IN THIS POST:
– Organise Your Dressing Area
– Organise Your Closet
Wardrobes can primarily be categorised into two types—the more traditional 2-door or 4-door closets, which are often built and fitted directly into walls, and the far more luxurious walk-in wardrobes that are a staple of floor plans of 1 kanal or above, and are often marked as a dressing area to be designed and decorated as per your choice. Here, we’ll cover the best tips to organise your wardrobe, discussing each type in detail, so you can have a clean, neat, and organised closet space where everything fits perfectly into place.
Let’s begin…
Organise Your Walk-In Wardrobe and Dressing Area
If you’ve bought a home that comes with a walk-in dressing area attached to your bedroom and leading to the bathroom, this is the space you can decorate as your primary storage for your clothing, shoes, and accessories. This will keep your belongings out of sight whenever you are hosting a housewarming party for your guests, and will also give you more space in the room for your bed, a comfortable seating arrangement, and lots more.
You can even consider partitioning off a section of your bedroom with a privacy screen, room divider, or curtain to create a dressing area if you do not have a room to dedicate solely to the purpose. Add a mirrored door and create a hidden dressing area for a mysterious charm if you do not want the partitioning to affect the room’s spaciousness.
Here are some other top ways to organise a walk-in wardrobe:
- Consider storage solutions for clothes
- Add a dressing table
- Choose comfortable seating
- Select the correct lighting fixtures
- Don’t forget to install a mirror
- Make the most of the walls
- Opt for sliding doors or no doors in a small space
Here’s a detailed explanation of these wardrobe storage ideas and dressing area designs.
Consider Storage Solutions for Clothes
From freestanding closets to fitted shelves, there are a lot of ways to organise a walk-in wardrobe. Having a closet large enough to step into is actually a dream of many, and since you have the opportunity to live that dream, don’t take it lightly.
Firstly, start off by considering how you normally store your clothes. Do you prefer to fold and stack them or iron them and hang them immediately after a wash? You’ll need to look into shelving solutions and cupboards for the former and into open hooks or enclosed railings for the latter. Ideally, every luxurious walk-in closet should have the right blend of both options. After all, you need the dressing area to appeal to a homebuyer a few years down the line, too.
All your fancy dresses/suits, ironed clothes, scarves, ties, and dupattas, should be hung, while you can fold and stack your PJs or workout clothes. Your shoes and jewellery can be hung on custom racks or stored in boxes or baskets as per the space available. Don’t forget to dedicate a basket or a drawer each to your undergarments and socks.
You can choose to custom design a fitted wardrobe as per the available space or go for freestanding cupboards. While fitted wardrobes add value to your home and optimise the use of the dressing area, it is a time-consuming project to undertake after moving homes. A quicker alternative is to buy readymade wardrobes and shelves from the furniture market. You can also use wicker baskets or plastic clothes bags for compartmentalising the storage area if the interior of the cupboard isn’t as optimally divided into shelves as you’d prefer it to be. Here are some things to consider before opting for a built-in wardrobe.
Add a Dressing Table
Most women would love to own a dedicated dressing table or vanity to get ready, apply their makeup, and style their hair. If you have space to accommodate a dressing table into the walk-in dressing area, don’t cram it into the bedroom and overcrowd the space.
Designing the perfect dressing table includes adding a mirror of the right size and shape, along with sufficient surface area for all your cosmetics and jewellery boxes. You will also need to ensure that this part of the walk-in closet is well lit. Out of all the different lighting fixtures used in Pakistani homes, recessed lighting, pendant lights, and wall sconces are the best options if you cannot install a mirror with lights built into its frame.
Choose Comfortable Seating
The thing that every dressing area and dressing table needs is comfortable seating. Opt for a comfy bench if you and your friends love to play dress-up after a shopping spree so that they have a comfortable place to wait while you change your clothes in the bathroom. Alternatively, go for a storage ottoman that is a comfy seating option and also a great place to store your belongings.
