Name: Veronica
Child's Name and Age: Walter, 21 months, Esther, coming in June
Location: Buffalo, New York
Category: Clothes
Items used for the project and favorite part of the storage solution:
Veronica subtitles the project: aka "Devil, thy name is tiny socks! Having no real dresser or storage system in place with baby #1, and sick to death of little piles of tiny clothes all over the place, this was a major priority before baby #2 added even more to the mess. We started by removing the closet doors and all the old (adult-sized) hanger bars and cheap shelving.
We then primed and painted the closet in a coordinating color to the room. Next, we installed the system you see here, with hanging rods, shelving, basket and drawers. This system is fully adjustable, so as our kids get older (and don't need a changing table, for instance) we can rearrange all of this to fit their needs. All of these items were purchased at Lowe's and Home Depot. The canvas bins on the left, purchased to hold cloth diapers & accessories, came from Target. To make a cleaner appearance, we made fabric liners for the drawers and hanging basket. Since we were able to make this our changing space as well, our favorite part of this solution is the rope lighting we installed along the inside edge of the closet, which should be perfect for those late night diapers when everyone is sleeping.
Best storage tip for families with children:
We purposely placed our toddler's hanging rod low with a shelf just above it and gave him the lower 2 sliding drawers. This allows him some independence by being able to help put away his own clothes and even pick out something to wear.
Thanks for entering, Veronica!
Love the drawer liners. Great idea and definitely makes it look more custom and less industrial. Love your color selection too. Would you mind sharing what paint colors you used?
view Keri Kolumbus's profile
Love the night lighting - perfect solution for nighttime diaper changes with newborns!
view Lauren Horsley's profile
i love everything about this! ditto PP --i'd love to know the paint colors.
view selena's profile
I love the idea of incorporating the changing space into the closet. Having everything at your fingertips is perfect. I also love the idea of removing the bifold doors, which easily pinch little fingers.
view cc2008's profile
Thanks for the comments everyone!
PP & Keri: The colors used were Olympic Paint in Schooner (darker) & Splish Splash (lighter) in satin finish.
And FYI, the liners were made using Amy Butler Acanthus from the Belle collection for the fronts and grey Kona cotton for the rest.
view vwsmith's profile
Is that an Amy Butler fabric? My room is the same color and I haven't found any fabric to match.
view mar5195's profile
Love the mix of the wall colors with the bright white trim, love the Flor tiles, and I think the closet storage system is great, it looks both attractive and functional. However, I don't like it when the doors are removed. The sort of sliding cheap wood doors usually found on those closets are pretty awful, but I don't like seeing all that stuff all the time, it makes the room much less restful. There have to be other options. Would a long, heavy curtain or portière be considered a hazard to babies and toddlers? I know there are sliding fabric panels you can get, possibly at IKEA. Must think...
view Pencils's profile
I would prefer doors too... but if it's kept this tidy I don't see the problem - especially because with two young'uns you must be in and out of the closet all the time.
they can put doors back on when the kids are older.
view clickchick's profile
Walter and Esther?
view aladywhoknows's profile