how to Organize Walk Through Closet?

14 years ago

We are planning on building a new home and in the house plans my husband drew up is a Walk Through Closet. It takes us out of our Master Bedroom and Connects to Utility Room with Washer and Dryer, Outside Entrance and Garage Entrance. It does not connect to our Master Bathroom. The Mater Bathroom is in a Room next to it, but it does not connect. It will have a doors on both ends that can be shut. How would you organize this? Before we build, do you think a walk Through is even a good idea? any ideas will be greatly appreciated. We plan on living in this house for the rest or our lives and don't want to make a mistake in the build. This is our first and only house we plan on building.

Thanks

Tammy

Southern IL

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Comments (12)

trilobite
14 years ago
Just making sure I understand. How do you access the Utility Room other than the Master Bedroom?

One note I'd make, *personally* I think the extra effort required to bring clean clothes up from the laundry is a good motivator for sorting and deciding if it's a garment's "time to go". While I think the convenience of having a utility room right there would be great, I would monitor how I used it to make sure I wasn't just putting stuff away because it was so convenient. Does that make sense?

I don't think an extra door would make that much difference if the doors were opposite each other. The one time in my life we've been fortunate enough to have a walk-in closet, a door on the far wall would have been perfectly fine. I mean, you want a path through the center anyway, otherwise the whole thing would be unmanageable.
susanjn
14 years ago
Utility/mud rooms are often dusty. Do you want that leading into your closet? This sounds like a "guy thing" plan. Although having the laundry near the closet would be convenient.

I personally don't like my laundry in the mud room because of the dirt issue, and it means my laundry is on display all the time.
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No pictures, and not that I'm terribly organized, but this is what I do to avoid complete chaos in the small walk-in closet I share with DH. There is an organizer system that was installed by the PO of the house, with the right side having one bar to hang clothes and the left side a low bar and a high bar. I use the right side, and DH uses the left side. (I don't mess with his side. He tends to keep clothes that he doesn't wear for a long time, but he's pretty neat.) Starting from the left, I hang all my tops: Sleeveless Short-sleeved Long-sleeved Then pants Then skirts Then dresses Then evening wear/dressy clothes Sweaters go on the shelf above. Our closet has a pegboard attached to one wall with moveable hooks. I hang the nightgown I've worn the night before and any bras that I've worn since washing them on a couple of the hooks. (Clean nightwear and bras are kept in my dresser.) Shoes: seldom-worn shoes (dress shoes) are in a hanging cloth shoe bag on the other wall of the closet. More-often-worn shoes are theoretically in a bench by the front door, but in practice tend to be strewn about in front of the bench. But we don't have that many shoes, and it's easy to pick them up and put them in the bench.
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" It had games, blankets, sheets, towels, beach towels, wash cloths, hand towels, wrist/ankle/knee braces, heating pad, poison ivy wash, candles, candlesticks, votives, old cough drops, nyquil...as you can see just about everything." Sounds like this closet became the junk closet, like many people have junk drawers in their kitchens. There's nothing wrong with a catch-all closet, unless you don't like it. What I'd start with is determining what you want to store in the closet. It could be linens, but it could also be anything else that you have to store but don't have room for elsewhere. It looks like you used to store a few categories of things in the closet: 1. Linens. blankets, sheets, towels, beach towels, wash cloths, hand towels. 2. Medicine/first aid supplies: wrist/ankle/knee braces, heating pad, poison ivy wash, old cough drops, nyquil. 3. Decorative items: candles, candlesticks, votives. Or maybe these were black-out supplies? 4. Games. Storing things where you use them is a great idea. You are already doing this with the guest towels and sheets. Can you do this with any of the things you are currently storing in the closet? The games in the family room, the candles in the kitchen or living room? Or you could store all linens in the rooms they are used in (if there is storage space) and use the linen closet for games and candles and decor items. Just because someone decided to call this a linen closet doesn't mean you have to use it as one. But let's say that you decide to make the closet for linens and medicine/first aid. Spend a little time thinking about how you use your linens. Do you and DH use a clean bath towel daily, or use one for three days or use one for a week? How often do you do laundry? How often do you have overnight guests? What else do you use towels for--laying sweaters out to dry, drying a dog, wiping up spills, workouts, etc.? Get a feel for how many towels you use in a week, add in a few spares for emergencies, and you have the number of towels you need to store. Go through the same thing with sheets and pillows. Err a little on the side of too much rather than too little. I live alone and while in a decluttering mood, thought that I only needed two bath towels. Completely forgetting that I handwash most of my sweaters and need one towel to squeeze out most of the water and another to lay the sweater out on to dry. Yeah, that required a trip to the store. For small stuff, like OTC medications, I find it helpful to group them in a container. I like to use those boxes they sell for photograph storage--there are a lot of pretty ones out there. Then label the box. "Cold stuff." "First aid stuff." "Painkillers." "Braces and wraps."
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@lisadipiro, I respectfully disagree. I’m also a nurse and have cared for aging parents and sibling post major surgery. If the toilet is in the shower area with the bowl facing out, grab bars can be positioned on either side, enhancing independence while still allowing for privacy or assistance as the case may be. If aging in place is a consideration for this space, the stand alone tub should be removed or replaced w a walk-in and the shower access needs to be much wider with a minimal threshold to allow for assistance in the shower.
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That layout sounds kind of like what the 2 bedroom units in the HOA I lived in when we were still in SoCal was like...The vanity area of the bathroom had a closet facing the vanity/sink side that was the two sliding door type, with a door to the toilet/tub+shower part of the bathroom to the right (left if you're coming in the door from the master bedroom) and a door to the master bedroom on the left (right if you're coming in from the toilet/tub+shower part of the bathroom) - another double door slider closet was in the master bedroom. They almost always painted all of the walls, the closet doors, and the doors in/out of each space the same color as the master bedroom because it was adjoining. The smaller bedroom accessed the bathroom through another door off the upstairs hallway, so sometimes that smaller bedroom would be painted a different color but not always. White (the same one as was used elsewhere) was a popular and sensible choice, you can always add color with accessories and art! White bedding can start to look dingy if you don't wash it in hot water (occasionally adding bleach to go into the load while it's running), so think about how much 'maintenance' you're willing to do before buying all the bedding in white (sheets and pillowcases in white aren't as big of a deal because you typically have 'decorative' pillows and a comforter/duvet covering them when you get the bed made each day). :) When we had the house on the market the 'stager' had us buy one of those cheap bed-in-a-bag comforter/shams/decorative throw pillow sets in white with a little area of patterned print down at the part that goes on the foot of the bed, which I thought was totally impractical given that our dog loves being on the bed and washing the thing would have made the fiberfill migrate around so it would be lumpy when it went back on the bed! At least the place sold in less than a month after being listed so we didn't have to worry about it for very long. :P
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thch91
Original Author
14 years ago
[URL=http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/576375874oAaHAq][IMG]http://thumb9.webshots.net/t/69/769/7/92/41/2543792410089309269zWYVCu_th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I dont know if this will work. here is picture of house plans we drew up and are working off of.

