Earlier this week, we mentioned our friend who moved downtown and is enjoying a whole new perspective and vibe in Los Angeles. While they were setting up shop, they decided to use a simple trick to make their bedroom closet look and feel great. What was it?
They used the same wooden hangers in their closet for all of their clothes. What seems like a no brainer to some was something this couple had never considered and they are glad they did. Before their closet felt like a jumbled mess, with mis-matched hangers, including wire hangers (gasp!). Now it looks organized, clean and balanced. We love the idea of using simple tricks to make a room or space look and feel better.
Check out more closet ideas from Apartment Therapy:
- No Closet? Try a Clothing Rack
- Converting a Closet into An Office
- Entertaining: Without A Coat Closet
(Image via Flickr's dansays)
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Been doing this for years -
Wooden hangers from IKEA are what - 8 for $5 or something?
Kinda no-brainer!
Actually, bepsf, I haven't done this before myself and will now. As I said in the post, for some it's a no brainer and for other it's new. -Rebecca
It makes a tremendous difference. I didn't do it all at once but started with just my dresses, then the pants, then the tops... Each step along the way felt like a huge transformation. Just make sure to have extras on hand for when you buy new things. No excuses to revert back that way!
I agree - this is one of the best ideas. When I moved to Chicago, I made an IKEA run and discovered their cheap wooden hangers! It made such a HUGE difference. Of course, then I wanted to put all of my shoes in plastic shoe boxes from the Container Store. But I haven't gone that far, yet...
The wooden hangers make all the difference in the world. They make it nice to go back into my closet!
HEY-o.....
haha btoddster!
I've been doing this for a while too but with the cheapo 1$ a dozen all white hanger from Target. If you have a lot of clothes, it is a lot more economical.
Home Depot has better quality wooden hangers for cheaper. The wood is finished better & smoother.
excellent idea. i've been slowly doing the same with the wooden hangers by michael graves at target.
they are expensive, but it also forces me to try and maintain a slimmer closet (seriously!)
You can also use the slimline flocked hangers, more space for more clothes and no shoulder nipples.
I'm never going to take my dry cleaning off the provided wire hangers and transfer them to wooden hangers. Not ever. I'll do a lot of things for beauty, but the time spent there isn't worth it to me.
I agree ... beautiful transformation when hangers are uniform.
~ Flocked hangers: Beautiful & efficient (loved them when we moved to an older home with smaller closets ~ more clothes fit). Great prices at Costco (50 for $15?), Marshalls & Bed, Bath & Beyond (use 20% off coupon)!
~ Brass hangers: Great for coat closets! They're pricey; but, I didn't buy them all at once.
Well, looks aside, wire hangers are the worst things you could hang your clothes on.
I moved from 3000 sq ft into 650 sq ft. I had to go from my all wooden hangers to the wire flocked ones just to get things to fit into closets. That being said, I still like the all one type of hanger look, whatever they might be.
I did this for my closet a few weeks back - I got two 50 packs of the flocked hangers from Bed Bath & Beyond for $60, and it made such a huge difference! I would love to have all wood hangers but they are just too wide for my narrow little closet. Having all the same hangers makes loads of difference.
You can check it out here:
http://www.abbeycatchat.com/2010/01/closet-revamp.html
I too use the cheap white hangers from Target, supplemented by the wooden clip hangers from IKEA for pants and skirts. What i like is that I can take the clothes from the washer, hang them on the hangers to dry in the shower/tub and then i don't have to do anything when they dry but move them to the closet!
bepsf:
for some, $5 for 8 hangers is a lot.
My cheap white hangers from Target don't look quite as nice....but they're way more affordable on a smaller budget. And, similar to those fancy wood hangers, if you keep it uniform, it still looks nice.
I just did this over the summer w/ the cheap IKEA hangers. For years I couldn't justify this since I had perfectly functional white plastic hangers, but once I ignored that voice of reason, I donated the old hangers and love the new look! Also, it's encouraged my new attitude of having (way) fewer, nicer things that I take better care of.
I use the same clear plastic hangers you see in department stores and I LOVE them! The top swivels so you never need worry about which way the clothing should face so you can see it in the closet, the plastic body means I can drip dry clothes right on the hanger and just put them in the closet when dry (good for my clothes AND the environment) and best of all, when bought in bulk from a retail supply shop...they're cheap! We got 100 more recently for my husband's closet and it cost us $38 including the shipping.
Better than wood anyday...you can't drip dry on wood and the plastic take up less space in the closet! I detest the flocking...after a summer in storage the five flocked hangers were permently glued to my clothes!!
I finally made this conversion in my closet with the wood hangers from Ikea. I think they are cheaper than 5 dollars. More like 2 or 3 bucks. If you buy a pack or two every time you go, it doesn't seem as expensive. Like others, I also got rid of a lot of my clothes. Why did I have a hanger for every day of the year? Purging is good!
I only have running rails so all matching wooden hangers make all the difference. I was fortunate enough to inherit about 200 of them when a friend left town.
I have some wood hangers mixed in with plastic and wire. I will someday replace them. It's the kind of thing that I'm sure would make a difference, but I find it hard to care that much about making closets look nice. For a coat closet that is in plain view (I have one of those) I can see it being more important than a bedroom closet with a door. I hate Ikea, so even if they have the best prices I'm unlikely to go there just for hangers, and at most places wood hangers are fairly pricey for me... I'd rather spend $30 or whatever it would be on art from Ebay or something...
NO MORE WIRE HANGERS! (or did someone already say that?)
UHM OBVIOUSLY!
I'm with Snailsalot. I've been buying the wooden hangers from IKEA a little bit at a time for the last two or three years, and now we have enough for both my husband's and my shirts.
Like Snailsalot, I have to say that one of the best unintended consequences of using the hangers is that it forces me to purge more frequently than if I used thinner wire hangers. If my laundry's all clean and something doesn't fit, something's got to go. It feels good.
(Full disclosure: I have had to throw out 2-3 of the IKEA hangers because they weren't smooth and I didn't want to get splinters in my clothes. Oh well.)
I found that giving the closet a fresh coat of brightly colored paint and crisp white wooden hangers from Ikea looked great. I painted the inside of the bedroom closet turquoise, the entry closet bright yellow - it cheers me up every time I open them up! Keeping similar clothing together also helps to make it look tidier. Short sleeve shirts together, long sleeve, pants, jeans, etc.. Saw this idea at an open house last year where the sellers painted the hall entry closet tangerine.. including the inside/outside of the door!
Go to TJ Maxx or Marshall's an buy the "huggable hangers" knock-offs. I have to say that it is one infomercial product that works wonders. Clothing doesn't slip off, and u really don't get crease marks! AND, it honestly does create way more space!
This is a great idea, but maybe this cheaper application will work for some of you. At a Container Store a while back I got a box of 200 nice white plastic tubular hangers for about $50. To me, that's a lot to pay for hangers, but I had a blinding vision of how good it would look. Out went the wire hangers. Instant improvement to the closet's look, and so much less tangling! Since then, a few other types of plastic hangers (pant clips! yes!) have immigrated, and nice wood hangers for jackets and suitcoats, but the overall look is SO much better. Really worth the time and $.