apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I would suggest, whatever is in that picture and a curtain.

IKEA Stolmen (click my username)

+

a curtain (floor to ceiling)

The storage system you illustrate here is nice -- what is it/where is it available?

I've heard of people installing tracks on the cieling. Think of the style of hospital curtains, but obviously with a much nicer fabric. It would hide the clothes, but you could easily move the curtain for full access.
In my old apartment, my roommate had just pinned curtains to the cieling, but the fabric got in the way. Tracks would solve that problem.

... and AT just featured a supplier that sells cieling tracks...

I really do not like the idea to put those system in living room. Clothes get dusty in weeks. Also if you overload, your living room will look like a dry cleaner. Try to get some system with doors.

I would check out David & Im's OneSpace from the Smallest Coolest contest.

i know AT has featured a house with a giant closet that they hung a large white curtainin front of.

http://chicago.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/good-questions/good-question-closet-curtains-014930

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-temporary-modern-divider-suggestions-007490

you can try a room divider:

http://www.diyshutters.com/folding-screens.htm

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel1016&catid=cat294&navLevel=3

or hang panels instead. some materials to use could be duck cloth (canvas drop cloth), wallpaper or fabric.

or drape fabric if you want more light, less sewing/crafting:

http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?DeptID=0&CatID=028611&Grptyp=SIZ&ItemId=0fa5553&CM_REF=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jcpenney.com%2Fproducts%2FC026443.jsp

instead of a caopy, hang longer fabric.

that's all i got off the top of my head. good luck!

could you please provide info on the system pictured here? i'd actually like to get this myself. thanks.

Thanks for all the helpful comments, these are great! I was actually considering the Stolmen myself. I'd love to use a screen and be done with it, but I just don't know if that would be a waste of space. I'll have to check out those ceiling tracks.

As for the picture - I just googled "storage" and it came up. Unfortunately, I was using Google Korea, and that's where the site is. Sorry to disappoint...but here's the link anyway:

http://www.goshoppingkorea.com/interior/

As Iron Horse said - IKEA Stolman:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15597&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=16170&langId=-1&chosenPartNumber=S09807102

keep in mind Stolman actually requires screws to go into the ceiling. I found it a pain to install, and it wasn't stable without the screws.

You may be better off with an Elfa system (I've installed that as well, and it was much easier and higher quality than Stolman).

Are you renting or owning? Can you put holes in the wall?

If you decide to build something (or have someone build for you, which is usually worthwhile if you plan to stay put for a while) I have a bunch of 2-by-4's that I'm giving away - my apartment is 319 sq ft and I've had a loft bed (made out of said 2-by-4's) for 5 years - I'm going to dismantle it this month and get rid of it because I feel like redecorating.

You'd have to pick these up but if you can do that, you can have 'em. cheerio Edith

I can vouch for the Elfa systems - I had it back in a tiny Princeton apartment and now I'm re-building my closets in the Netherlands with the same product, 20 years later. Sturdy, clean, solid - Elfa's great. (And no - it's not any cheaper over here)

Otherwise if you had to keep that system:

* I'd move it closer to the wall, or L-shape it into the corner
* If there are shelves like the ikea Stoleman, I'd certainly add some, or I'd put an Ikea chest of drawers under one of the bottom rungs.
* Then I'd box it in, with a couple 5-panels screens a la Martha (above). I'm assuming you can't frame it out and box it into a closet, because you rent or because of the drop-ceiling (I have one that wouldn't support much on it). I'd then stick a full-length mirror on one of the panels.

I had the exact same issue in my place. I put in the Stolman system w/ those sliding panels from Ikea about 6 months ago. Didn't find it difficult to install, just time consuming depending on how much your doing. And as long as you have those posts cranked up as high as they can go, the tension between the floor & ceiling keeps the unit pretty sturdy. We just screwed the thing to the ceiling after having installed it months ago and it hasn't budged.

