Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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A Kids Closet With Some Play Space In It

The closet in the spare room used to be packed with things like luggage, wrapping paper, gift bags, and a bunch of other clutter that had to be dealt with in order to free up space for actual playing and Clara-storage (since this is now the playroom/big girl room instead of a room full o’ junk).

Messy Closet

So we took everything out (except for the photo albums & yearbooks up top) and it magically disappeared.

Empty Closet

Just kidding, it ended up in the guest room closet.

Messy Guest Closet

Which actually seems ok since we’re on year three of living here (CRAZY!) and we haven’t noticed any guests using the guest closet at all, so it made sense for us to put that valuable real estate to work for us. There’s actually still a little room for hanging things on the bar if we shove all the bags to the left or the right, so we might do that if we’re expecting company, just in case. But for the rest of the time it’s more functional to see my gift bags all spread out so I can grab one nice and fast.

And the good news is that once the door is shut, our guests don’t have to be subjected to all of the items that lurk behind it.

Guest Closet Closed

And after the addition of a few Clara-things, the closet in her big girl room is now nice and useful – both for games and for storing a few not-her-size yet items of clothing (get it? they’re her big girl clothes in her big girl room). It would be fun to paint the closet walls a playful color (coral? teal?) so maybe we’ll get to that sometime.

Closet Done1

In the meantime, we just added a friend or two. You know for closet ambiance. Like her monkey (he likes to hang out).

Closet Done 3

The addition of a few toys essentially creates another play-zone in the house (Clara already plays a lot in her big girl room thanks to her play kitchen and her little table for stuffed animal tea parties, (not to mention fake naps on the daybed) but the closet is yet another little spot that she can sneak into and enjoy.

Closet Done 2

Down on the floor we have a few things that I picked up for the Macklemore Challenge. Remember the $1 chair that used to be a faded old yellow-brown color? And the cradle that had some burns and scratches along with a pretty musty odor?

Stuff We Bought

Well they’re looking (and smelling) nice and fresh now…

Closet Done 4

They were both easily revived thanks to some cleaning, priming, and fresh paint. For the chair I used Valspar’s Gloss in Classic Red (which is a paint and primer in one). And for the cradle I used Rustoleum’s Universal All-Surface spray paint in gloss white (which also has a built-in primer).

Red Chair3

I actually have some more plans for the cradle (rhymes with bom bom bringe) so I promise I’ll keep you posted! It definitely won’t just be all basic and white for long…

But even though the cradle is only half done, the newly cleared-out closet is getting lots of play.

Closet Done5

I’m actually learning that as Clara grows it’s nice to have a few zones throughout the house for her to “discover things to do” instead of plopping every toy in one basket in the living room. It seems like the change of scenery from room to room holds her interest more, and I like that there aren’t ten million jumbled toys in one spot to clean up (by delegating them to different areas, most of the time they stay in those new zones so there’s just a little picking up in a few rooms instead of a giant pile of mixed toys on the living room rug).

Closet Done6

So that’s the story of our quick little closet overhaul. What have you guys been transferring and organizing? Any other closet clear-outs going on? If you have a guest room do you keep the closet completely bare in case someone wants to hang something? Or do you use it since most of the time you’re not housing guests and it’s valuable storage space? We just realized the other day that we only have five closets in this entire four bedroom house (our 800 square foot one-bedroom apartment here in Richmond had four) so it’s a wonder we ever had an empty one at all!

Comments

  1. Sara says

    We only have five teeny tiny closets too! (One hallway upstairs, one hallway downstairs and then in our three bedrooms.) I currently use the guest room closet for my clothes since our master bedroom closet is so teeny. When we have a second child one day, I guess I’ll have to give up my closet and figure out something in the master bedroom!

    Reply

  2. [email protected] says

    We could all use a little “bom-bom-binge”, couldn’t we? :-)

    Our guest room closet actually holds a ton of our clothes. My husband has a sweatshirt collection that could probably rival John’s t-shirt collection. Hopefully our guests never need to use the closet!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, I don’t mean to complain about five, we just were surprised that such a big house (at least it’s huge to us, around 2500 square feet) only has five closets. Our 800 square foot apartment (where we lived before getting our first house here in Richmond) had four!

      xo
      s

  4. Bonnie says

    Great pointer about the zones. We do the same thing. It’s funny how much our 18 month old knows which toys go where. I’m not really particular as long as the toys are picked up at the end of the day but he insists that the stuffed animals go in the basket in the living room, blocks go on the shelves, books go in a crate in his bedroom, etc. It makes me proud to have passed my desire for organization on to him.
    Here’s another way we use different spaces: He has a set of magnetic animals that he loves. We’ve shown him several magnetic surfaces in our house– the fridge, the front and back doors. He’ll spend a whole evening transferring the animals from place to place, a couple at a time. We call him our little zoo keeper. :)

    Reply

  5. Natalie says

    Hi Sherry! I always love closet cleanout/ switch arounds. As a side note / question. I saw your instagram pic today of the map (such a cute idea) In quite a few of your pictures I notice you wear the same ( I think same) redish nail polish and I LOooooove it. Could you share the name / brand with us ladies out here?

    Reply

  6. Jeanna says

    I noticed that you still have a bunch of unused real estate in the guest room closet. That would be an opportunity for another post on closet organization, using every inch available to store all your great stuff, but still having room available for guests :) Any ideas?

    Reply

  7. Alyssa says

    Thanks for baring all and showing us a pic of a messy closet! I feel like we’re rather more intimate stalker/celeb friends now :).

    One way I keep my gift bags under control is to fold them flat and put them all in a recyclable grocery bag. You could still hang it in the closet, on a belt hanger maybe. Might save some precious space!:)

    Alyssa

    Reply

  8. Kelly says

    So just a few thoughts of things to consider, especially as she gets bigger
    1) a place to store books in her room
    2) a light she can use to read in bed( my kindergarten girl does this almost every night, and having one close they can turn on and off is nice )
    3) laundry hamper?
    4) a place next to the bed to put pics/cups of water/tissues etc
    I was going to say a place to put nick nacks they collect but the closet works great.
    Some questions: where do you store extra sheets? Where do you store towls etc for your guests? I struggle with where to put this stuff, we don’t have an attic?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we’re getting there! The room is only about 50% done and she still sleeps in the nursery, so slowly but surely we’re working our way towards a finished space for her in here :)

      As for where we store extra sheets, we’re so strange but we only have one sheet set for each bed in our house. We launder it the night before guests come and all is good. Someday we might need to get an extra set, but it’s nice to just store them all on the beds and not have a stack of extra linens to find a spot for! As for towels, those are in the hall bathroom (there’s some shelving in there, so all the white towels just get folded there).

      xo
      s

    • hjc says

      We are a one set of sheets, one set of towels, one closet household. It has worked well for us for 25 years!

    • Jill Stigs says

      We have two sets of sheets for each bed although 9 times out of ten they get put right back on after done drying.

      My fear is the washer or dryer will choose *that* moment (when I am washing the sheets) to die on me!

      I want to move into Clara’s big girl room. Whatever you decide to do in this closet will be great!!

    • Julia says

      Add me as a member of Team One-Set also! Definitely only have one set of sheets for each of our two beds – master and guest.

      On the other hand, we do have about 50 billion towels – but that’s mostly because we have a pool. Before we moved to our house (with said pool) we owned about 4 towels, and none of them matched.

  9. Terri Simmons says

    I know your mother worked hard to organize your gift wrap stuff but I wonder if filing all those gift bags in a nice box wouldn’t save some space. I have mine in a box that copy paper came in and I can quickly flip through it to find the size and occasion that I need. Then I pop the top back on and it is out of sight.

    Reply

  12. Annie says

    Looks great! It’s a relaxing space while still having that playful vibe- I think that is hard to accomplish!

