Have you tried using one of the online places yourself and doing a mock up to get an idea of costs? there are a few. I have used this one and was happy with what was sent. I will say I mocked up my master closet and decided it was not enough of a priority to spend whatever the estimate was (It was a lot)

But then I did my entry closet at a later date and it was worth it and has been fabulous.

Here is a link that might be useful: easyclosets

Do you have a Container Store where you live? Their design service is free and they have good quality. We have used their system in 3 bedrooms enabling us to "trade-out" features when an occasion merits. Their product goes on sale early in the new year. Their proposal will include a design, materials and pricing plus they offer an installation service too.

Our Master Closet is awkward. Measuring approximately 6 x 8 feet, the inward opening door makes hanging just inside impractical, then the chimney takes 2 feet from one side. My DH designed and built-out as seen in the linked photos. He did this quite a few years ago before we caught on to closet systems but it significantly improves the original builder-grade wire shelving which ran around the space.

Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Master Closet

You're probably wanting something more sophisticated, but I just did my closet this last weekend with a $92 4-8 ft. Rubbermaid kit. It is wonderful! I weeded out perhaps 25% of my clothes and added 2 more feet of hanging space. The closet went from 8 feet of hanging space to 10 feet (can expand to 16 if necessary), and the shelf space was more than adequate for the non-hanging stuff. There is just enough dead space at the right side of the closet to store shoes along the wall with a hanging rack of some sort.

The hardest part was clearing the closet, removing the old wooden pole, supports, & shelves with a pry bar, patching & painting the walls, and restocking the closet (saying good-bye to the young, pretty, thin person I used to be by letting go of gorgeous clothes I can't wear anymore).

The system is configurable as my needs change. It's amazing to have all one's clothes visible & so easily accessible. Makes it easy to put things away too.

This closet was stuffed to the gills before, so you can see what a difference the Rubbermaid kit makes. There is another 2 feet of clothing hidden by the wall hanging to the left in the picture, and I want to further organize the shirts/blouses on the top left. I can convert the shelving area to hanging space if needed. Looking forward to getting the shoes off the floor.

This thread from last year was helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: closet purging & organization

LOL! I can see that the term "organizers" mean different things to different people (re: the attached reference thread on Purging)! In my case, I'm concerned about what kind of cabinetry/system I can get for the money.

As mentioned, I'd feel really badly paying several thousand for melamine. I'd also feel badly wasting a vendor's time in bidding out real wood if the price ends up in the stratosphere.

Edited to clarify I am referencing the Purging thread reference NOT awm's first post with the photo, which I greatly appreciate seeing!

This post was edited by Jewel654 on Thu, Nov 6, 14 at 18:51

Hmmm...I think my budget, mass-produced kit organizer is an "organizer." Hope you weren't LOL-ing at it.

No, awm03. I was pointing out that the reference thread you attached (Closet Purging & Organization) is all about the process of organizing stuff that goes into a closet (deciding what to keep, what to toss, what to donate, etc.).

That made me realize that I better clarify that my query is about the equipment/materials (the noun use of the word "organizers", not the verb use).

When we redid our closet, I had a rep come from California Closet. She had flash cards and was able to string them together to show what it would look like. The price was higher than we wanted to pay.

We bought a system from Home Expo, no longer around. But,as mentioned, The Container Store had great options.

I can see a custom closet if you have a large space and or like above mentioned, an odd layout. For the rest of us, this is an easy DIY.

OK ~
call a few places
give them the measurements-
give them a budget
tell them what you want it made of.

Don't feel like you are wasting their time.It's all part of the business.

Maybe you're right and they will not be able to accommodate.

Best bet is to design yourself, purchase and hire a handyman to install.

Ask your friend how much was paid to come out and design and install !!
I would guess more than half the cost.

Anyway ~found this site that even has solid wood in the co. name !!

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.solidwoodclosets.com/

you will pay more than 6,000 for real wood...esp if your closet is a pretty good size... but the closet companies must make a pretty good profit!! i never priced out a carpenter to make a wood closet system, but wood cabinets are more expensive than pb!!
a previous home i had had nice real wood shelves, but that was before the closet companies became popular and they were open shelves- no drawers shoe shelves, etc...

