We will be closing in on this wonderful home in 5 weeks and are now looking for old dresseres for our clothes. Very small closets and no real room for built ins The bedrooms are around 15′ x 15′. We will be adding an addition in a few years to add a Master bath and closets (3600 sqft home with 1 1/2 baths !). But for now… ?
The Master has a very high ceiling that matches the roof line, and though crazy, wondering if that upper space could be used – would need a ladder though, huh ? !!
Any storage ideas for an older home ?
Bret
Replies
To most accurately maintain the character of the home you need less stuff. People in those days did not have so much to store and the few closets they had could hold it all. Garments were often hung on pegs in the open.
There are a couple of ways of keeping with the character of the home. One would be to use freestanding wardrobe cabinets and blanket chests. Infrequently used items, such as Christmas decorations, could be stored in the attic.
Another would be to "hide" in the construction a walk in closet. Bifold or double doors would be totally wrong, but a simple closet door that matched the other doors in the house that opens to a walk in closet would look right when the door was closed.
Just some thoughts: You could build a closet with a two closet rods, one above the other. Upper rod on spring loaded arms that pivot down. Upper rod would have a handle hung from middle--you pull it down and the rod swings down and into the room for access to clothing, then you push it up again. Rod would have to be short enough to clear door frame.
We've got a home built that exact same year and I know what you mean about no closets. That's a pretty big place at 3600 sq ft. Are you going to be using every single room for something? Victorians from that area are sorta famous for having a lot of smallish rooms. How about turning the smallest bedroom into a big walk-in closet?
We got 'lucky' at our place as it was raised from its original 1.5 stories to a full 2 stories. We ended up with enough space for an actual garage, shop, tons of storage and third bed/bath.
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner