Catherine's Closet Makeover: Part I
Posted on Fri, Jun 11, 2010
Three words for you: Extreme Home Makeover. I'm a sucker for all of those "Before and After" reality shows, I'll admit it. Not only am I continually amazed at the design experts' capabilities, but the back stories of the families selected ensure I'm a whimpering, teary-eyed fool within minutes (much to my family's eye-rolling dismay). Even Ty Pennington and his ear annihilating bullhorn cannot deter my enthusiasm in watching the Williams family finally get that dream home after all of the health obstacles that father Jeremy and son Jacob have had to endure. Who hasn't had that lingering "what if" feeling in the recesses of our psyche, wishing for someone to wave a magical makeover wand and offer a life transforming change?
Imagine my excitement when my neighbor, Catherine, mentioned she was going to have our local ORG dealership, ORG West Michigan, design and install new closets in her home! And she told me I could document it for The Stow Company blog! It's almost like having my own reality TV show! I know! And oh, that loud, orca-like sound you hear is actually me squealing sounds of glee never before emitted by human vocal chords. Sorry about that. I might have gotten a tad carried away.
Anyway, my next few posts will walk you through the steps from design to installation, so you can get a fly-on-the-wall view of the "who, what, where, when and why" that accompanies a new custom organization system.
To get started, let me give you a little background on Catherine's space. About 10 years ago, Catherine and her family of four moved into the lovely 100-year-old, two-story house across the street from me. Catherine loves the character and quality of her home and she's spent much of the last ten years restoring it. Currently, she's finishing the master bedroom and recently had one walk-in and one reach-in closet built. In this first photo, you can see the original closet. Yes, that is it. And yes that was intended as a human closet and not one for say, a chinchilla. That little so-called closet is about 3 feet tall, 30 inches wide, and 2 feet deep. I don't know about you, but that closet might house my shoes. Okay, who am I kidding, that closet could handle my socks.
The other photos show the closets that Catherine's carpenter built. The walk-in closet is about 4 feet wide and 5 feet deep with a sloped back wall; the reach-in closet also is about 4 feet wide.
The only thing that's missing? A brand new ORG organizing system! Be sure and tune in next time when I describe the design process. I promise to not bring a bullhorn.
-Beth