As a stylist, decent closet space is what I always yearned for and when we bought our house six years ago, one of the draws for me was the large walk-in closet. This is a huge difference from my closet space back in New York City. Here’s how my stylist closet makeover goes from cluttered to classy in just a few days.
Stylist Closet Makeover Goes From Cluttered To Classy
So here’s the reveal before you even see the before photos, but keep scrolling to see the transformation from start to finish.
When we moved into our lovely house we spent time styling and doing the interior design of all the rooms friends and family would see which meant the closet took a back seat to a transformation.
Before The Closet Transformation
The closet certainly held a lot of clothes and bags and shoes, but looked cluttered most of the time. Dresses were moved around depending on their length and jackets were hung with shirts, skirts and pants. Shoes gathered dust in stacked organizers and boots stayed in boxes with shoes piled on top. We had mismatched chests of drawers to hold jewelry, scarves, jeans and bathing suits. One chest was an old piece from 12 years ago and the white chest was a Martha Stewart product thanks to a tip from another stylist. The white chest would stay and the brown chest would be donated.
First, De-Clutter
In order to completely renovate the space, we had to remove everything inside the closet. I donate and cosign items seasonally, but this had me contemplating every piece in my wardrobe. I ended up filling three garbage bags worth of items that I donated and consigned. I recommend any time you plan to do a big closet cleaning to use a rolling rack as a way to hang items outside the closet and reassess their value to your wardrobe. I ended up having a bathroom floor and even our big bath tub full of shoes during the renovation.
Next Step In The Closet Makeover
Everything was torn out, holes were sealed and the walls were painted a fresh coat of white paint. Ahhh, so clean and bright. I knew I wanted an all white closet and it seems that is the trend these days. It’s a way to keep the room lighter.
Closet Makeover Installation
As you can see, I have a floor to ceiling window which helps with natural light in the space. I wanted to keep the space as bright as possible so white was the natural choice for all the shelves and drawers. The Martha Stewart cabinet was slid back into it’s former space and five drawers were built into the front of the closet to hold swimwear and jeans (and my husband’s socks). The left wall in my closet has an angle almost halfway across so measurements had to be precise for shelving and rods. We wanted to keep as much of the style consistent so we chose a 16 inch depth for everything which gave plenty of room whether it be for shoes, bag or sweaters. When you discuss the design with your crew be sure to go over the measurements multiple times since in most cases pieces are cut specifically to your closet size and shape. I counted shoes and took measurements of the width of what I had in my closet ahead of time.
Stylist Closet Makeover Goes From Cluttered To Classy
Closet Makeover Reveal
YAY! My stylist closet makeover is complete! It took four days from cleaning out and ripping out to painting and construction. Stylist tip: If you plan to do a closet renovation I recommend planning your outfits for the week ahead the renovation so you’re not scrambling though piles of clothes to find what you need.
I, additionally, calculated the number of shelves needed for all my shoes and with moveable shelves I was able to get rid of all the boot boxes and stand them up with boot inserts. Rather than keep my handbags in cloth bags that come with their purchase, I used gift boxes and inserted them in the cloth bags and used them as bag inserts to help the bags hold their shapes standing up. I stood clutches in organizers from The Container Store to hold their shape as well. Shirts hung with just shirts and were organized via color, style and print. An ottoman at the back of the closet is perfect for packing, organizing outfits and putting on shoes before I head out the door. Plus, now there’s a dedicated space for longer dresses on the back left of the closet so they no longer touch the floor or have to be folder over a hanger. And the brilliant part of the design is that nearly all the shelves and rods are moveable if I need more or less space.
Shoes are now organized via color and style along with being easily seen. Since I had the ability of moving the shelves I could lower or higher them based on the height of the shoes. These shelves would be easier to keep dusted as well. My husband got six shelves for his shoes which is all he claims he needs.
Oh hello black shoes. Many of the black shoes I own are now more accessible and a reminder that I need to stop buying black heels for awhile.
Dresses are organized by color and print and are no longer crowded with pants on the same rack. Sweaters are organized by color as well.
Now my jackets are better organized and pants hang over wooden hangers rather than clipped to hang lengthwise. We also gained more space for my husband’s pants, suits and sweaters. I use velvet hangers for all my shirts, dresses and jackets and wood hangers to hang my pants. By the way, Overstock.com is a good place to get some inexpensive wood hangers. Those other hangers for pants you may notice are my husband’s items. I’m trying to break him of the habit of using the hangers you get from the dry cleaner. We also installed a sliding valet bar which lets me hang a few dresses when I’m determining what to wear on my next TV segment. Plus, sliding belt racks and tie racks that slide in and out within the closet walls cut down on the space looking messy. I own about 50 belts so we spaced them apart height wise to accommodate them. I kept several of the original plastic stacking organizers for sweaters and for keeping items on the top shelf organized. While it may not seem like a huge difference overall, it’s so much brighter appearing, less cluttered and I see my clothes more easily. As a stylist, I tell my clients that when you’re able to see your clothes you’re less likely to buy on impulse or that 10th pair of black pants. You’re more likely to “shop and style” from your own closet.
We did not do this alone. We paid for this fab new space and big thanks go out to Closet Warehouse in Los Angeles. This was our second job hiring them and well worth it.
Have a question about style or organizing your closet? Reach out to me.
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Style Expert Alison Deyette is a TV + digital host and Los Angeles stylist who was recently named one of the top stylists in Los Angeles by Variety, WWD, Angeleno and Modern Luxury magazines. Alison has helped kick-start the new look of hundreds of women and men, and worked with people of all sizes and shapes — from petite to tall, slender to plus-size. As a stylist and fashion director, Alison has styled and directed photo shoots all over the world with models, celebrities and real women for a variety of magazines, including: Mode, Good Housekeeping, People Style Watch, Woman’s Day, Ocean Drive, Real Beauty and Fitness. And she’s styled Oprah’s Weight Watchers commercials. She appears regularly on Good Morning America, TODAY, Access Hollywood, Access Hollywood Live, Wendy Williams, The Real, The View, Steve Harvey and is the Style Expert for KTLA’s Morning News. Alison is the host of the AOL series The Savings Experiment. She is a contributing fashion editor for Real Simple, Life & Style, In Touch and Closer Weekly. She was the host of Pocket the Difference, a co-host of TLC’s 10 Years Younger and TBS’ Movie and a Makeover and the weekly Style Contributor on Hallmark Channel’s Marie. In addition, she has hosted several web series including: AOL’s In the Know, HerSay with Soleil Moon Frye, Playtex’s Bra Makeover series, A Secret Worth Sharing. These web series collectively have more than 100 million views.