Tammy
thch91
Original Author
14 years ago
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2543792410089309269zWYVCu

Still working on it
Jeane Gallo
14 years ago
I like the walk-thru closet. It would make putting away your clothes so much easier. But I would suggest making both doors opening to inside the closet, rather than to the outside. Or better yet, I'd make the one from the utility into the closet be a pocket door. We have a pocket from our mudroom into the hall and I love it. Plus, your utility has a lot of doors in it. Also, I think you should consider putting a prep sink in the island (and make the island a little bigger)...and line the island up with the stove area. Your sink is a long way from the stove and fridge. While I'm at it, I'd suggest a pocket door for the master bath as well. When you have the door open, which is most of the time, it will block one sink. If you swing it open to the other side, it will block your shower. I had this in a previous house and it bugged me. It makes the bathroom seem cramped. If you ask for ideas on the decorating forum, you'll get a lot of good suggestions. I came over to this board looking for ideas on my closet, but I don't think the decorating gals come over here that often.
trilobite
14 years ago
Oh! I get it and like it.

The one thing I would suggest that I don't see, would be some space for a coat closet right when you come in. Or just put a free-standing wardrobe in if that's not practical.
thch91
Original Author
14 years ago
We have a coat closet at the front door. Thinking of shelving with hooks at the back door. I wanted lots of closet space since not having a basement. We own 58 acres and have the site staked out. we are waiting on all bids to come in and utility comps to let us know how much to get everything ran out to the site. It is just My hubby and I and a yellow lab. The front Bedroom will actually serve as an office and then we would have one spare bedroom for guests.

Tammy
susanjn
14 years ago
Yes, definitely get the bathroom door out of the kitchen!
kathleenca
14 years ago
Now that I see the plan for the walkthrough closet it makes a lot of sense. Would you want a window in the toilet area of the master bathroom? I think most building codes require a window if the ventilation systemis not adequate.

Comments on the bedrooms & the bathroom on the other side of the house. Are you sure you want these rooms opening directly into the living room & kitchen? I would want a hall for them to open into so any mess is not always on view. Additionally, in some areas the building code does not allow bathrooms to open directly into a kitchen. Think sanitation, smell, noise.

Is there a window in the other bathroom?
claire_de_luna
14 years ago
If you can include some low drawer storage in your closet, it would be nice to be able to put away all your clothes in there. You could use a shelf above the drawers to fold laundry on before putting it away, since it's so convenient to the W/D. I would probably put the drawers in the middle of the closet on each side of the walk-through, so you have a more open, finished space in the middle, with ''His'' and ''Hers'' sides. That way you could put your heavy, outdoor hanging items closer to the utility room, along with your travel gear and out-of-season clothes. The hanging clothes you wear most, of course closest to the bedroom, with shoes. I love the Elfa gliding shoe racks, which make so much sense to me.
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/elfa/components/ventilatedShelving?productId=10027065

Also, you probably need to think about where your dirty clothes are going to go. Your washer/dryer space isn't all that large, but I figured out a way to sort my dirty clothes and make washing much more convenient in a small space. My laundry closet in your utility room could work well for you in this instance.

The low drawers have wire bins in them, which I use to sort (Light, Medium, Dark colors). The baskets above the washer and dryer are specialty items (undies, towels, delicates). I have a smaller, European style W/D which works well in the space. Each bin/basket holds one load and because it's already sorted, I only have to Stuff the washer and Start it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Luna Laundry System
ronbre
14 years ago
my favorite i have ever seen had 2 doors off of a huge master bedroom suite..there was a small bath off of each door..one with a shower, one with a tub..then each had a door to a long closet between the two bathrooms..

there was hanging bars along each side with cabinetry ..base style island like all down the center..and room for dressers on each end..it was very very cool
justgotabme
14 years ago
I think it's brilliant! Our laundry room is just catty corner across the hall from our master bedroom suite and I love not having to walk across the house to put away clothes. It's a dream situation!

how to Organize Walk Through Closet?

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