If you can drill into the wall, check out IKEA's DIGNITET wire system. I installed it to cover my rolling wardrobe and also added three linen panels as a room divider - it works perfectly. (click on my name for link)

I cheaper version of Elfa is made by closetmaid -if you go to a home depot they can cut it to the sizes you want and it's just as easy as elfa ( for 1/3 the price )! You'd only need to screw a few holes into the wall and those are easy to patch when you move out. Instead of putting it in the living room why not do it as a sort of headboard in the bedroom behind your bed with the curtain as a backdrop - I know i saw that in a 'house and garden' in the past few years and loved it ( plus it's less obvious than in a living room )

I agree with the headboard idea. Make some kind of shelf system accoring to your budget and needs, then place a floor to ceiling panel on a track (or just secure it), leaving two entry spaces to the "closet" on either side. This is then the perfect backdrop for a bed, even allowing you to treat the hung panel as a wall or installation board for art, lamps, etc. And who wants to be sleeping with ther head next to an acutal apartment wall, magnifying noise and temperature?

Domino magazine ( either sept or oct; not very sure) did a great piece on the headboard idea. It was lovely

Get some ceiling track, like the kind used in hospitals (google: hospital curtains), but make the curtains yourself from some lovely shimmery fabric.

I'd considered in the past using ceiling track to run shower curtains around a clawfoot tub -- because I can't stand those ugly tub surround shower rods.

If it were me, I would focus on storage solutions that could be installed in the bedrooms, and keep the living area as livable (and spacious) as possible - since you'll likely spend most of your waking time there, and any guests will spend all of theirs.

Your living room is only 9 square feet bigger than your bedroom, but undoubtedly is already serving as living/dining/working space -- without seeing it, it just seems like clothes storage there, as well, might ultimately drive you both bonkers.

I think any of the solutions already suggested would work fine in the bedrooms (especially using the hospital curtains that go ALL the way to the floor and ceiling). Folded storage is much more space-efficient than hanging, so I'd opt for much more shelf space than hanging space along the wall(s) you're using.

Assuming you both have queen-size beds (which I think are 5' x 6'8" or thereabouts?), you should be able to get good underbed storage, plus a new 2' deep x 5' wide storage "closet" in your room and maybe a 1'x4' in hers... and the "upholstered" look of having the cloth curtains will feel more cozy in a bedroom than in the living room.

Just a thought...

Let us know what you ultimately do!

If it were me, I would try to hang my clothing in my room. But if you absolutely can't, then I might split the clothing in half, putting half in my room and the other half in the living room using the platinum Elfa closet components with solid shelving in walnut or birch. Then I'd hang the sliding panels from the Solutions Catalog from the ceiling just in front of the Elfa to hide it. (search at their website for "sliding panel"). They look sorta sheer on their site, but I think it's because they are in front of a window. Against a wall, I believe they'd be much more opaque looking.

I ordered some of these same panels for a MISSION:Organization episode and the room was so small that they didn't look right, so I never ended up using them. But they're still pretty cool. :)

I use the STOLMEN system for lots of things including the shelving above my desk upon which (2) 19" monitors rest.
If you can't screw into a ceiling--screw into a 12"x12" piece of plywood and then crank it into place. It will distribute the pressure and spread the friction needed to hold the unit in place. If buying and cutting plywood is not an option, repurpose something from IKEA like a short length of white shelving. Oh, and anyone needing canvas/muslin via mail order .. check out chicagocanvas.com

I think I disagree that folded clothes are more space efficient than hanging. If you can construct a floor to ceiling wardrobe and have at least a couple of hang bars on top of eachother you can maximize vertical space. You could buy a hooked rod to reach the top bar. If you can drill holes in the walls and celing and floor...couldn;t you make it out of plumbing pipe? With all the attachment options it would just be a matter of threading the pieces together and screwing it to the floor and ceiling through flanges. Or as someone said previously, screw it to blocks of wood that fit snugly...Just an idea that's only half thought out. ;)

How about a loft bed?

I don't know how high your ceilings are/what your habits are (important, cause loft beds+low ceilings=dangerous nookie) but it seems like if you got a loft bed, especially in queen size, you could rig up some sort of low-ish walk-in closet kind of thing. There'd definitely be room to put shelves/drawer units on either side and shoe racks along the wall. If you built one yourself, you could get it high enough to hang a rod. (use really strong slats, and get some industrial grade wire/twine, wrap one end on each side around a slat and around a pole, and you're done.

You could even do this with a shorter, premade loft bed if you're petite or don't need to hang dresses. I probably didn't explain this very well; if you're interested, I could make a sketch to give you a better idea. The whole thing could be hidden by curtain rods screwed to the wood in the bed, or magnetic curtain rods (if you opt for a metal bed like the one IKEA offers).