This post has been written in partnership with The Container Store. All opinions and views are my own.
I’ve been working on updating my master closet and office closet for several weeks now. It’s finally reveal time! A few months ago, I spent quite a bit of hours working with a KonMari Method expert to work on purging quite a bit of my home. It was a BIG project that was mind-opening, and at times actually emotional. There’s more to come on that, but in addition to getting rid of lots of things, I also updated the space where all of my things are.
When thinking of a closet makeover, I feel like we oftentimes think of these giant master closets that are the size of an actual room! Sure I wish I had “cloffice” that has a desk, and a lounge chair and all of the things. But my space is tiny! I knew I could get the closet of my dreams no matter what with the help of Container Store.
After getting rid of a ton of stuff to make space and have a more organized system, I knew I wanted everything to also look put together. I put in all this hard work of only keeping the things that spark joy, so why have ugly busted shelves that were falling apart as well as mismatched bins? It was time to upgrade! The Container Store came to my rescue to help me overhaul my very small step-in closet and my office closet.
How To Do A Closet Makeover With The Container Store
Organizing your closet is more easily done once you’ve done a big purge so you know exactly what you need to organize. I recommend starting with that so you are organizing things you know you’ll be keeping! This will ensure an efficient system is put into place that you can also maintain. I personally did the KonMari method on my closets. That post is coming in January so stay tuned on how to do that!
Doing a custom closet with The Container Store is super easy and simple. I measured my space and took a few photos of it and headed into my nearest store. I worked with a Container Store associate to figure out flow options, layouts and styles to choose from. They set up your closets in their computer system and mock-up different designs and functionalities to your space. You can move things around and even see how it looks with clothing hung.
After a few different master closet scenarios, we finally had it perfect. For the office closet, it was pretty straight forward. I was excited though to add as many shelves as I liked based on the needs and items I already have. Container Store sends you your final design and then schedules your install.
Before they come to install, you can demo your own space if you like. They’ll remove up to two shelves per wall and also patch up holes and paint over them. If you have a lot of shelves, I recommend removing as much as you can beforehand to save time on install day. One thing I wish I did was demo myself and repaint my closet before install. It would’ve been nice to have a totally fresh space but I was lazy. Don’t be like me.
Container Store Closet Items You’ll Need
Master Closet
- Woven Storage Bins – I used the small ones for my tees and the large one for my sweaters and scarves. It’s ideal to have a fabric or plastic bin for clothing so you aren’t worried about pulls from wooden or rattan baskets.
- Nordic Baskets – These are great for holding bags or clothing too
- Hangers – I like these non-slip ones to make sure tanks and delicate pieces stay in place
- Shoe Rack – This is a great over the door solution
- Elfa Shelving Closet System – this is currently on sale until February 25th!
Office Closet
- 3 Tier Rolling Rack – Great for storing office supplies, miscellaneous items, and so on. I love that it’s on wheels!
- Filing Cabinet – Having my files in one place that I access often is ideal.
- Filing Boxes – Once the year is over I like to put all my files out of the filing cabinet and into a bin. This way I start fresh and my filing cabinet isn’t overflowing.
- Nordic Baskets With Lids – These are the same ones in my master closet. They’re great for storing all of the things. I also got labels to put on them and lids for the office closet.
- Rattan Storage Bins – I could’ve just done all Nordic baskets, but having a mix of texture was nice!
- Elfa Shelving Closet System – this is currently on sale until February 25th!
shop the closet
Closet Makeover Before & After
The Master Closet
BEFORE
My master closet didn’t change much at all in terms of the flow. There wasn’t much else I could do to the space in terms of getting it organized. However, the shelving was literally falling apart. I had wannabe Elfa shelving that was poorly coated. The white was chipping off left and right no longer allowing me to slide hangers very well across it. They’re at least 10-12 years old and had seen better days. In addition to the wire shelving falling apart, it also had a vertical bar every 12 inches making it nearly impossible to push clothing from side to side to see things. Finding things I was looking for became difficult when things can’t slide and move and when things are overly cluttered and not folded properly!
AFTER
The after feels clean, fresh and new! I love that this Elfa Décor system has ventilated shelves allowing a little light to come through. Capping the ends with the white fascia, it gives this closet an elevated and polished look without costing a ton of money. This is a nice compromise instead of doing solid wood shelves. The edges look clean and finished which is all you see anyway.
The shelves are also lined with translucent shelf liners. This is nice if you are putting things on the shelf directly like accessories and such, they won’t fall through or leave indentations from the wire shelving.
And let’s not forget about the new rods for my hanging items. No more spacers every 12 inches. Instead, I can easily slide my hangers wherever I please! It’s such a game-changer small feature that you don’t even realize until you have it.
Closet Makeover Before & After
The Office Closet
BEFORE
As someone who works from home and has a 950 square foot apartment with small closets, this closet served many purposes. It was my office closet storing files, a printer, supplies, etc. But it’s also a place I store my travel items like suitcases and bags. Plus, as a blogger, I have weird things that I maybe use just a handful of times a year like pretty bags, baskets, a clothing rack, and so on. It became the catch all. None of my baskets or bins coordinated. And I also had WAY too much stuff. A lot of it was purged in the KonMari process (coming to the blog in the new year).
AFTER
The most incredible before and after! When designing this space with The Container Store, I wanted to make sure I still had a clothing rack to utilize for coats and items that need to be photographed for the blog. But I also wanted as much shelving and storage as possible. The Container Store allows you to fully customize your closet and I was able to decide how many shelves I needed and the space between each one to fit my needs. The result? A functioning closet for my unique business!
Not only did I get more shelf space, but I also switched out all my mismatched bins and containers for a streamlined look. This makes things not only function better but feels more clean and polished. There’s truly a place for everything. This office closet is Elfa Classic with the ventilated shelves and translucent liners. I opted not to do the white Elfa Décor fascia on the edges. I’ll be honest, I wish I swapped and did the fascia on this closet versus my master. But just a preference I realized after the fact. The nice thing is, I can always add them at a later date. My custom closet system is saved with The Container Store and I can always order more things to add more shelves or add another row of hanging space. It’s as simple as that!
Photos by Hannah Lozano