    I love your idea of zones and changing out toys. I teach 4K and that’s exactly how I handle toys! We live in Wisconsin so sometimes in winter we can’t go outside bc of weather and so having new toys to rotate in keep the winter blues away ;). Thanks for the inspiration to try it at home as well!

    Reply

  13. Linette says

    We have little closet storage, too, so we use the spare room closet for delicate Christmas ornaments that I’m afraid will get damaged if put in the basement with the other decorations, and my husbands hunting clothes….but as I type this I’m thinking we should move those to the basement, too. Right? They’re kind of bulky so there’s just a little closet space for guests (not that anyone seems to use the closet). Still, they don’t need to be in there. :-)

    Side note: I LOVE your blog. I make myself wait until lunchtime to look at it so I love getting my mornings over with at work so I can read it – it’s my treat! You’ve been very inspiring to me! Thanks!!

    Reply

  14. Deanna says

    Must be closet organizing season – I just went through ours and our lil man’s and made them more function and colorful, too! You guys have great closets with those shelves built in – perfect for little toys and play :)

    Reply

  15. Sarah says

    The closet looks adorable! I’m loving the way the room is coming together. We use our guest room closet as storage as well for sports equipment/out of season clothes/ suitcases. Those colorful blue, red boxes at the top of your guest room closet caught my eye, next to the pillows. What are those?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      They’re flat packed storage boxes that I got for super cheap. In my dreams they’re the key to organization. Just have to build them all and organize everything! Haha!

      xo
      s

  16. Elaine - visual meringue says

    Very cute! I love the little shelves in there too. And yes, we use our spare room closet for storage (my gift bags are in there too). We don’t get enough ‘long term’ visitors to clean it out but when/if we do we just make space for that visit.

    Reply

  17. Cindy says

    Alrighty, then. It’s official – I’m a dork! ;-)

    You have no idea how excited I was to see all those gift bags HANGING ON HANGERS! Why did this nifty little organization trick never occur to me? What rock have I been living under? Just as soon as I clear out some closet rod space, there will be hanging gift bags going up – makes my organizational side just giddy thinking about it!

    Also, it took me faaaaar tooooo loooong to figure out what rhymes with ‘bom bom bringe’. I mean, sheesh, I’d like to think I’m at least as smart as the average potato, but wow did that one have me stumped! LOL

    Just sign me…your biggest (and most easily confused) fan!

    Reply

  18. Erin says

    We use our guest room closet for storage. We only have 5 closets in our house, so it had to happen. So my mom and dad are our most common guests. My mom picked up a bar that you attach to the back of a door for hanging. (Hint, hint, right?)

    I put the brackets for it on the front of the closet door and it works for holding clothes. The brackets are triangular, so you hang things on the bottom of them. I didn’t like having them on the bedroom door because it knocked into the wall when you opened the door.

    Its a great solution that was free for us and works for when guests come. I’ve actually ended up using it to hang our ironing board on so that its out of the way too!

    Reply

  19. Sarah says

    That’s it, re-organizing our closets is now firmly planted at the top of my to-do list!

    I think a teal colour (maybe similar to the walls in your guest room) would be fun and help break up the pinks and reds. Or to go realllly wild you could paint some stripes! Looking forward to see what you do!

    Reply

  20. Christina P (NS) says

    I love the idea of painting the inside of the closet!
    Our guest room cloest is jam packed with our stuff, purses, formal clothes, shoes etc….
    It woul dbe nice to have it cleaned out but to be honest in the almost 5 years we have been in our house we have had only 1 person stay over and he slept on the couch instead of the guest bed so really the speace in more useful to us than leaving it empty for maybe-someday guests!

    Reply

  21. Vanessa says

    Closet looks great. Those two little shelves on the side – were they always there or did you add them? Was thinking of doing something like this in my son’s closet – how are they hung? Thanks!

    Reply

  22. best of BKLYN says

    Okay, this is a little off topic, but I keep forgetting to comment on them- I absolutely ADORE Clara’s curtains- they’re perfection.

    And on topic- genius way to store gift bags!

