some much needed drawer space.

We love Danish dressers but decided against them because they can't handle much storage. So we splurged for a Room and Board large Linear walnut 10 drawer dresser -60 in wide- which fits underwear, socks, seasonal sweaters and T shirts, AND gym clothes for 2 people. I second the other commenters: pretty but wasteful pieces have to go, especially in a bedroom.

Do you have another closet elsewhere in the house that could be pressed into clothes storage? That's what we had to do. My husband's hanging clothes are in the "coat closet" in the hallway. True, it's a little awkward in some ways and we have no place to hang up visitors coats, but we don't have guests that often. But two tiny closets plus a big dresser is a lot more manageable than just one closet and a dresser.

I think an expedit would look too crowded by the dresser, even painted the same color as the wall. Your room seems a little crowded already. I'd take out the piece that looks like a bookcase and replace it with something more practical. Maybe a big expedit with the storage baskets/boxes? One thing I really hate in a bedroom is open shelf storage. Even if one can keep it ridiculously neat and tidy, it still takes away from a calm and tranquil atmosphere.

I'm a big fan of hooks! They are super-convenient, especially for things like PJ's and gym clothes, which you use every day (and are too lazy to fold).

If hooks are messy, you can hide them behind a curtain.

Like this: https://img.skitch.com/20110321-djhfq4ci161gx1gyxp88g9a4kw.jpg

As for sweaters, I agree with the attractive basket/suitcase/storage box idea.

Not sure what the complete layout of the room is, but Young House Love did an amazing addition of closets around a window and bed. If there isn't space around your window, you could maybe even do this employing the current closet as deep storage, and a "new" closet in front of it and to the other side - if putting your bed where the shelves currently are made sense.
http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/02/over-our-heads/

I'd also look into getting some nice under-bed storage so you can use it on daily basis - not just deep storage. Look for ones with wheels. If you don't like the look, a sleek bedskirt could help. Or, if you can swing it, a storage bed. West Elm has a flip up bed that allows storage under the mattress, as well as a decent looking, 6-drawer bed with matching side tables. Speaking of which - don't forget the largest bedside tables with drawers that can fit for more hidden storage.

I know this doesn't directly answer your questions, but I was in a similar situation and realized that I had a lot of stuff I didn't need crammed into furniture that made my bedroom feel crowded and airless. I found that having storage right next to the closet ( my BR has a similar configuration as in your picture) messed with the flow of the room and my ability to easily access my closet. I have become really ruthless about making my stuff fit into the space I have, have gotten rid of two pieces of furniture that were taking all the air out of the room.

In my last house I bit the bullet and called in a local Califronia-closets-type company. It was so worth the money! My tiny closet could suddenly hold triple the amount of clothes, and it was so easy to keep organized. Usually the initial consultation is free...maybe just bring someone in and pick their brain?

Underbed drawers on wheels? (I believe they sell them for toys on Land of Nod?). Or maybe the layout is just not great. Try rearranging...and get a little color other than brown ;)

I second the closet door idea. Since all your furniture is so low to the ground I think you should install a cabinet or shelf flush with the ceiling to be less crowded. If you have to add another piece of furniture maybe incorporate mirrors on it so it's more "airy," i.e. a mirror on the closet door or wardrobe front. I also think the storage boxes on your desk shelves would work. You can also rotate your bed 90 degrees and put a hope chest or something at the foot of it. I don't think you should get rid of the furniture, you are allowed a little impracticality if you can be creative and work around it!

If you're willing to move or replace it, I think that you may have to replace that bookshelf (is that your desk?) with a wardrobe. It is taking up a LOT of space but doesn't seem to be very practical if you need more storage space for clothing and other items.

How about adding storage like
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20110540
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00138432
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50166917

on the second from top shelf (below the white Jug) on the your table/piece with all the files etc.

You could store every-day clothes, in those. It would also look cohesive with what I am assuming is your laundry basket, plus, a row of beautiful baskets can never look wrong! If you need more space, you could look into adding storage on walls inside the closet, as it looks pretty big to me.

I'm dealing w/ similar struggles

While your furniture is nice, it's not using your space very well - I'd sell it and get larger/taller pieces with more drawers and enclosed shelves for storage...
...and in the meantime, consider purging your wardrobe for items that you no longer wear on a regualr basis.

Meanwhile, the others are right: Get a door on that closet.

