You could actually do a couple different things. You could have one rod and use hangers. You would have to fold them a bit to fit on the hanger and not drag on the floor, but that's usually how they come from the cleaners. For heavy cloths, use two hangers together for added strength. You could also hang multiple rods at slightly different heights and depths. If you have a walk in closet this works great, but will still work with a reach in. Hang the highest rod the farthest back, then one a bit lower and closer and even a third lower and closer than the second. Then you can hang the cloths right on the rod instead of on a hanger. I like the rod because of it's larger diameter it doesn't leave creases in the cloths. You can also overlap them on these rods. For optimum use of space, you'd need to use multiple rods and overlap. Is that totally confusing?!

Steph, if you have issues with plumbing, is it the supply water failing? Is it the sewer line failing? Just which side of your system is not dependable? Why I ask, have you ever thought about a COMPOSTING TOILET? I bet it would work in your situation VERY well. I'm told that if I want one, to go ahead and get it for my garage redo, but don't tell anyone. A lot of communities object to having them around. Not being that familiar with their operation, I could not say...but I'm always interested in doing something out of step with the ordinary, maybe more eco-friendly, especially water saving. In your case, water is as precious as gold. In my case, I'm loving my new "future" master suite as soon as I can take a bath in the clawfoot tub. And hang my clothes in the new walk in closet. My future mini project is to add a window seat and tall cabs either side of it, in the dining room. LOTS of places to put kitchen stuff then, and file drawers under the seat too. This will make the dining room more functional. After that gets done, I think we'll be looking at a kitchen redo. Then the garage redo. Might contract for both of those jobs at one time, with the contractor who is doing such a good job on our tub/closet bumpout now. My DH trusts his work from all the pictures I've sent him as work progresses.

I would not do plaster again. It was so mottled, plus it cracked, that I tore it out after 2 yrs. I have brand new 1 day old pebble sheen and so far, I LOVE it. I would not use a busy mosaic tile. I replaced mine with simple pool blue midcentury square tiles. I would not rush the design as stated above. I had a highly qualified landscape architect help me with the remodel and it looks fabulous (I think). I lengthened my pool to a 60 ft. long lap pool. I am glad that I paid the extra $ for this.

Sorry for the late reply. I decided to drive 3 hours over the weekend to visit the closest IKEA and The Container Store. We decided to go with Ikea PAX for the kids' closets. Even with the 30% off ELFA sale, we were able to get more bang for our buck with Ikea. I think we will have to do a tiny "hack" to get PAX to work the way I envision, but I think it will get the job done. The sales rep called it a "hack", but I don't think the extra steps are enough to call it a true hack. I'll know once I install them. :) I haven't purchased anything for my master yet. I like the simplicity and accessories available with the PAX, but I worry about quality. I decided to install the kids' systems first to see how I like them. This will also give me time to get a quote from a local company. While looking at the ELFA system, I saw the custom closets available at The Container Store. Those are by far the nicest systems I've seen, but the sales rep didn't seem amenable to finding a budget friendly solution. The display said as shown $3,000, starting as low as $1000. When I inquired about what the $1,000 gets you, I got the....we don't do partial systems...you can't just buy parts...you get what we design...on average $10k/closet. It is unfortunate. For the quality, I would have been open to designing my closet in phases to spread the cost over a few years to get a much nicer system. Doesn't seem like that is an option. @Lawarence, thanks for the tip regarding Ikea Knoxhult. They have that system tucked in at the end of the Kitchen displays, so I had never noticed it before now. I had to ask for help finding them. It looks like a great deal. I've decided to wait and see where we are with the final budget before I outfit my walk-in pantry. I know I have extra bookshelves that I can use temporarily. Plus, we've been in temp. housing for 18 months and all my things are in storage. I don't even remember what I have! Once all my things are delivered, I'll know exactly what I need to store and can select a system to store everything. Again, thanks everyone for the advice. I'll try to update you all on the PAX systems once their installed. I'm sure I'll have more questions moving forward, but it is nice to at least have a solution for 3 of the closets.