    Reply

  23. Shari says

    Hey guys – I store all of my gift bags, arranged by size, inside another larger gift bag, and keep the whole thing in a linen closet. I also store my Christmas gift bags standing up, by size, in an open box that I keep on an upper closet shelf with other Christmas decor. I can easily flip through the storage bag or box for the size of bag I need. It works great.

    Reply

  25. Tara says

    and now I’m inspired to actually redo the closets in our twins’ room. There are 2 closets in there and one is completely empty. I keep planning to make it a reading and soft toy nook (for when somebody can’t sleep but doesn’t need to bother her sister!!) But I just keep… not getting around to it since they nap in there. This weekend. Maybe I’ll pin this post so it will count as my Pinterest Challenge!

    Reply

  26. Rebecca says

    The walls in our guest room are grey and we painted the inside of our closets about the color of your guest room. It is awesome. It really pulls everything together. I vote paint it navy!

    Reply

  27. Kristen says

    Well since you asked…;-)

    I just wrote about the work we’re doing on our guest room (www.kristenlovesdesign.com)…basically the awesome color I had planned for months and months didn’t work out, so we took a chance on something completely different (blue-green! sure, why not). It’s only half-done, and we still have to conquer the closet. Basically it’s always half-full. That way there is room for storage and guests and also room for us to hide inside if there is a tornado (since we have no basement and the closet is the only way to hide against an interior wall)! Crazy but true! Of course because I am a design loon we still plan to paint it a fun color and add some new organizatonal shelves, so we’ll see!

    Reply

  28. Dee says

    Sherry, love how the room is coming along, I have used the same colours for my girls shared spaces, although for mine , the curtains are pink gingham, navy chevron rug and polka dotted sheets with ikea metal beds in white. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect duvet covers …

    Also I’m curious to know if you have spruced p the moroccon side table… I have been waiting to for a long one for that one :)

    Reply

  29. Donna says

    I was hoping you’d go white with the cradle! It looks so fresh now, and the fabric in it is gorgeous! It looks so happy now.

    Reply

  30. angie says

    I’ve been curious to see how things would evolve as Clara grows. Specifically, in the display/storage of toys department. Everything is so sparse and tucked away yet. I keep waiting for you to join the world of, “No, Mama. ALL my stuffed animals have to be lined up on my bed. And where are my 100 pictures i drew yesterday and taped to the wall instead of hanging them so nicely on your cute art display system? I don’t want my ponies, or strawberry shortcakes, or dolls to be in bins in the closet. I like them ALL OUT and lined up on top of my dresser. And stop trying to sneak my bright orange duck rug that Auntie gave me out of my room. It matches my dress (and nothing else in the room).” I do long for Clara’s cuter than life girls room but my 5 year is not having it. I recognize Clara is still a big young so the accumulation of toys hasn’t overwhelmed the cuteness of her room. A lovely stage. Here’s to hoping it lasts! (I should note, i don’t really try to control my childs room that much! I know it’s her space but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming of what kind of cuteness COULD reign.)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, you should follow us on Instagram! You’ll see that she hoards stuffed animals (she sleeps with a ton of them in her crib) and shoves plastic animals and dolls and toys in the funniest places! There’s definitely kid-stuff all over our house, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Clara’s just like every other toddler. I promise :)

      xo
      s

  32. nicole says

    TARGET’s Valentine clearance had some cute stuff left that would look super cute in Clara’s room…..cute puppy banks….stuffed animals even art….

    Reply

  33. katie says

    Aw we’d love to have 5 built in closets, we only have one in the bathroom, so you could have it worse!

    I’ve been reorganising our hallway/junk room, although it’s only about 20% there so far…

    tenantchic.blogspot.co.uk

    Reply

  34. Meg says

    I’m so excited for Clara to eventually move into her big girl room! You’re already making it an easier transition for her by including her in the decorating and having it act as a play area for now. By the time it’s move-in day she’ll be stoked to do the room switch!