You can give me the shelf to the left of the closet, if you are trying to make more room. I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands :)

My husband and I have a very similar problem: small bedroom, one closet and one (three drawer) dresser. What we do is utilize underbed boxes for things that are used in the opposite season. Right now, they have our summer clothes - shorts, swim suits, tank tops, t-shirts... and in a month or so we'll pull those out and put our winter sweaters, snowpants, and snowboots into the underbed bins.

It's not ideal, but it works really well. It also makes it a lot easier for us to find what we need, since it's organized by season.

Oh, and I just tuck my PJs behind my pillows during the day. Out of sight and easy to find when I am getting into bed.

@ElectriKatie - Better yet, how bout NO PJs? :)

I concur with the closet door idea. You'd be amazed at how much you can fit in a shoe organizer, other than just shoes.

As far as the rolling storage idea, you can DIY some with some salvaged drawers and little wheels from the hardware store.

Go high! Hang a shelf 12-18" from the ceiling all around the room. Then put some pretty boxes on it. Use it for off season storage so your easily accessible closet/dressers are for clothes you need everyday.

I would consider taking the mirror off the one dresser (and store it somewhere perhaps) and hanging shelving -- possibly the Expedit you're thinking about -- centered above the dresser. If you need a mirror in the room, put a full-lengthy one on the back side of the bedroom door.

My two cents - based on things I've done/what I'd do:

1. Closet - Yes, add door. But make it an old, solid wood, panelled door, from an old house, that goes with your woodwork - not an ugly new one - curtain looks better than an ugly new one would.

2. Yes, use your closet space the best you can, installing organizers (freestanding or screwed in) as necessary. Those wire wheeled carts with baskets can be handy at bottom of closet, or a dresser, or shelves. Boxes on top shelves to ceiling, obviously.

3. Wardrobes - new or antique. In bedroom, or in other rooms. Antique ones can often be found in less deep versions, which can help in places where you don't have the depth for a new one. (And they often look better, and can be cheaper.) You can hang things in them, or install shelves to store sweaters or linens (as I do in antique one in a nook in my entry hallway - found online to fit available dimensions), or a combination of shelves and hanging rod.

4. You also maybe should consider whether your closet is best used to hang things. If it is deep, it can often be used to store other things more efficiently, while using other closets or just-deep-enough-to-hang-stuff wardrobes for hanging stuff - in bedroom or in other rooms or hallways.

5. You really don't need the mirror or the chair. Low dressers don't go high enough to maximize storage in bedrooms. If you want to keep this nice one there, one way would be to find an upper cabinet, also in a midcentury style, in similar wood, to set on top - you can cover glass in doors with paper or wood for hidden storage. May be tough to find, though, in one that fits and looks good.

6. In any event, you need to go quite tall on at least one wall in your bedroom with clothing storage, and somewhat taller on the other. Can't tell which one - depends on dimensions of the room. I prefer most tall on wall where desk is on side of bed, and just chest height taller across from bed. That way I can hang artwork, or a small mirror, over the chest across from the bed - I don't like looking at something really tall close across from my bed - it's Ok if there's way more room across from the foot of bed than just a few feet. You may fit stuff in otherwise. A wardrobe could go in there in place of one of your danish modern pieces. If you can, sell them. If you can't part with them, figuring you'll use them in your next place, see if they fit elsewhere in your place - dining area, living area, hallway, etc. You can still store clothes in a dresser masquerading as a dining room buffet, for example. That desk is narrow enough that it might fit in a hall or in a dining room. You could also go with a taller, wide chest (or two next to each other) if you prefer that to a wardrobe.

7. The desk - doesn't provide enough storage. If you don't sell it, use it in another room or hallway, or store it, you can lend furniture to good friends until you reclaim it. If you need a desk in this room, use a secretary desk, with drawers below to store clothes (sometimes ones with doors below, though I think drawers look nicer in the bedrooom), and a flip down desk for work. If you don't have the room to work here (or whereever else in your apartment you may find to locate this secretary desk), then get an antique one with a roll up desk. Get one with a storage cabinet with doors above the desk. You can cover doors with paper or fabric to store whatever you want in there, hidden, if books are not what you store in there.

