apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It's very simple: Have a carpenter come in and install custom built-in wardrobes, closets and cabinets with drawers - perhaps even cedar-lined?

Candice Olsen did a similar thing in one of her renovations on her show and I've seen similar built-ins in Fine Housebuilding magazine - It's exactly what's necessary here and will provide you with a nice and tidy dressing room.

is this a rental? if not, i'd build a wall with a door and leave it as a giant walk in closet.

The cheapest and easiest solution would be to color-code your clothes. It's surprising what a difference that makes.

You could simply hang a curtain from floor to wherever the ceiling is at the point you put it (perhaps so that it is at the halfway point between the clothes and the window frame). I would attach the rod to the side walls not the ceiling.It could be super cool depending on the fabric, maybe the same color as you walls leaving you the option to do a curtain on your actual window in a more patterned style without the room being over powered by fabric.

There's an inevitable trade-off between making it look more "blocky" and covering up the clothes, methinks. I'd go with covering them up, and just hang a curtain or something in front of the clothes. If you can't drill, you could maybe just use a tension rod (depending on how long that area is).

Another thought is coming to me ... if you have only clothes in one half of the attic and only sleeping/hanging out area on the other half, I might be tempted to basically declare the clothes half to be a huge walk-in closet, and thus embrace the hanging clothes. You could put up some kind of curtain-type door or some other kind of visual divider (screen? different wall color? not sure) to split up the space. If there were a mirror, a rug, and perhaps somewhere to sit while getting dressed/putting on makeup in the "closet" half, it might feel more cozy and intentional and less weird.

You might also be able to get creative with hanging fabric "doors" to hide the racks from view.

I would probably dedicate one side to clothes on racks for hanging, then hang a curtain with a fun pattern just below the highest point on that same side (panels of curtains so you can open them at various points) then dedicate the other side to cute dressers and accessories and a chair in there.

I would possibly just block it all of with a curtain but it would be nice to keep some section open so it doesn't become closed in.

Can you fold your clothes instead of hanging them? You could install three long wall shelves along the length of the room, where you now have the clothing racks, and arrange your clothing by color to make it more attractive. If there are some items you must hang, you can install a couple of rods that stick straight out of the wall, just to the left as you walk in the door. I think this would look much more organized.

Do you bang your head every time you try to take out a shirt? If you put mirrored sliding doors across that side of the attic, as close as possible to the window without actually obscuring it, you'll be able to hang the clothes rail at a more convenient height, and still be able to put shoes or infrequently used things on the floor.

The mirrors will make it seem like the ceiling is only coming down that far on one side, so they will open up the space in two directions. Then on the opposite wall you can put freestanding storage furniture and maybe a chair that will also be reflected in the mirrors (so, er, better make it nice stuff 'cos you'll be seeing it twice!)

Or you could go with the (much cheaper) suggestion of blocking off the whole area as one walk-in closet - in which case I still think you should hang the clothes rail at a more convenient height.

Your problem isn't actual organization. Everything is tidy enough. Your problem is that it lacks visual organization. I had the same sort of problem and this is what I did:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28955208@N05/2705420611/

You would need to take the additional step of attaching a wedge along the ceiling so that the track would run parallel to the floor. Also, I have made some changes since this picture was taken. The track now stops at the cabinets and the curtains are a different color.

My only other thought would be to have a custom wardrobe/closet system installed.

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but it looks as if that room is only used as a closet, and the other side is the bedroom. I would install a door if you are not renting. If you are, I think the curtain thing the way Richard did it (beautiful, Richard!) is the way to go.

Another idea is to run a bookcase across the space, with its edge butted against that bit of wall outside the bathroom. Make sure there is enough room to get past on the other side.
That will block your sight of the hanging clothes, but not close the space up. You can face the shelves into the "closet", use it to store shoes, purses, etc. and cover the back with fabric or bamboo blinds.

I don't know if this will be well enough to validate the space, but the clothes racks were hung this very same way on CRIBS for some footballers million dollar pad. He had a door, seperating the sleeping area and closet, and maybe a better entryway to the room itself, but the the low wall corner with clothes rack like the picture.

We had similar issues in our first house.

The solution is to have custom closets built by a carpenter.

The best way to maximize your long hanging space is to extend the bathroom wall closer to the stairwell, effectively bisecting the space (but not closing it off).

The long wall formed would be ideal for a custom closet with different hanging heights. Obviously not everything hanging needs to be - a lot of it could and should be folded away. You could have more custom storage built -- a mixture of drawers, cupboards and bookcases -- installed along the remaining 3 perimeter walls, as in Monkey Cottage:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/blogging-media/storage-in-the-eaves-at-monkey-cottage-071235

The center space could be a cozy reading or tv area, or maybe you could install a desk in front of the window and turn it into an office. If you need more light, skylights are fairly easy to install, and the effect is huge, as in the attic apartment below:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/inspiration/small-space-solutions-from-an-attic-apartment-075819

If this is a rental, and you can't do any of those things, I would embrace the idea of turning it into an open dressing area. You will need to prune through those clothes, and get a couple of bona fide commercial garment racks. A simple chest of drawers - perhaps IKEA's Malm -- would also help tone down the impression of being in a drycleaner's.

In the current issue of Domino, the Great Style at Any Age feature, has a 20-something with exactly the sort of bedroom I am talking about. Of course, it looks even better with the two black leather Prada suitcases artfully laying around (filled with accessories?)... In any case, there is scope for styling it into an attractive dressing area.

Thank you everyone! We do own the house so we are able to make some major adjustments. I would LOVE custom cabinets- maybe I will look for a quote in my area. Keep the ideas coming! Abby

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