Saturday, January 22, 2011

Behind Closed Doors

There's an old country/western song that I was thinking about today: "No one knows what goes on behind closed doors."  Charlie Rich was talking about romance, but I'm grateful no one knows about this mess (until now, that is--EEK!):



This is my master bedroom closet.  It is a space that most people would envy because it is very large--long and narrow (16x7' or so).  Maybe it's too large because it has become a dumping ground for all manners of things.  When company is coming, the clutter gets stashed in here.  When I change out decor, the excess ends up here.  I think I need to follow a simple rule: when something new comes into the house, another thing (or 20) needs to leave.

Anyway, my closet has three large built-in cabinets.  Mine stores shoes.  My Man's is filled with shoes, jeans and t-shirts.  The last one holds a mish-mash of stuff, mostly home decor items that I don't want exposed to the heat of the garage or attic.

I am a very sentimental person and keep many things because they remind me of people or places from the past.  That is a real problem that I need to work on, because some things are worth keeping but many are not.  One keeper is this old laundry bag that my Grandma made probably 80 years ago or so.  Can you imagine having the time to beautify such a utilitarian item as a laundry bag?!



Another keeper from Grandma are these rug beaters.  The red one is dated 1927.   I'm not sure what I'll ever do with them but I love the lines of them.  I know I could hang them on a wall somewhere, but I'm just not sure where.




But I digress.  And because I digress so often, today's project took all day.  I didn't do anything earthshattering, just cleaned up and organized the chaos.  And since I have those built-in storage areas (which are basically closets within the closet), I also cleaned those out.  I had 2 hefty bags of trash and 2 more hefty bags of donations when I was done.

Here's the big reveal:



I have upper shelves that line the perimeter of this closet.  I wish I could afford something better than the see-through plastic bins I'm using, something that would cut the visual clutter.  I would love either covered baskets or canvas storage, but with this many bins, it would cost a small fortune.  Any ideas?

I carved out a place for future scrapbooking with this little area.  I want to try to get some nice photo mementos together for my son's high school graduation in 2 years.



Speaking of photos, I tried to get to that this week, too.  I was only mildly successful and ended up frustrated because I was tackling the project after long, long days at work.  Oh well, maybe later.

Now that I have cleared the floor, My Man will have no excuse not to replace the flourescent tubes that have burned out.  I hope.

I'm linking this to Songbird's Gitter Done linky party.  This on-going party is inspiring me to right my many wrongs!  I'm also linking this to Decor Chic's Real Homes, Real Messes party.

7 comments:

Kolein said...

OH MY GOODNESS that is a SWELL after shot!!! Kudos to you!!!!! Such a grand space! I think I'd go in there and hide! or create or something!!!!

As far as the plastic bins NOT doing it for your aesthetics...cover them with some cute fabric and add some cute crafty labels! Cheap & Easy!!!

Have a great weekend. Oh and welcome!

~Kolein
kitchentableproductions.blogspot.com

Kolein said...

LOVE your header!!!!!! The photos are simply beautiful!

Vicki V @ blestnest.blogspot.com said...

Thank you! It took me quite awhile to figure out how to actually DO a custom header! Luckily,there are a lot of wonderful bloggers out there who are willing to share their knowledge! Now exactly HOW should I affix the fabric to the bins? With spray adhesive or ???

Lisa said...

Great job Vicki! Your closet looks amazing now! Woohoooo! I'd say you can go 2 ways with the fabric on those plastic storage boxes. 1) spray adhesive directly to the plastic box or if you want to get fancy 2) use some cardboard and make a faux box front for each bin. You'd make the front, sides and bottom. Then you could spray adhesive the fabric or paper to the "box" and even add a cute knob on the front! They would be really cute all lined up. Spray adhesive would stick the plastic to the faux box too. :) I'm getting my *brave* on to go post my before and after pics right now!! Thank you for the inspiration girl!

Marianne said...

Wow, that is definitely a makeover that should go in the books. What a wonderful space you have there. Closets in closets. And that little craft nook is simply delightful.
Congrats for tacling this, now the doors don't have to be closed and anyone may see what goes on there!
Thanks for linking up.

Jessica B said...

Wow! What a great job! You have definitely given me some motivation to get moving in my master closet.
--ps I also love your header -- beautiful photos!

The Sterling Cherub said...

Vicki,

First time reader of your blog, found you via Songbird. Love your closet makeover, it is very impressive (and what an impressive closet! I would love to have one like that!).

I've got bins like yours, and agree on wanting to cut the visual clutter. What if you took either decorative fabric or paper, cut a panel that would fit the exposed side of the bin, insert the panel on the inside of the bin and secure using double-sided tape either in all four corners, or just the top and bottom (the items in the bin may just keep the paper or fabric in place by resting against it)? You could use just plain canvas if you wanted, and end up with something that does not draw the eye to the bins. Just a thought.

Best,

Kimberly