I think my closet plans fall into the range of "real people". Most of us don't have Oprah-sized closets or the number of shoes owned by -- is that Mariah Cary? Most of us -- even if we had the space -- wouldn't install a custom island topped with granite. After all, as lovely as these spaces are, they're closets. Here's my inspiration picture -- though at 7' wide x 8' long, my new house closet will be a little bigger than this one: Specifics that matter to me -- obviously, you'll have way more space and will be able to have more: - 3' of walking space down the middle of two aisles. - A pretty light in the middle of the space ... and maybe a couple canned lights on the edges. This is, of course, not important in terms of function, but I want a bit of fancy in the closet. - Since I am only 4'11", I will shorten my hanging clothes area. I want matching hangers. - Plenty of folded space -- we are on the cusp of retirement and won't need lots of dress clothes. Plus we want no dresser in the bedroom, so we want space for EVERYTHING in the closet. - A couple built-in drawers for unmentionables. - Space for roughly 30 pair of shoes for me, 10 pair for him -- plus several pairs of boots for the two of us -- but our footwear doesn't need to be showcased as if they were something special. - A few attractive baskets up top for "boxing up" traveling items, purses, out of season items, etc.... and a planned space for a step stool since I want to access those baskets. - My inspiration pix shows wallpaper on the back wall, but I'll probably paint something pretty with a stencil. I have a round mirror, which I plan to repurpose on the back wall ... and I want a shelf underneath it, which can hold jewelry, etc. - A fluffy rug in the middle of the closet. - A valet rod on each side of the closet for "hanging out" church clothes. - One narrow "open locker" at the doorway on each side ... with a couple hooks. This will be for clothes that we plan to wear again ... a once-worn nightgown, workout clothes, or jeans. This'll keep them separate from the "completely clean clothes".

That layout sounds kind of like what the 2 bedroom units in the HOA I lived in when we were still in SoCal was like...The vanity area of the bathroom had a closet facing the vanity/sink side that was the two sliding door type, with a door to the toilet/tub+shower part of the bathroom to the right (left if you're coming in the door from the master bedroom) and a door to the master bedroom on the left (right if you're coming in from the toilet/tub+shower part of the bathroom) - another double door slider closet was in the master bedroom. They almost always painted all of the walls, the closet doors, and the doors in/out of each space the same color as the master bedroom because it was adjoining. The smaller bedroom accessed the bathroom through another door off the upstairs hallway, so sometimes that smaller bedroom would be painted a different color but not always. White (the same one as was used elsewhere) was a popular and sensible choice, you can always add color with accessories and art! White bedding can start to look dingy if you don't wash it in hot water (occasionally adding bleach to go into the load while it's running), so think about how much 'maintenance' you're willing to do before buying all the bedding in white (sheets and pillowcases in white aren't as big of a deal because you typically have 'decorative' pillows and a comforter/duvet covering them when you get the bed made each day). :) When we had the house on the market the 'stager' had us buy one of those cheap bed-in-a-bag comforter/shams/decorative throw pillow sets in white with a little area of patterned print down at the part that goes on the foot of the bed, which I thought was totally impractical given that our dog loves being on the bed and washing the thing would have made the fiberfill migrate around so it would be lumpy when it went back on the bed! At least the place sold in less than a month after being listed so we didn't have to worry about it for very long. :P

I would say white. White will reflect the true colors of your clothing better than gray.

Do you have another bathtub in the house...for bathing kids? Unless you or your spouse enjoy baths...maybe eliminate the tub in the MBA? I am glad I have a linen closet in my MBA. I agree with eliminating the reach-in closets and adding windows. Also think about how you dress; a walk-in closet can hold all the things people used to store in dressers. (You really don't *need* a window in a closet, although Mark gave it one.) I agree with him about losing the (dated) double doors -- and creating an entry, rather than plopping right into the living room. If you'll eat at the kitchen island a lot, consider seating that's not all-in-a-row. It makes conversation difficult.