Wow - thanks for all the feedback! Still digesting it all but here's some random late-night thoughts. I do see his point about the doors. On our main floor (which is obviously heated and air conditioned) we have a few doors made from tongue and groove pine in the barn door style and they have warped and flexed -- in the summer, they swell and stick, in the winter, they warp. I consider it part of the charm of the house but I could definitely see how that much movement might cause problems on a sliding track. hoosiergirl - those look like the doors I found that are a thousand bucks a door! They are cool though! natal - those drapes look cool, but those openings are small. I can't picture 18 feet of drapes....that seems overwhelming to me. All the suggestions for built-ins and such would be wonderful, but we're pretty far along so I think it would be costly to change now. Besides, the things that are getting stored here aren't pretty (rubbermaid tubs full of thomas tracks and other random toys) so I definitely like the idea of closed doors. My kids are 6 and 9 so I'm thinking they shoudl be able to manage the doors without hurting themselves. And once we outgrow the need for this much toy storage, I plan to fill the closet up with christmas decorations and sporting equipment and other bulky ugly stuff anyhow. So anyhow, right now, my current thinking is to use 5 completely flat doors and one paneled one (I didn't want to confuse you in the original post, but one of the doors needs to have a grille in it because the dehumidifier will live in this closet as well. So I was thinking of cutting the middle panel out of the single flat panel door (thanks for the correct term bronwynsmom!) and replacing it with metal grille to allow for air circulation to the dehumidifier section of the closet. I was even thinking I could bolt two doors together into a 6 foot door (maybe even use wood putty to hide the "seam" down the middle - think that would work?). Then I'd have 3 6ft doors that I'd just paint with chalkboard paint for now. The plain flat door blanks are dirt cheap so I could try this approach for now and, if I wasn't happy with it, I guess I could try building my own barn doors later. There are two things that concern me about this plan though -- one is that the end door would actualy have one flat door and one paneled door bolted together (to allow for the air grille) - that might look dumb. Plus with the 6 foot doors, there will be alot of the area covered at any point in time -- one of the tracks is always going to have 12ft of door on it. Versus if I just hung the 3 ft doors alternating -- then I'd have each track with 9 ft, exposing an additional 3 ft with the doors all the way open. I suppose I could get around this by having 3 separate tracks instead of 2, but I'm not sure the door opening has the extra depth for that and we're hemmed in by ductwork so I don't know if we could make the space if we wanted to. I'm terrible with visualizing stuff like this in my head, so I think I need to draw it out on paper. Bronwynsmom -- the idea you describe about jointing two paneled door blanks together - can you explain it again? I've read your paragraph over and over and it sounds intriguing, but I'm not quite getting exactly what you're describing. Anyhow, thanks again for the feedback. I've got a few days to figure it out, so keep any ideas coming!

I just finished an addition to my twenties home. I tried everything to get a bath and closet with in a 13 x8 ft space but everything felt cramped and instead of having a tight closet and a tight bath with small shower and vanity we decided to add wardrobes to or large bath. I wanted custom but due to an unexpected health issue we scaled back budget and went with IKEA pax wardrobes they hold all of my most worn seasonal clothes and all of my husbands work clothes plus most worn casual wear. I like the reach in better for organization too. We still have the orginal reach in closet and a pine older armoire for extra items in the bedroom but never open it. Could you add wardrobes in the bedroom and have a nice sized bath with additional storage? I really love my large bath after years in this old house with tiny baths and closets. I was unconventional and like keeping my clothes in the bath which has two venting fans. it is my most private from the street area in my room so it is where I change anyway but the wardrobes take up so little space I could have placed them in the bedroom without losing much floor space too. in your second plan you can turn the vanity and make it longer and have the edge abut the shower with a half glass panel and than the door....

My foyer closet is similar. It's 3.5 by 5.5 deep or so because it's under the stairs. I used a modular closet shelving on the left side floor to top with the shallow shelves. I keep a ridiculous amount of stuff in there. The shelves are 7.5 deep. In the back I have another section mounted that's 26" wide and has hanging rods for extra coats, and shelves underneath for more stuff/boots. I used the IKEA algot system but Elfa and the like have similar options. I still have room to park my vacuums on the right side.

There are companies such as California Closets (can't recommend a particular vendor as it will depend on who is in your area) who will come out, measure, talk to you about what you're looking for, suggest solutions and then install. Needless to say this is the most expensive option but could be the most satisfactory if you need help through the whole process. Then there is Ikea and The Container Store. A little less expensive but still quality. You have to install it yourself or have someone do it if you don't have the skills in house. You can also use Closet Maid from HD which is less expensive and you have to figure out your own layout. But they do have a lot of different components that you can mix and match. When we did our master closet last year we used Closet Maid, but my husband is a retired engineer and has above average handyman skills. However, someone with average handyman skills could do it given enough time and patience (as is true of any DIY job). The most important thing before you pursue any of these options is to know what you are going to put in your closet. You need to determine how many inches of short and long hanging space you need and how many shelves, etc. Even if you use a full service operation they can't give you the right solution if you can't quantify what you want at all. Do a purge of your belongings before doing this. No need to spend money to store stuff you really don't need or use anymore.