Select the Correct Lighting Fixtures
Your dressing area needs to be well lit and bright. We’ve already talked about the types of lighting fixtures that might complement your vanity. But as a whole, the walk-in closet needs ceiling lights, recced lighting in the wardrobe, as well as table lamps on any of the surface areas.
Ideally, consider a blend of both white and warm bulbs in different fixtures as you’ll need the bright whites for choosing the perfect outfit, but makeup, once applied, looks best in warm tones. There’s no exact number for how many lights you need to install but make you don’t leave shadowy dark corners in the room.
Moreover, while installing the lights, also focus on adding or moving the switches and sockets to areas where they will be easily accessible. For instance, next to the dressing table for your straightener or blow dryer.
Don’t Forget to Install a Mirror
Every walk-in closet needs a mirror, and if you have the space for it, we’d recommend leaning a full-length mirror against one wall that will serve as your primary mirror when you are getting ready or choosing the best outfit for a party. Remember, not every mirror needs to be hung. Here are some common mirror decorating mistakes to avoid as you add this essential element to a dressing area.
One dressing room décor idea is to actually install mirrors on the exterior or interior side of the doors of your cupboards. This will help you reflect light in the space and make it seem larger but will also allow you to enjoy the functionality of a full-length mirror without compromising on floor space.
Make the Most of the Walls
We mentioned how you should consider railing or bars for your hanging clothes, but that’s just one of the tips to organise your wardrobe and make optimum use of the walls. In a small and cosy dressing room, wall shelves function as a vertical storage solution for shoes, jewellery and more. You can install floating shelves, a floor to ceiling rack, or even a soft board with pushpins to hang up your necklaces, bracelets, and other trinkets.
Opt for Sliding Doors or No Doors in a Small Space
Wardrobes with hinged doors that open outward can make an already small dressing room seems even smaller. If you think you’ll have to push back flat against the far wall to open up a door to the wardrobe, consider installing sliding doors that take up minimal floor space and are easy to open up to reveal the clothes within. This design is also recommended for freestanding wardrobes in a small bedroom to make it look larger, as part of some of the best small bedroom décor ideas.
Another dressing room décor idea is to go with a completely open wardrobe, which means a complete lack of doors once you enter the space. Some examples in this regard include open railings for your hanging clothes, open shelves for the stacked clothes, a chest of drawers combined with a dressing table for your undergarments, cosmetics, and jewellery, and an open shoe rack. While this design requires a lot of wardrobe organisation and decluttering from time to time, it’s a practical and trendy way to display your clothes, use them, and keep them organised in a small walk-in closet.
Organise the Closet
Now, let’s consider the second type of wardrobe, the more traditional storage option for clothes, which is present within your bedroom and can be a freestanding cupboard or a wardrobe built into an alcove in the room.
So, if you do not have a room dedicated to your clothes and need to make them fit and presentable in the given storage space, how do you go about it? Use the following tips to organise your wardrobe:
- Declutter your clothes smartly
- Clean the closet space before storage
- Store clothes with a system
- Opt for vertical storage where possible
- Use drawers, boxes, and bins for small items
Now let’s discuss these wardrobe storage ideas in detail below.
Declutter Your Clothes Smartly
The first wardrobe storage tip is to empty out the entire closet space and to gather all of your clothes in one space. Once that’s done, sort out all of your clothes by category. Toss all your shirts in one pile, your pants in another, your 3-piece suits in another, and so on. Organise your shoes, scarves, and dupattas similarly.
Next, begin sorting through the clothes, one category at a time, moving each item into one of three piles. There will be clothes you love and cannot throw away; those that do not fit anymore and can be discarded, and those that fall somewhere in the middle. Cut down the mountain of clothes, one piece at a time.
