apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

amazing. I love it.

I tried this in my last place, which was also a studio with a ridiculously huge closet. I just couldn't get enough ventilation in there and it always seemed a bit hot and stuffy. Maybe the difference in weather between SF and Seattle makes it a better setup there.

is there any way you can put a wardrobe in another part of the apartment and devote this space fully to the bed?

If the clothes were gone and you had a black and white lamp, and a large piece of art this would be so fantastic.

I did the same thing to my 450 sq ft studio!
I had an 8x9 closet - i put my queen bed in there, hung some curtains over the walls (to cover storage & provide some Delano Hotel-type ambiance) and put a couple of wardrobes in my living room.
You can see pictures by clicking on my name (and pictures of the living room throughout the cure).

This was sincerely the best idea ever.
(Not to mention that because of this arrangement, I was able to comfortably fit 48 people in my apartment for a party).

You might try hanging some floor length curtains over those clothes - eliminating the visual clutter will make it feel that much more cozy & relaxing.

I love it. I tried to do something similar in my apartment, but my closet is about 2 inches too slim. I concur with the idea of hanging curtains to cover the clothes...white will brighten the space, as well.

thanks for your comments. Way back when I tried to hang fabric panels, but the clothes come out too far for them to hang freely - the curtain rod can't go farther than the door beam. I tried to suspend curtains from the ceiling. I've got hallow walls (they fell)!

Any affordable suggestions?I've opted for all wood hangers so that it is not a total eye sore. color coordinated arrangment of clothing?

And nope, no room for clothes storage outside the closet. That would be 7 feet of hanging space. Shesh. no fun:) and to make it worse the bed does not fit any other way.

Any other thoughts on how to make the space awesome? thanks so much for looking and reading!

A 6 x 7 closet? 8 x 9 in DC? In New York that's a convertible two bedroom! Or maybe a cozy junior 4? But it looks good!

lynnea said: I've opted for all wood hangers so that it is not a total eye sore. color coordinated arrangment of clothing?

I was inspired by C P Shades stores, where they do exactly that in their all-white & wood environment. I got wooden hangers from IKEA (inexpensive and they seem to keep making the same kind) and I hung the clothes by color and length. My closet always looks like a store display.

Great space arrangement by you!

Clever solution! I'd lose the shelf and pink lamp and add a wall light to allow for more room.

I don't know how you suspended the curtains, but there are rod hooks that attach to the ceiling for curtains rods at Target(I'm sure you can find them elsewhere too). You have to buy them seperately but if you use really light curtains, you may be able to get away with attaching them with molly bolts.

You could use two poles that tension mounted from floor to ceiling, and hang curtains from them, white nylon with a slight sheen. I think that would make it feel very airy. You could then use the pole closest to the head of the bed to mount shelves that rotate out from the pole to use as bedside table and storage. Something like this:
http://www.kitchensource.com/pole/ha-welcome.html

I totally agree with the idea of wall mounting lighting. What about a large mirror that's backlit? Like this:
http://www.kingroselli.com/pages/design/lamp01.htm
Only you know, without the magnification section.

HI Lynnea,

Good for you. Great bed cover. I agree it would be more restful if the clothes were concealed. Don't all freak - but I am going to suggested mirrored closet doors. I think the fact that their weight is supported on the floor and they are only guided at the top may work structurally . They would push the clothes back a bit and keep them in line, Plus reflect light into the space.

Finally to make them a bit less generic there are a couple of things you can do.
Stencil glass frosted paint on to them (maybe carry the poppy motif off bed). Glue die cut felt panesl onto them.

I most recently had amateur type luck with hot gluing small molding on in an Asian design giving a more french door feel. http://www.flickr.com/photos/40847431@N00/sets/72157594537504206/

Ok this is a bit more than my 2 cents - but well done on creative space use

I realize you'd like suggestions to simply hide your clothes via curtain or some other solution, but, while this might sound cheesy, it's simple and doesn't cost anything--try organizing your clothing by color. It will make the clothes visually less busy and you'll be able to find things a bit easier, important when you have 7' of rod to sort through.

I'm assuming you've done a purge of unused/last-worn-a-decade-ago clothing. However, your clothes are packed on that rod, which is visually cramped, bad for your clothes, bad for the rod and bad for you. Even if you find a way to hang a curtain over your clothes, you should consider a trip to the Container Store. I would suggest getting a 3' closet rod doubler. I use one and it makes clothes easier to organize and the top rod is less cluttered, which looks nicer. Going a step further, if you have some clothes that you don't wear as much or have some clothes that you only wear seasonally (I see you have several jackets and coats), you might consider getting some hanging cotton storage bags. That would definitely cut down on a lot of the visual clutter.

Aside from the clothes, I would, at the very least, get a shade on that lamp and do something to hide the cord. Better yet, is the suggestion to get a nice, wall-mounted lamp.

Great topic! I second whoever said an arrangement like this would be a convertible one bedroom in NYC. My last apartment was kind of like this and I rented the 7x8 room out. My roommate had an Ikea loft bed and installed rods underneath it to hang the clothes. Functional, but not very pleasing to the eye.

Now I share a three bedroom and my room, though it has a small closet, is only about 9X9. Being something of a clothes hoarder, I decided I'd rather live in a great big closet than a small room with a small closet! So I'm going with sort of a boudoir theme and have my jewelry and accessories hanging decoratively from the walls I also installed an additional closet rod above the door in the space created next to where the closet pops into the room. Maybe that's a solution for you - raise the height of the clothes rod to give you more walking space? I have to use a long pole to get my clothes down like they do in some clothing stores, but it's kind of fun!

oh my god! i love the idea of using a pole to get my clothes! bravo!