Same here, although I'm an owner builder. Secondary bedroom closets were straightforward. I drafted plans for the master closet since my wife wanted something very specific, along with an area for my gun safe. Trim carpenter built it easily with paint grade poplar fronts and birch boxes/shelves. I made the knotty alder hanging rods on the lathe and stained to match the rest of our stained accents.

I just re-did two reach in closets after living with them for 3 years, really let me know exactly what was needed and where. Tore out the particle board shelving and put in melamine. In my daughter's she had 10 inch deep voids at both ends so added shelving to them and shoe shelves under her long hanging side. Pretty much doubled the storage space in hers. Took me about 3 days with demo, painting, and install.

Used the ELFA system from The Container Store when I added an extra master closet. Completely adjustable as your needs change. I am now thinking of ripping out the fixed shelves in my walk in pantry and using the ELFA system there too, due to the flexibility.

We're using Easy Closets. I have designed all my closets using their tools and they have fantastic customer service. We ordered two closets so far, and they came in two days. We are waiting until we get a change to install the first two before we order more to make sure we like the quality.

We used IKEA PAX for the master closet and mudroom. The main factors were (1) we wanted to determine the configuration after we moved in, (2) nice clear front non-wire drawers with good hardware (we use drawers in the closet rather than dressers) and shoe shelf options, and (3) not far to IKEA so easy to get additional shelves, drawers, etc as needed. The finish carpenters trimmed out the boxes in the space and I installed all the rods, shelves, drawers, etc. after move in.

I would say I don't think PAX is worth the trouble for a reach-in closet unless it's "designed in."

Have fun choosing!

Michelle - Long time no talk from your friend down in Royal Oak. Hope your build is still going well! How does the initial quality of the EasyClosets people look? What finishes did you go with and do you mind posting any pictures? After having California Closets quote us $12K for our master walk in alone we decided upon other options and my initial research is saying that EasyClosets is one of the better custom design/pre-mades out there. (Also - did you know they manufacture here in MI?)

I look forward to your response!

Andrew

We designed our home with ikea kitchen high cabinets dimensions in mind so they fit perfectly in the space like custom builtins in the walk in closet. Love all the interior organization options too!

We used something similar to easyclosets. I felt it was pretty reasonable considering how well they work and how easy they are to configure to your needs. One of the best decisions we made. We used them for all closets and the pantry.

I've looked into easy closets. Seems pretty easy to use. Only problem, my husband doesn't like to put things together. I can do it and it would be right, but I need a hand. And not my husband's hand. He is not a good worker.

Andrew, I have not removed the systems from the box yet....but will post pics and report back when I do.

Oaktown- do you have pics of your IKEA Pax master closet? IKEA is opening in our town at the end of Sep so we are thinking of using that for our master closer too.

Hi faulstr, sorry no photos (promised DH no house photos on houzz). Your IKEA will have nice displays.

I can tell you how it is set up though. We have a walk in/through closet that runs between MBA and a vestibule to the MBR. On each side we have 3 of the 29.xx"W, 93.xx"H regular depth units, trimmed out a bit on either side (6 units total).

2 - 5 glass front drawers, glass shelf, high rod

2 - low rod, shelf, high rod

1 - rod for dresses and long coats, shelf above

1 - 3 plain front drawers, shelf, rod [unit is mostly empty, so might add to it later]

In our house, shoes live in the mudroom/shoeroom.

Have fun shopping at IKEA, there's lots of interesting stuff even if you go another direction for closets!

Is IKEA the cheapest option?

I unpacked and began installing our easy closets over the weekend. It went together easy enough but it all hangs from one track at the back and does not seem sturdy at all. We will finish with the rest of what we ordered (two hall closets), but are going to go with the Allen and Roth system that Lowes sells for the rest of the house. We had that system in our last master bedroom and it was really quite nice. Takes a bit more effort to install, but worth it.

abick, I think it depends on what you are looking for because a lot of these options price by piece. When we were thinking about this last year, for us the options from most to least expensive were:

California Closets > Elfa > IKEA Pax > IKEA Algot

Elfa example closets/pricing (sale on!)

IKEA Pax example closets/pricing

IKEA Algot example closets/pricing

Ours were custom designed similar to what the easy closet site looks like but we didn't install them ourselves, they did it for us. At that point we moved in and had closets with nothing (no bars, nothing at all) and stuff everywhere, more than happy to pay for a quick install! I thought it was reasonable...or maybe after we did so much stuff ourselves I figured it was worth the splurge. I can't be sure.

Did anyone try Home Depot?

I am looking at CS Elfa and not really liking their plastic drawers I think I would prefer regular shelves instead. Any feedback on those?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/ClosetMaid-Selectives-25-in-White-Custom-Closet-Organizer-7029/100597849?quantity=1

Has anyone used these? I am thinking of using it for the kids' closets, it is similar to what I have in my current house. The only thing is I will need to add shelves on the sides since they are all walk in closets.

John Louis Home. Solid wood, stained, endless configuration possibilities.

we have done Elfa from the container store, first in our master closet, then as an office in a wide reach in closet, and then the coat closet, and the butlers pantry, and the food pantry. We used the metal basket type drawers and have the plastic liners in a few. Benefit is that the wire mesh doesn't leave marks in your clothing. Our previous house had the home depot version and the elfa is about twice as sturdy, feels solid and looks nicer.

Just wanted to chime in. We've now done 8 closets using EasyClosets.com. They are all AWESOME. The quality has held up extremely well, drawers glide effortlessly, etc. Highly recommended!

Thanks Arial. I'm probably going to end up using them too. I can't seem to find anything else in the color I need. So they seem sturdy? Would you be willing to take pics?

Yes, very sturdy. Even when fully loaded with heavy items. If you receive any pieces that are damaged in shipping, just notify them and they'll send replacements.

I can take pics on Sept 16---would that be too late for your purposes? I'm actually currently in our new location, 9 hours away from the most recent house where we did EasyClosets.

That's not too late...thank you!

After pricing really lovely stuff...I chose nobody. Figure they will convey with the house. I have the rods I need and a chest of drawers. Works fine.