    We’re re-doing our bathroom right now and we’re making the switch from a fully closed vanity cabinet to an open table-like vanity that we made ourselves. I’ve been paring down and organizing all of our bathroom goodies… But I’m an over-organizer. My boyfriend actually complains because I sometimes reorganize too often and he says he can never find anything. Haha!

    Reply

  35. lkb says

    Just curious about your spray-painting… isn’t it cold out? I’ve been putting off those projects until… well… spring. But it looks like a little cold weather doesn’t slow you down. What’s your temp cut-off? Or does it matter? Can you spray quickly and then bring everything inside to fully dry?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ve had the weirdest winter! Some 60 and even 70 degree days (which is when I spray) and then some freeeezing 30 degree ones! It has been all over the place. As long as you follow the directions on the can (usually spray in 50-80 degrees), it’s dry to the touch in a few hours and you can bring it inside to a room like a sunroom to continue to dry if you’d like (it’s really stinky, so we like to use a sealed room like that).

      xo
      s

    • Meredith says

      I’m sorry, I was reading through the comments and I laughed at the “freeeezing 30 degree” days. I grew up in Wisconsin and live in Iowa; it’s 25 here today and I was thinking how nice that was. :) After a week or two of 0, 30s starts to feel downright balmy! (Clearly, I did not pick well weather-wise in choosing a permanent place to settle.)

  36. Crystal @ 29 Rue House says

    Hi! I totally agree on the play zone thing. I’d like to encourage Ruby to play upstairs in her room more (or her brother’s room) but since we still want to keep Archer off the stairs when we aren’t there to go with him, we have a gate up so the house isn’t quite as free reign yet as I’d like.

    I’ve also been working on Ruby’s closet. Once you scroll though some pictures of the blizzard we had a couple weeks ago, at the bottom of this post -http://29ruehouse.blogspot.com/2013/02/snow-and-shelves.html – you can see where I’m going by adding some shelves. Since that post, I’ve finished the shelves (painting/staining) and painted the closet walls but there’s still more to do – hang curtain to replace door, maybe do something fun on the walls, add a light somehow.

    Reply

  37. Lauren says

    We have a crazy amount of closets! When we moved on base (go Navy), I was in awe. It’s a 3 bedroom house, but had endless storage! 2 downstairs, one huge outdoor closet you can get to from our back porch, 3!! in our master bedroom, one in the hall bath, 1 in each of the 2 bedrooms, and one giant one in the hall (probably to make up for lack of an attic or basement). What’s that up to now? 10. 10 closets in our little house! It might be my favorite part of the house. But this has inspired me to clean some of them up – helpful as I’m nesting!

    Reply

  38. Lisa says

    Oh no, you painted that gorgeous doll bed!! A little clean up and staining would have really made it shine and preserved the vintage feel and value. I live an hour from you, I would have bought it for twice what you paid for it! lol

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So sorry Lisa! It definitely could have been refinished, but I loved the idea of a white crib with some bright pom pom fringe around it (and a colorful blanket too)! Hope you find a wood one of your own to restore to your liking :)

      xo
      s

  39. Katalina says

    I am wondering if those cool pattern teal and orange fabric on shelf in guest room closet– are those towels? love them!

    I think my cat might have that same monkey hanging on to his cat tree!

    I love that dark teal painted walls in the guest room with pops of yellow–was it scary to paint –I would be scared that all the wall imperfections would pop more!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      They’re actually flat packed boxes that I got for cheap but have to assemble them all. I had high hopes of organizing the heck outta my closets but I just have to make them all first. Hahah! As for the dark paint in the guest room, it was exciting! We love that room since it gets great light, so it’s perfect for a dark and moody color. Still love it years later :)

      xo
      s

  40. Rachel says

    I vote coral for the closet. I’m loving all the warm reds and pinks in her room. Whatever you two decide, I’m sure it’ll look great.

    Reply

  42. Amy K says

    Have you thought about adding plants in Clara’s room? Could be fun for her and have something to care for, learn responsibility, plant growth cycles etc? maybe even like a flower bed type thing?

    I love how the room is coming together and all the colors and patterns mix beautifully!