8. Pare clothing. If you aren't able to reduce too much (I have a hard time with this), consider storing out of season essentials behind stuff in your closet (if deep enough, you can move the hanging bar forward, and store a wall of stuff in cardboard boxes or on shelves behind - freestanding shelves or installed ones.) Or store them in a rented storage room (many NYers with small apartments do - a storage closet away from home) if you don't have storage available to you in your building or in friends' or family's basements.

9. Consider storing clothing elsewhere in your place - it doesn't all have to go in the bedroom. I have an old oak lingerie chest holding folded shirts just outside my kitchen - it looks great there. Lingerie chests or bathroom storage furniture or other cabinets can store underwear or linens in the bathroom. If hallways are wide enough, find narrow depth storage units that look good there to hold things (jelly cabinets, bookshelves with doors.)

10. Consider ALL your storage needs, and maybe consider giving up other things for clothing storage. I'm in the process of getting rid of an excess of books and bookcases to make room for more dressers/chests for clothes in my bedroom. Think about all the furniture you have. Clothes can be stored in drawers or behind doors underneath a TV console, etc.

11. Things I wouldn't do: (1) store things under bed - it looks better and feels better when I don't, so I get why it isn't considered good feng shui to do so - only exception I would make is if I had a bed with built-in drawers below. I'd prefer to have boxes (those nice cardboard ones with lids from ikea or container store under my couch, and on top of high bookshelves, than have stuff under my bed; (2) run a shelf up near your ceiling anywhere - just "no" in this nice old room you have; (3) don't use an expedit - not because it won't fit, but it won't look good, is not very deep, and cubes not very wide. Use closed storage instead. Get a chest of drawers or two. Higher than your low dresser - I go as high as I can and still see into the top drawer easily. (I don't see the point of drawers I'm not tall enough to see into.) Wardrobes, or chests with doors over drawers, allow you to go higher than drawers and still be able to see what you are storing on the upper shelves, and you can also reach them better than stuff in high drawers.

12. Use 1 or 2 nightstands (whatever you have room for) that have 2 or 3 drawers large enough to store clothing in (I had some made - totally worth it - they store a lot) - a door is ok, too. Use the entire width available to you on the wall where the head of the bed is. You can use old or new dressers (wider than nightstands) there to store a lot. I've also seen old wood file cabinets nice enough to use as end tables in living room or as nightstands that would hold a lot of clothing.

13. If you have an unused corner, or a hallway wide enough, look for narrow-depth storage units that fit and look good there to put stuff in. Antique bookcases with doors (in many styles) or newer ikea-ish versions are often less deep than dressers, if space is tight, but still store a lot. Low console tables with doors below also come narrow and fit in hallways and tight spaces.

14. Always use furniture with with storage storage in place of tables with long legs. Trunk instead of table for coffee table. End tables with drawers instead of legged end tables. Storage bench instead of bench with legs.

15. It looks like you have a bay window. Use a trunk, or an upholstered cube, with storage in it in front of the window if there's room. This will give you a place to sit to replace the chair in the corner. Then find a cute tall storage piece for the corner.

If all furniture solutions fail, please consider StorageByMail.com

Store and receive your stuff back without ever leaving your cute apartment!

I like expedit (sort of... I think I still like it...) but it would look bad next to all your nicer furniture. I hope you can optimize the closet somehow, as ppl have suggested.

I disagree with people telling to get rid of these...they are beautiful. I think you can come up with a solution AND keep them, but, as others suggested, I would move of out (the one with the books could be a good living room or dining room piece if you have the place, and I agree with putting a door on the closet and making better storage inside. Also agree with seeing what you're still wearing and doing a big clean up of your clothes. You could also put one or two long white wall-suspended shelves along the upper part of the wall with the closet (and take the piece on that side out), on which you could put neutral identical boxes ligned up, for additionnal storage. The length and horizontal layout of the shelves will make the room appear bigger than if you had the same amount of shelf space but in vertical layout. You'll also have more room to walk.

(haha I just realized, I said white because I loved it so much and it won't draw too much attention but if you choose a similar wood to your dresser it might fit better with your style :) )

I can't tell if there's a radiator in the bay window, but if not, I'd get a cedar chest to make a window seat with sweater storage in it.

I also agree with other posters that the desk is lovely, but really should go somewhere else if possible. I'm not a fan of work space in the bedroom. That would empty out space for a tall wardrobe or dresser. I wouldn't use underbed storage with your bed - a bedskirt would detract from the lovely lines of the bed legs.