June 7, 2006
What to do about that Wacky Closet?
You may have noticed from the floorplans on the gallery page that two of the upstairs bedrooms share a single closet (no, this is not a result of my sloppy floorplan drawing abilities — that closet is indeed open to both bedrooms). I assume that the majority of potential buyers would be quite turned-off by this anomaly because it totally eliminates the privacy you would expect to have in your own bedroom. You could practically drive a truck through that opening when the doors aren’t in the way.
My first thought was to simply put a wall up where the current clothes rod is located and divide the space into two separate closets. Unfortunately, the existing space isn’t nearly deep enough to split the closet that way. The windows on either side of the current closet further limit my options by preventing me from extending the depth of the existing space. My best idea at the moment is to divide the closet in half (perpendicular to the clothes rod) and close one half off to each bedroom (pictured below). This will separate the rooms, but the remaining closets will be very narrow and potentially scare away anyone with more than a bare-bones wardrobe. Still trying to think of a better solution here…
Office needs no closet. Nursery needs no closet. Guest room needs no closet. No closet needed in the smallest room. You have to kind of PUSH this on potential buyers. Little kids don’t hang up their clothes or do their own laundry anyway. Parents, maids and nannies do that stuff. And little clothes fit in little places, including ceiling-mount cabinets that could also be utilized for office or guest space. All storage for bedrooms does NOT need to be in a closet.
If a desk was placed against the door wall, the space above it is unused. Forget about the picture shelf I made for you, put in cabinets. It could possibly be a combo nursery and office. Putter away all day on the computer, send faxes, make million dollar deals, and turn around to feed the baby while browsing. Of course, the baby’s first words might be “Welcome”, “You’ve Got Mail”, and “Goodbye” (if you’re on AOL).
Nursery/hobby room. Not for stinky, fumey hobbies. But sewing would be fine. Writing for a hobby or as a living, fine.
The second room, adjacent to the baby room, that shares the closet, that room becomes the kid’s room. It’s got, what I guess once was a fireplace? But is now storage of some kind? That would be a cool kid’s hideout. Or a place for the kids to store their toys or torment a sibling by pushing them in there and holding the doors shut.
Whomever buys the house can decide which room they like the best as a potential master suite. I like the idea of having the bedroom face the front, to check out who has pulled up or is knocking at the door. The back yard can be viewed from the office/nursery/hobby/guest room, without disturbing the kids.
I’d push IKEA ideas too, especially the above the floor storage ideas. There’s a whole lot of clothing and bed linens and bath items that can be stored in that foot or so from the ceiling, that sticks out about another foot. Nobody walks next to the wall. Nobody.
There’s that odd space above the stairs too. Next to the stairs, opposite the railing. Yeah, I know they even carpeted it, as if someone walks there. What’s up with that? It IS an ackward space. But by golly, I’d sure figure out how to build in something, bookshelves, cabinets, SOMETHING to take advantage of that space.
Yes, I know that it would be hard to reach the upper books where the step are low. Every shelf doesn’t need to be crammed and some of the more “decorative” items could be placed in the least reachable positions. Things like decorative boxes that have various holiday decorations in them. Things that don’t need to be accessed daily or possibly weekly, but will be much more accessible when needed than putting them in the attic.
Sliding door cabinets can be placed there also, on the shortest steps, where even more bath linens or supplies can be stored. I firmly believe you can’t have too much storage. The goal isn’t to fill all the storage with stuff. But to be able to have enough storage closet to the places where it is most needed.
There isn’t a lot of bath storage. All the new family would have to do is go to Costco and by the 25-jumbo-pack of toilet tissue and all the bathroom storage is taken. You could store a lot of paper products that won’t hurt if they all fall on your head. Paper towels, facial tissues, bath tissue.
Next, as far as reality…let’s say the family decides to have a BIG family. I mean LOTS of kids. Like my breeder cousin, with SIX kids. Geez. No matter how you split the closet between rooms, it’s not going to be enough for six kids.
With an auxilliary exit, the basement can be turned into a sleeping room. You MUST have the auxilliary exit, besides the main stair case.
I SAW the washer and dryer down there. I KNOW there is hot and cold water. There just isn’t a bathroom down there that I can see.
There are many kinds of basement toilets, here a page with some info:
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infplumb/infupf.shtm
That, plus a shower and a sink, and you have a bathroom. Practically a studio apartment down there. Then the new owners can feel free to reproduce, shove all the rambunctious boys in the basement and seal off the opening. The girls will be upstairs, cooperating and being charming. It will be just like the Brady Bunch. Or, uh, the Partridge Family. Whatever.
That makes the home infinitely more interesting for families, large and small. The basement becomes another “anything” room. Mom or dad in the ballet? Put up mirrors and a ballet barre. Mom and dad want their own dungeon or dance hall or giganto TV theater, cool, do it in the basement. I can see making into the ultimate kid’s play space with all the IKEA stuff and having all the neighborhood kids over when it’s too cold to play outside.
Itty bitty closets would be laughed at. Give one side the big closet and do the other ideas in the little room. The lounge room. Ahhhhh. Did you like the picture I made of that room? It doesn’t need no steeeeeking closet!
Since the “wacky upstairs closet” is shared by two bedrooms, one of which is not necessarily large enough to be anything but a nursery or office, why don’t you preserve the majority of the closet space for the larger room and put in some sort of small built-in shelving space for the nursery/office? I agree with Andree that an office or nursery doesn’t need a closet, but I also understand that to list the property as a three bedroom home, the small room should, technically, have a closet. If a “closet” must have doors, put in a small sliding door in front of the shelving space (e.g., the kind that open by sliding into the wall).
I also like the idea of utilizing the awkward space in the upstairs hallway for storage. Custom cabinets or a floor-to-ceiling closet would be awesome for that triagle-shaped area!