Before & After: Closet Organization

It is quite possible that I am so ready for Spring I'm actually now cleaning in an attempt to rush its arrival.  In addition to getting settled in my own place, a friend of mine was out of town this weekend so I took the opportunity to give her closet a facelift.  

I'm excited to hear her reaction when she gets back. Below is a before & after visual. To take it from before to after, I followed (and will now share) some of my rules re: closet organization...

*Tops on top rack, bottoms on bottom rack: Helps you visualize the look in your mind before even pulling the hanger off. 

*Matching slim felt hangers, evenly spaced: Saves space and makes your closet feel like a store. Isn't that the ultimate goal? 

*Pants folded, hung in same direction: Allows you to locate your favorite pair with just a quick glance. 

*Gradient hanging: Hanging clothes from dark to light creates the cleanest appearance from the entry because your eye isn't drawn to all different colors.

*Mirror hung in closet: Necessary for self-checks between changes.

*Storage containers in open shelving: In this case I used whitewashed baskets. The neutral colors help to keep a minimal look and the clutter hidden from sight. It's also much easier to pull out the basket and sort through folded items, rather than taking everything off the shelf to find only one piece. 

*Overhead storage: Often times, people don't take full advantage of the top rack for storage.  Here, I used white pop-up boxes to store her clutches, bags and purses (lawwd she had a lot!) 

Try these tips in your closet and let me know the results.  Or if even the thought of it stresses you, call me to come do it for you!

Industrial Chic

I have exciting news: I'm moving to a new place in December. Preparing for the move to a chic modern loft downtown has motivated me to do an overall cleanse... going through closets, prioritizing my things and taking only what I envision having a spot for.  It also has me looking around for fun ideas and solutions to a couple of problems, as the new place is somewhat spaciously-challenged. 

Problem & Solution 1: Lighting

The unit has excellent natural light with floor to ceiling windows, but at night it has the potential of being very dark, as each room only has one light.  Instead of putting multiple lamps in the living room that would require wasting space with extra end tables, I think it might be a good idea for me to use a single floor lamp to fill the room with light. I don't come across many that I like, but I'm in love with the one below.  With a glamourous off-the-movie-set look, this Visual Comfort lamp found at www.neenaslighting.com would do just the trick.

Problem & Solution 2: Book Storage

Where to put my reading, design and art books?  I would prefer to save space by not brining in a bookshelf, so I may hang a few ledges and attach grips as bookends to keep them upright and aligned.  Pictured below are grips found at www.cb2.com but you could easily find the real deal for much cheaper at a hardware or home improvement store.