I love closet organizers tho-- have gone with more off name companies than CC in the past(less $ for basically same product)... our current house already had CC in most of the closets, but I added a small system to our entry closet-- espresso colored melamine kit I bought at HD for less than $100--of course, the entry closet is much smaller- a 5' wide reachin compared to a larger bedroom closet---, but I wasn't about to pay a closet co for such a small job. I am very happy with it! I also added a lowe's ventilated real wood system to our laundry room closet-- it is quite sturdy and was more expensive, but I actually prefer the look of the HD 'system I installed... possibly partially due to the laundry room system being whitish rather than dark, but I still think I would prefer the melamine one even if both were dark...
whoever you go with, make sure they drill into studs- anchors aren't strong enough!! i went with a different co and my old neighbor went with CC and we both had issues with our pantry shelves having areas collapse because they weren't entirely secured into studs!!! really ridiculous for the amount they charge!

Oh, okay, makes sense now :)

The Organizers (noun: people who organize) hit on a number of points in their thread about closet purging & organizing that I found to be true: it can be overwhelming & emotional. (Who knew?!) The buying of the organizing system is the easy part, lol! Hope you find a system you like, jewel654. And don't rule out ol' budget Rubbermaid if you want to use an extra closet somewhere in the house :)

I love my Elfa system from Container Store. I have only 5' of space for my wardrobe and shoes. This system made good use of the space without taking up extra room with shelving and built-ins.

You can configure online for an idea of the price and they will help you with it in-store as well. I think they have a sale after Christmas.

What state are you in? I'm in Pennsylvania and we found an older gentleman that is retired from the business and now does it himself I had a huge closet that is like 25 foot long by 13 foot wide done for like $3000.

I was disappointed with California Closets. The estimator/designer helped me get the elements I wanted, but she didn't tell me that the baseboards would have to be removed. Plus, I didn't realize how much storage I would lose at the top of the closet because of the way CC installs their vertical panels. This was for a long closet with sliding doors in a former residence. It's been at least 15 years and I think the cost was around $1,500 for the white melamine covered MDF.

As for getting estimates, don't feel bad about taking the sales person's time. That's what they do. I don't want to waste anyone's time, but I had three different companies come to my house to measure and bid on shades for one of my windows. I had to hound one of them to get the bid from them and not one of the three ever called to follow-up with me which made me feel like none of them would do the job I wanted on time. In that case, I feel like all three wasted MY time.

This post was edited by Fun2BHere on Thu, Nov 6, 14 at 22:42

I'd check with a local cabinet maker or Amish woodworker if you are close to any Amish. Take a pic of your neighbor's closet, print out some from online, rip out of magazines to show them what you want. Get prices from them.

ELFA! Annual sale begins Dec. 26th or so, and runs thru mid-Feb (30% off every single ELFA component, down to the tiniest screws and anchors, including installation, too).

We worked with some terrific ELFA specialists on both of our MB closets to really maximize storage. We brought home the CAD drawings they made for us (I got a few different layout options for my walk-in closet), and then tweaked them (on our own, or with the help of the specialists) until we were satisfied with the designs.

My walk-in closet is 7'x7'. I have to check the cost, but I know it cost less than $3000 (maybe even less than $2000, but I'm drawing a blank tonight!).

I love my closet! We even maximized the storage capacity in DH's small reach-in closet.

We used John Lewis Home in our 6'x12' (his) and 12'x12' (hers) closet overhaul. It's solid wood (pine) and comes in light or dark stained. I went to the JLH website, looked up who their online dealers were, and picked one of them. I had a rough layout in mind, they helped me draw it up formally and get the right pieces. Total cost was around $4000 for the materials (in 2007), and we DIY-ed the install.

His:

Hers:

Man, I miss that closet. :-(

Lowes now carries a JLH lookalike that's from Allen + Roth. We used that in a couple smaller walk-in closets.

This post was edited by weedyacres on Fri, Nov 7, 14 at 21:17

I paid $7,647 total for my closet and my husband's. Solid wood cabinets, custom made w/ organizers and lazy shoe-sans.

My closet:

I don't have a good picture of my husband's but here are the drawings it was based of it:

Magnificent, Weedy and Beagles!! Thank you for sharing those pics and your costs.