apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

(We redid our closet during the Fall Cure, but sharing your closet space isn't the easiest thing to do, so we waited until bedroom month to finally get up the nerve. All available sources are included at the end of the post.)

We had no budget for our unanticipated makeover, so we tried to keep things low-cost. We bought a wire ClosetMaid organizer that has held up well, although it was a huge pain to install.

We decided to go with a lot of color in our new closet. I hung an old red curtain over the weird interior window (it looks out onto the building hallway). The curtain reminds me of the Red Room in Twin Peaks.

We salvaged the Antonius Drawers from our old system and used them to store folded items. We added a Componobili storage unit (bought at the DWR warehouse sale) to hold ugly items like my hairdryer. We also found 8 FLOR tiles at the warehouse sale that we used to make an area rug.

We hung an IKEA Flan hook and a floor-length mirror on one wall. Our ironing board was hung on another wall.

Notice our grungy walls and trim. Although we love the old, original trim, we can't stand the way our plaster walls are falling apart. Repairing them is a huge job that we're not willing to take on as renters.

Before setting up our new system, we did a lot of decluttering and donating. Boxes on the top shelf hold photos, mementos, and other things we just didn't want to get rid of.

This is the gross part of our closet that we still need to re-do. It's the only "real" closet in our whole apartment, and it stores cleaning supplies and sports equipment. We also store the bike in here.

We use tub trugs for our laundry. They're cute so we don't mind having them out in the open (although our dirty laundry is another story).

Shoes are stored on a wire rack on the floor. (My high heels are in good shape since I never wear them.) The IKEA boxes hold extra blankets and pillows for when we have overnight guests.

Our Source List:
• Chocolate Froth Paint by Behr at Home Depot
• ClosetMaid Organizer from Home Depot, $109
• White Stockholm Boxes from the Container Store, $12.99 each
• Lingo Boxes from IKEA, $3.99 - $4.99
• Fran Hook from IKEA, $3.99
• 2 Antonius Frames from IKEA, $6.99 each
• 8 Antonius Drawers from IKEA, $6 each
• 2 Antonius Worktops from IKEA, $6.99 each
• Bumerang Clothes Hangers, $3.99/8 at IKEA
• Componobili from Design Within Reach, $160
• FLOR Thick and Thin Tiles in Persimmon/Cherry, $10.99 per tile
• Sky Blue 11-Gallon Tub Trugs, $16.99 at Gardener's Supply
• Orange 11-Gallon Tub Trugs are available through the AT Store for $14
• Curtain (Similar to Shown): Cayenne Vintage Velvet from Restoration Hardware