I have built custom cabinets for years and $20k does seem very high,At $10k your looking at around $536 LF which is not the way I actually figure them but should be in the ballpark. A lot depends on the build quality and hardware used.Drawers and quality slides are expensive and add up fast .I commend you for going with a quality wood that will last .Most will want to cheap out on a closet build being painted. $20 still seems very high to me.

So the other side is a mirror image of the photo you posted? What are the dimensions of each side? It seems to me the most efficient layout would be hanging rods low, where the angled ceiling starts, with shelves above. These shelves won't be very deep, but fine for shoes or small baskets. The opposite side can be a combination of drawers, cabinets, shelves, and long hanging space - whatever suits your needs. The depth of the storage on the inside wall depends on the width of the room - you don't want too narrow a walkway between.

It sounds like you made really good choices. I was in your position a year ago and we moved into our house 8 months ago. We also used California Closets and I was very happy with the experiences. Having your shoe shelves be non-angled is very practical in case you want to use that space for storing other things in the future (which you couldn't do easily with slanted shelves). I also upgraded to the soft-close dovetail drawers, which I love. The only thing I sort of regret is letting my designer talk me into a few frosted glass door fronts. She wanted it to feel more open and for me to be able to "display" beautiful handbags, etc. but the reality is that it's a closet and not a display space and I would rather have had totally concealed storage. I am happy with the accessories I chose: a jewelry drawer, safe, tilt-out hampers, ironing board that tucks into a drawer, full length mirror, pull-out rod and belt rod. For my kids' small walk-in closets, we got full-length mirrors (that fold away) and pull-out hampers. For my youngest daughter's (10 years old) closet, I did not pay close enough attention to the height of the hanging sections. One section is too high for her to reach so I ordered extra shelves to put in that area until she gets taller. Same thing for the drawer sections. She can reach the top 2 drawers to open them but she isn't tall enough to see what is in them. I also wish we would have been able to have pocket doors for the smaller walk-in closets but our room design did not allow for this. For the benefit of other readers looking at closet options, yes, CC is pricey but they really do handle EVERYTHING from the design to the installation and the clean-up. I wanted/needed help to design our spaces to maximize storage space and could not do that without the help of the designer. I did look at The Container Store's custom system (not elfa) but when I went to the store to open drawers, see the finishes, etc. to get a sense for the quality, they felt flimsy compared to CC. I did notice, however, that they have recently revised their custom closet offerings so maybe they have improved.

connerhm the maple finished plywood is probably not as hard as an actual solid piece of maple. It's only got a thin layer of maple. I have worked with solid maple(ambrosia maple) and that stuff is hard but I didn't find working with it to be any more difficult then working with pine or the white wood stuff from Lowes. We sued the ambrosia maple for tabletops and desk tops. I actually preferred working with the harder wood. It didn't chip or splinter like softer woods. I have never worked with the maple finished plywood.