well, if the rooms are large enough, there's always the idea of putting wardrobes, etc., in the room itself. And you might consider trying the Container Store's closet-design service--I think you can use their website to send them a closet dimension, and they can help you figure out Elfa storage systems to make it work. Is it possible to move the door toward center of the walk-in closet? Double rows are a pain, but hanging on one side and shallow shelves/drawers on the other could work very nicely--sort of a "galley kitchen" effect. Most design places will tell you to allow 24" for hangers w/ clothes on them, but you don't need *quite* that much if space is tight. well, no, wait a minute, I was thinking 48" wide, not 42". 42" is probably just the teensiest bit too narrow for that. My reach-in closet is a bit wider than the doorway on each side, so it's not much more than 42". That' enough for me, frankly--there are sections of it I don't touch. Give yourself a few minutes to really look at your huge walk-in closet now, and see how much of that stuff you really use, and how much is just there because you have the space. You could perhaps hang the rod in the back, and then where the FRONT rod would be, use instead one of those clothes racks on wheels, bcs it will slide from side to side when full. And you could perhaps make greater use of the side walls--one side could perhaps hold clothing rods (the Elfa system will let you put a rod in a place that doesn't have a side wall). And the other side wall could have shelving or maybe even drawers, depending how shallow they are. It means the stuff in the corners would be harder to get to--not impossible, but harder.

Our MBR closet is 5'x7', and our ceilings are 8'. Our door opening is different from yours, but I'll describe how our closet is set up. The door opens on the right edge of one of the short (5') walls. On the left side (which is deeper b/c the door doesn't interfere), is a double rod. The lower rod stops about 12-18 inches from the end to give me a small space for my longer dresses. I also use tiered hangers for my skirts in this section. Under my long clothes, I keep two storage bins with DH and my off-season, folded clothes. DH uses the bottom rod and I use the top rod. We keep our off-season, hanging clothes pushed to the back of our hanging space. Our clothes are not crowded, but I will admit that DH and I are purgers. To make a closet of this size work, you have to keep the clothes pared down to the "good" items. On the short wall facing the door is a set of 5 deep (16"), adjustable shelves with a hanging rod/shelf over the top. I keep extra hangers on this rod, but if necessary, I could remove the top 2 shelves and use the rod for clothing. On the second long wall, we have a stacked set of shoe shelves. Above this I hung a kitchen organizer that holds my shoe buffer, lint brush, static spray, etc. I have a little wall space left beside the organizer. I may eventually place a hook there for purses/totes. Beside the shoe shelves is a full-length mirror and 2 more hooks for robes. On the back of the door is another hook, and over the door (on the inside of the closet) are 3 hooks for DH's favorite baseball caps. We use dresser drawers for socks and underwear. DH keeps his shorts, t-shirt, and jeans in a drawer, and I keep exercise clothes in a drawer. To be honest, several of our closet shelves are empty so we could move some of those items into the closet. But I need more shelf space for sweaters in the winter so I haven't bothered to move anything. Here are a few other ideas to help you maximize your space. Bins are great. Piles of clothing and blankets tend to fall over and look sloppy, but bins keep things in their places which saves space in the long run. I use bins in my son's closet for his socks and underwear. You can also buy shallow, hanging shelves that slide under your regular shelves to store small items like hosery, scarfs, etc. If you are a purse collector and your 2nd long wall isn't being used, consider placing hooks right below the ceiling and hanging your purses there. Likewise, don't waste that short wall behind the door. That would be a good spot for a tie and belt rack. Nin

Thanks for the quick replies! I am posting a new layout, much bigger, so this should be easier to see. But don't pay too much attention necessarily to the placement of the appliances, as this is what our builder drew up. We definitely don't want the wall ovens beside the fridge. Also, the SO says she really wants counter/cabinet space on either side of the fridge, though I'm wondering if it's better to have the fridge flush with the wall, and just a longer counter run on the one side of it? It's basically either 36" fridge plus 2'10" of counter/cabinet, or say +/-15" counter/cabinet, 36" fridge, +/-19" counter/cabinet. I also talked to my builder this morning, and I think we've figured it out so that we can just make it work (we're going to cheat some space from inside walls). So it is now going to be much closer to 14 feet, maybe just an inch or so less. Also, I think we are going to go with just one window on the rear wall, over the sink. My builder thought that putting the two together there would just eat up too much space on that wall, it'd be 90+" with trim and everything, on 9.5 feet of wall (to the corner, it's about 11.5 total), and I think he's correct. So we may keep a window on the wall where the stove is going, or we may just eliminate it entirely (just have some high, eyebrow-type windows, as the ceiling is actually going to be closer to 12 feet, certainly over 11). We are going to go with a counter-depth fridge (would love to do a built-in or integrated, but that's just not in the cards), so that will help. And since we're doing custom cabinets, I figured we can make the counters slightly shallower, so here's where I'm at: 168" wall to wall 23.5" sink counter (we are including a dishwasher there, but I am going to try to set that even a bit more into the wall) 28" counter-depth fridge counter 80" two aisles at a more comfortable 40" each --- 36.5" for island Now to answer your other questions - in terms of oven, we are going to go with double wall ovens (because as I think I said, the O & M oven is essentially useless), we're thinking standard size, which I guess is 30"? And the O & M is 36" wide, so a bit bigger than standard stoves today, but it's not one of those huge old ones. I do want a MW (the SO says she could live without it, but I can't imagine), so do need to figure that out. I'm thinking that if we do do the fridge flush with the wall, no counter space on the right of it, then to the left of it would be a good place for the MW. I did read these various guides before posting, I'm sorry if it did not appear so (I posted in a hurry). As for the use of the kitchen, right now it is just the two of us, though that could change in the future (or it may not). We do like to entertain, but we can also be serious about not letting everyone congregate in the kitchen. It's really a one cook kitchen, I like to dabble, but she's the trained chef. Other questions? Thanks so much again! So appreciate the feedback, and hope to hear from others.

If not for the glass door, I would recommend hanging the broom and swiffer on the back of the door. As it is, you have the make sure your shelves are not full depth (at least not on both sides) to allow room for handles. Rather than plan the space first, it might be better to flesh out exactly what will go in there. Plastic tubs are great for craft supplies and even food, but of course cereal boxes take up more space than cans of soup. That's why evaluating the usage comes first. I'm thinking about things like Legos, board games, jigsaw puzzles - because the shelves are wider than the door, you'll have to pull something out of the middle to remove things from the sides of a shelf. In my new kitchen, I put extra shelves in several upper cabinets, to minimize stacking. I'm pleased with the result! You have a beautiful space!