Guest Bedroom: Closet Organizer Install

We are currently focusing on two areas of our house - the nursery & guest bedroom.  One of the first issues we needed to address was the lack of storage in both the guest bedroom & nursery closets.  We decided to start with the guest bedroom since Mel's parents will be visiting more frequently...


As you can see from the photo, the closet offered no storage for guests because we were using it to store all of our old work uniforms & other miscellaneous stuff:

To start, we began by clearing everything out & were left with your standard builder wire closet shelf.  We felt like the single shelf/hanging bar didn't offer very much storage & also left a lot of wasted space on the bottom half of the closet:

After popping out the shelf, we pulled out the brackets using some pliers:

Using a tip from Mel's dad, we gently hammered the holes so that they were below flush with the wall surface - this ensures a smoother finish after you putty, sand, & paint:

Next, we filled the holes with drywall compound, and sanded them once dry
(repeating this step twice):

Afterwards, Mel & her mom painted the closet using leftover paint from the guest bedroom
(Martha Stewart Driftwood Gray from Home Depot):

While the paint dried, we began to assemble the closet system.  We went with the Closetmaid Selectives 25 inch White Custom Closet Organizer from Home Depot.  It's $99.00, and includes the shelf unit & 3 hanging rods (25 inches refers to the shelf width).  We had previously installed the 16 inch version of this organizer in Mel's brother's closet last year & knew it would work well for what we needed (you can read more on that here).

First, we assembled the shelf unit:

Next, we attached the unit to the wall:

Then we installed the hanging rods & the 2 remaining adjustable shelves:

You also have the option to install drawers or doors to this shelf unit, but we decided to use some inexpensive fabric baskets from Target for now.  We also took advantage of the closet door space, by adding an over-the-door shoe organizer & hook rail:

desk organizer = clutch storage:

Before & After:

So for just over $100, we have a more functional closet for our guests to use now!

Now, we need to install a closet organizer in our nursery closet as well...

Mel & Nader
:)