I agree with Talley Sue, the "one track at the top" system is easy and the most economical. I use ClosetMaid in my business. You can use the link below to plan your closet online. The software will make sure you have enough supports and will prevent mistakes. It will give you a 3D view and print out a shopping list Make sure you use the Super Slide shelves. The systems are available at Home Depot & Lowe's. Here is a link that might be useful: ClosetMaid- Storage Planner

We have had two closet systems installed Closets by Design. Both times we had positive experiences with the install; just be clear whether you want it to be notched in the back for baseboard, in my opinion it looks better to remove your baseboard so it’s not notched. It’s also worth it to add the baseboard and crown, and increase the height of the system to the ceiling. The salespeople do have a “poor mentality” to make sure they get the sale so you really have to push to add these extras. We are pretty handy, so the third closet system we did ourselves using Menard’s Dakota system for a third of the cost or less. It looks as nice and sturdy the rest.

Remodeling is about double the cost of new construction, give or take depending on the amount of tear out and wall moving. Kitchens, budget $1000 per lineal foot. It will be more. As far as your list though, I have to agree with another poster, build a new home. Could you do it yourself? Sure, but why? It would take you years to do all of that and you'd never get the gratification of having what you want, because it would always be a work in process. That might be obsessive compulsive behavior if it appeals to you. You need to have a reference point from which you can make the kinds of decisions on your wish list. Can you afford to build new and get close to the same results of your grand scheme? If you did all this to this home, what would it be worth against comparable real estate in your market? Your Realtor would be a resource for that information. And lastly, unless you are buying a foreclosure for ten cents on the dollar and have very little invested and lots of equity to work from, do you really want to put such a high percentage of your 'value' and negative cash flow outside of mortgage payments?? Remodeling requires current assets of 100%. Dollar paid for dollar invoiced. A mortgage only takes 20% down. Do the math. If you can get a $400,000 home for 80,000 out of pocket and monthly payments you can afford, isn't that better than say, $40,000 down a $200,000 home and $200,000 out of pocket for a total of $240,000 cash monies out of pocket? And you'd really be po'd if after all was said and done, it was only worth $220,000 on the market.

numbersjunkie, please tell your DH he did an amazing job! >>but the labor was his.>> And there in a nutshell is the answer. I remember when we needed to replace our front door, and we are not handy (by choice). My DH agonized over two inexpensive HDepot models, one of them $125, $50 cheaper than the one I wanted. He almost fainted when the first bid for install came in - $2100! The second bid came in at "only" $1800, LOL. Lesson learned: labor is the real cost! Our home is a modest cottage in a start-up neighborhood. We have vastly over-improved it but there is a limit beyond which we will not go, because it makes no sense. We have already "put lipstick on the pig", but dressing it up in Chanel couture and Jimmy Choo heels is too much even for us, LOL. My custom closet organizer is white melamine, high-density particleboard. It will look clean and neat, and work better than what I had before. Fortunately I had no need for wire baskets or shoe racks, which quickly up the cost. Eventually we will do the other four big closets in the house, as consistency is important in resale. We found our closet company on Yelp. 5-stars, early days with them yet, but it was certainly helpful to get a new Yelp customer 25% discount! With luck I will be able to post a photo or two in a few months, with Before/After. We are spending more on the interior of the MBR itself. Custom-built bookcases, with a special king-bed storage headboard. Off-white laminate with highlights of maple veneer for just a touch of neutral color. Our MBR is also our library, so it holds not only all our DVDs but also ten full-sized bookcases. We're hoping the eight custom bookcases will allow us to size down. I like to describe our MBR suite as "big, but far from beautiful!"