No pics, since we haven't broken ground yet, but I've devoted a scary amount of thought to this issue.

The entire design process for me has been one of confronting the truth about who I really am, not who I'd like to pretend to be: though I love a tidy house, I need to be very careful to make keeping it that way as easy as possible. Otherwise, I tend to let things pile up until setting them to rights is difficult and depressing.

Clothes are the only thing that ever messes up my bedroom, so I don't want any clothes storage there: I want a closet big enough to hold EVERYTHING. I only need a tiny bit of 'full height' hanging space, so all the rest can have upper and lower rods.

For sweaters [I'm a cashmere/dale of norway junky] I want open shelves, spaced close enough together that I'm not tempted to pile one atop another[I always make a mess if they are].

One [or two] of those trouser hanger assemblies made up of multiple horizontal rods on a vertical axis. Not only hold more for the space they take up, but less mess since you don't have seperate hangers for each pair.

Just a few drawers for 'small clothes', but some kind of multi-basket system for dirty laundry so I can tell at a glance not just when I need to wash, but what.

A bench of course, and some wall hooks for stuff like robes.

And no doors: though those fully fitted closets look very nice, I know that I'd almost never bother to close them.

Oh, and one of those lights that turn themselves on when you walk in. Natural light would be nice as well.

Thank you for your response. I will hopefully get some more. I have looked at several closet company websites and jotted down ideas. Haven't seen a book at the local big box store but am going to check again and also the library. Good luck.

Great list Oruboris! We're starting that process also, and one of the ideas that's been most helpful to me is looking at retail store displays and fixtures. (Just Google retail fixtures) They have a lot of efficient and attractive ways of storing clothes, and you know they're well made. I particularly like the Ralph Lauren displays in our area department stores -- white beadboard backs, stained wood or glass shelves, stained or painted wood molding, chrome rods and fixtures. A very upscale and custom look that shouldn't be hard to duplicate at home DIY on the cheap.

I'd also like:

- a few drawers behind a lockable door for jewelry,
- a small trash can for dry cleaners bags and store tags,
- some clear plastic bins for panty hose, socks, misc. small stuff, and
- an iron and small board, (if I ever use them, that's where...)

I just discovered this site a few days ago and love it: www.easyclosets.com. Even if you don't order from them, the design tool is really user friendly and provides lots of ideas.

It's hard to give more specific feedback w/o knowing whether you're planning to build a new closet or you have one that is pre-existing that you just want to organize better. I recently downsized from a home with a very large walk-in (10x16) to a smaller walk-in (6x8) and oddly enough...I like the smaller. When I had the larger space we tended to keep all the clothes from all seasons, and even old clothes that we didn't like anymore. Being in a more confined space has forced us to organize smartly and only keep the clothes that we really will use and store the out-of-season stuff. It makes me feel much better.

I think the best way to go when designing a closet is to first take inventory of what you need to store. For instance DH uses most double rods as his clothing consists mostly of suits, pants, shirts. He only needs a few shelves for sweaters and of course a place of ties and belts and his supply of shoes is minimal so no problem there.

On the other hand, I have hundreds of pairs of shoes, hats, scarves and other accessories. And it seems if I keep my accessories packed away, I forget about them, so it is best to keep them out where I can see them and displayed carefully to minimize damage especially with my hats. So in my closet I need creative shelving and display areas. I find I put my jewelry on the the bathroom so this is where I have my jewelry case and I finally broke down and bought one of those free standing jewelry case/chest and this holds almost everything except my earrings but these are an entire storage problem in itself.

Thanks for the great ideas. I have found several sites that are very good and printed some pictures. my cabinet man said he can copy anything I want.