    Also, can I get some confirmation here…pom pom fringe???

    Reply

  43. sophie says

    Closets are ripe for reimagining. After much thought, we took the doors off our son’s closet, took out the clothesrailing, and installed shelves on either side of the opening. Perfect space for ‘built in’ book and toy shelves. Slapped on a new coat of white paint and it’s all crisp and clean and the room feels that much bigger.

    And the clothes that were in it? Well, they never fit properly anyway, so we picked up a dress – for free! bonus – and they all fit in there. A much better deal than before. And really, how many clothes does a kid really need?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes I’d love to add a lower bar sometime, we just have that shelving on the side so it would interfere with that (and since she’s still sleeping in the nursery we figure this closet as a place to play works for now :)

      xo
      s

  45. Rachel says

    I love the idea of painting a closet a fun color, even for me! Although I never had a guest room even growing up, when I have stayed in one it never crossed my mind to use the closet. So, I think its safe to use as storage.

    Reply

  46. Heather says

    We have 6 closets! A coat closet (which is a triangle inside!), a hall closet, a tiny linen closet, and one in each bedroom (walk-in in the master, double in one bedroom and a single in the office). They all need some rehab, but they’re pretty far down the list of Things To Do. Right now I’m more worried about getting the lounge set up in the garage and growing some veggies in the garden.

    Reply

  48. Karen says

    This is probably going to be considered one of those comments that gets filed under “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” and really, I’ve been biting my tongue since the post went up, but I have to say something.

    I love y’all… really I do. I’ve been reading since you were This Young House. But I can’t believe that moving stuff out of one closet and into another is considered a blog worthy post. Because that’s all this is. There’s nothing new to see here, like painting the closet, or adding a cute bench or lighting or something to actually make it a reading nook. It’s still a closet, with clothes hanging in it and a few toys on the shelf.

    Really, REALLY disappointed with the direction the blog has taken lately. I know you’ve been busy with the book tour and you’re probably tired and burn out. But instead of insulting the intelligence of your readers with non-project posts like this, I’d rather see you take some time off to rest and re-energize so you can come back with some real projects instead of more spray paint, gallery walls and ceramic animals that we’ve seen you do over and over and over again.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No worries Karen! After writing 2,500 posts we’ve learned that many folks can love a post (this one has 176 comments!) while someone else hates it. This is just our DIY diary (some weeks we do big projects, other weeks we do simple things anyone can afford). We’re real people going at a real pace with a real budget. Our routine has always been to share 2-3 projects a week (with other things like Reader Redesigns & giveaways in the mix). We actually used to do a lot fewer projects (we used to share Burning Question polls/a ton of mood boards/a second giveaway post for the winner, etc).

      Yes, this post was about a closet shuffle (which is something we’ve always shared – we have an entire category on our site devoted to organizing) but we also painted a chair & cradle (which takes a fair amount of time). And yesterday we revealed a big board & batten project we’re working on! If you check out our monthly recaps you can see that we still do a ton of stuff each month (much more than we did a few years back). Hope it helps :)

      xo
      s

  49. Carla says

    Oh, that poor lovely cradle. I think people tend to overdo white. The natural age-toned wood was warm and cozy. Too much white and plastic frames can be really bland and sterile. Remember the big change in how your kitchen felt when you added those new wood-slated stools?

    I think someone needs to lock up the spray paint. It seems like everyone with a design blog all fall into the same trends and turning their homes into Ikea showrooms.

    :o)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Sorry Carla! I love unpainted wood too (the living room media cabinet, the console table that we built from scratch, Clara’s wooden dresser in her nursery, the wood duck on the wall in our dining room) but I also love to add pops of color and clean up old musty/burned wood. It’s a pretty nice balance for us, although we know it’s not for everyone :)

      xo
      s

  50. CA @ How To Be A Heroine says

    I love this so much. It’s amazing how good it feels to turn a small space into something lovely AND functional. We’re starting to makeover our tiny, unloved (and only!) full bathroom in our house, and you have really inspired me. xoxo

    Reply

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