Clean the Closet Space Before Storage
Once the closet is empty, clean out the space entirely. You can consider placing brown paper on the shelves inside the cupboard, especially if they are polished in a dark hue, and you are worried about it staining your clothes. Cleaning your closet is especially important if you have just moved into a new house, as custom-made furniture might still have lingering sawdust after being built. If you bought the house with the wardrobes in place, inspect them for wear and tear, as well as insect infestations, so you do not end up ruining your clothes accidentally upon storage.
If you have chosen to custom design your wardrobe, we’d recommend keeping the shelves customisable, so that you can create smaller or larger shelving spaces. It’s also a good idea to have a hanging rail installed at the top of the cupboard that can be used once the shelves are removed. Versatility in design will give you more options to optimise your storage space.
Store Clothes with a System
Now that you have decluttered and cleaned your wardrobe, it’s time to put things back in, but wait! Don’t put stuff in as you found it. Ideally, you should store similar items together, based on the categories you sorted them into earlier. So put all your jeans and pants together, your shirts in one place, the scarves and dupattas in one area, and so on. This includes keeping your workout clothes all in one place and all your pyjamas in a dedicated spot.
If you sufficient hanging space, avoid packing fancy clothes into a bag or stacking them on a shelf. Iron them and put them in a plastic bag similar to those found at a dry cleaner’s. Hang them on one of the rails. Make sure the railings are sturdy before adding a lot of hangers to it. You can also consider hanging up coats, jackets, belts, and hats, or even jeans, as all of these items are pretty sturdy and will not be damaged even after prolonged hanging.
Storing your clothes with a system in place will help you organise your wardrobe efficiently. One of the best wardrobe storage tips is to always store the most used clothes at eye level. This means that the less frequently you wear something, the higher up or lower it can be. Your daily wear items and your PJs need to be the ones at eye level, along with your gym clothes, if you exercise daily.
Opt for Vertical Storage Where Possible
There are three ways to create vertical storage in your wardrobe. This first of these is to stack folded clothes on top of one another on the same shelf to create a stable pile. Make sure the clothes at the bottom are sturdy, though, so that the pile does not topple over due to a flimsy base.
Another method to ensure vertical storage is to create shelves wherever there’s space in the closet, whether that’s below your hanging clothes or above them. Maximise all upper and lower gaps with custom made shelves, baskets, bins, or drawers. If your wardrobe goes as high up as the 8-foot ceiling but you’re using only 5 feet of it for your hanging rail, there’s a chance to build a shelf above the railing for the 3-foot gap. It can be perfect for storing season clothing.
Moreover, consider adding hooks to the inside of your closet door, the back wall of the cupboard, and anywhere else that there is space. Belts, hats, and all of the items previously mentioned that should be hung can benefit from an assortment of hooks in the cupboard.
Use Drawers, Boxes, and Bins for Small Items
Undergarments, socks, jewellery, makeup, and shoes are some items that require drawers, boxes, or bins to be kept safely. While you could just ball up each pair of socks in a drawer, and toss your undergarments into another one, jewellery, especially delicate pieces, will require proper storage boxes. Artificial jewellery can easily be kept in small Ziploc bags to protect them from seasonal changes.
Get a makeup stand for your essential cosmetics and then dedicate one drawer to the rest of the items used a little less frequently. Be gentle with the powered compacts and blushers as they might shatter upon impact.
For shoes, you can choose to keep each pair in its original box, but that might take up a lot of space. Consider buying a wall rack, made of metal or wood, especially for heels or fancy footwear. Other shoes that are used frequently can easily be kept in a large drawer or bin, using pieces of cardboard to separate each pair from the next. Make sure the soles of each pair touch one another when you place the shoes and slippers into the basket, to avoid getting mud on a neighbouring shoe in case the cardboard barrier moves away accidentally at some point.
Remember that these wardrobe storage tips also apply to any enclosed cupboards or shelving you choose to install in the dressing room since they’ll tell you exactly how to store your belongings in any storage solution.
Keep reading Zameen Blog for more home storage tips and ideas. You can also send us your feedback and suggestions at blog@zameen.com as we love hearing from our readers.
