Closet Factory Makeover

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A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place:

Closet Factory Makeover Transforms Couple’s Closet

You can only take getting hit in the head with your favorite pair of jeans or losing another shoe in the “closet black hole” before thinking to yourself: “Enough is enough.”

For Minnetonka residents Laura and Scott Condon, the light at the end of their (cramped, outdated, and cluttered) closet tunnel came after being selected as the “Ugly Closet” winners, a unique closet makeover sponsored by Closet Factory and Midwest Home magazine.

Multiple people submitted photos and stories about their unsightly closets during the Midwest Home Show in November, but it was the Condons’ 9-by-7 foot walk-in bedroom closet, with a sagging closet bar, clothes falling off the one and only shelf, and not enough room for clothes to hang straight because of a dresser jammed underneath the rack” that caught the eye of Janice Gaut, owner, Closet Factory Minneapolis/St. Paul.

“The shelves are so high, I have to literally throw my jeans up there,” Laura explained before the makeover. “Our bedroom is too small for a dresser, so we have that in the closet, and it takes up way too much space. Our closet is totally disorganized and dysfunctional.”

Janice and her team at Closet Factory are accustomed to disorganized and dysfunctional. They were ready for the challenge.

AN ART AND A SCIENCE

Homeowners Laura and Scott

Designing storage space is an art and a science. During the initial consultation, Janice not only measured, but also asked questions and listened carefully before showing various finishes, hardware options, and designs.

“Janice and her staff were great to work with,” Laura comments. “They were so professional, helpful, and knowledgeable. I’d recommend Closet Factory to anyone considering a closet remodel.”

Janice measured the hanging space, she measured how clothes were folded, and she counted the shoes to make sure there was adequate space devoted to footwear. “The average woman owns 36 pairs of shoes,” Janice explained. “And one of the most common closet complaints is that shoes are piled in a heap and consistently getting lost.” If shoes are not in a designated space, finding a matching pair (without tripping over the pile) is going to be a losing battle. A shoe rack is a necessity in most closets, Janice says. “If you do nothing else as far as organizing your closet, at least buy yourself a shoe rack.”

Another common closet complaint is shelving that’s built for a giant, with clothes piled precariously high. “It doesn’t matter how many times you pull everything down and refold it neatly, the minute you pull out the bottom item, there you go again,” Janice says.

An organized closet can save you valuable time, money (you won’t be buying duplicates for things you can’t find), and potential stress (who wants to look at a messy closet every morning?). Good closet space, especially in the master bedroom, is important to potential homebuyers, too, when you’re ready to sell your home.

MAKING USE OF SPACE

Closet Factory offers all the bells and whistles of modern closets, but where they really excel is addressing individual needs that make use of every inch of available space. Janice asked the couple if they preferred to hang their sweaters or if they’d rather fold them and keep them on a shelf (with doors to protect the clothes from dust). She asked them to show her drawer sizes in other parts of the home so they could get exactly what they wanted for storage purposes. She asked if there was anything in the closet that could go elsewhere (a suitcase); and vice versa, she asked if there was anything not in the closet that they would like in the closet (Laura’s necklaces). Janice examined the types of finishes and fixtures in the rest of the home so that the closet would match the existing décor, then presented them with a hardware book. Once the finishes were chosen (in their case, a satin nickel metallic finish), Scott and Laura selected the features they wanted—jewelry drawers, a scarf rack, a tie rack, a shoe rack, deep drawers—and a custom-made wood color that matched the cabinetry in their newly remodeled kitchen.

“Every piece of their system was custom-made for Scott and Laura,” Janice says. “At the Closet Factory, we do not have ‘standard’ sizes. Nothing is subcontracted. We meet all deadlines, and we do quality work.”

The average Closet Factory closet makeover, she says, is between $2,800-$3,800, with some projects coming in below that range and some coming in higher.

Laura and Scott’s new closet, valued at $5,000, is a sleek, updated, stylish, organized space that sets a positive tone for the day.

“Everything has a place now in our closet,” Laura says. “Our clothes are organized and our accessories are within sight. It makes getting ready in the morning so much easier.”