DESIGN OF A CLOSET | TYPES AND SIZES

It’s a room where clothes can be displayed or stored. There are lots of little touches that can be incorporated into a closet to make it a pleasure to use, such as back-lighting for shelves, angled shelving for shoes and cubby-holes for handbags. In addition a dressing table, a full-length mirror, and some kind of versatile and compact seating for sitting down and trying on shoes an be included. It’s also a refuge, somewhere to make private phone calls and enjoy a moment of “me” time. No wonder more and more home owners are turning unused spare bedrooms into their dream closets.

CLOSETS FOR MEN - 

A Men's closet will require space for storage of shirts, pants, suits, ties, shoes, night clothes, underwear, socks and drawers for lots of small items. These items can be stored in closets 2' deep and 7' high. The width of the closet depends on the space available within the bedroom. Here are some basic, minimum sizes for closets.

• A minimum size is a 2'6" wide closet. It can accommodate around 10 suits, ties, 6 pairs of shoes and 2 drawers for underwear and other things.

• A comfortable sized closet is 4' wide. It can accommodate around 10 suits, 7 pairs of shoes, 7 drawers and ties, night clothes on hooks on the inside of the doors.

• A luxurious sized closet is around 8' wide. This closet can accommodate around 20 suits, 15 pairs of shoes, 8 drawers for combs, underwear, socks etc and a mirror for dressing up.

• A 5' x 5' walk-in closet can comfortably store 20 suits, 12 sets of underwear, 15 pairs of shoes night clothes, ties. This is the most convenient form of storage space.

• In places where 2' depth is not available, a shallow closet of minimum 1'8" depth can be provided. In this, a pull-out rod takes care of the suits, as they will be hung front-facing.

CLOSETS FOR WOMEN:

A woman's closet will require space for storing womens' garments, like skirts, trousers, blouses, sarees, dresses, evening dresses, suits, coats, underwear, night clothes, shoes, mirror, make-up things etc. The minimum depth for a woman's closet is 2' and 7' height. The width of the closet depends on the space available in the bedroom.

• A minimum width for a woman's closet is 2'6". This can accommodate 12 hanging garments (evening dresses, dresses, skirts, sarees etc), 10 folded garments, 10 pairs of shoes and night clothes on the inside of the door and 2 drawers.

• A comfotable sized closet is 4' wide. This can store 12 hanging garments, 10 folded garments, 10 pairs of shoes, night clothes on hooks on the inside of the door, 7 drawers and a hinged mirror in front of the shelves for dressing up. Or this space can be arranged so that it can store around 20 hanging garments, 10 folded garments, 10 pairs of shoes, 5 drawers.

• A luxurious sized closet is around 8' wide and can comfortably store around 20 hanging garments, 20 folded garments, 20 pairs of shoes, 7 drawers, mirror in front of shelves for make up stuff.

• A very comfortable sized walk-in closet for women is 5'6" x 6'. This can accommodate the above mentioned items comfortably.

CLOSETS FOR CHILDREN: 

Children's clothing closets require space for shoes, clothes, underwear, and toys (if an exclusive toy closet is not possible). A children's closet should be a minimum of 2' deep and 7' high. It can be divided horizontally into 2 parts since only the lower half of about 4' can be reached by the children. The upper part can be reached only by adults.

• The minimum size of such a closet is 2'6" wide. This can accomodate around 14 garments, 6 pairs of shoes, 2 drawers and 3 shelves for underwear, toys, diapers etc.

• A larger sized closet is around 4' wide. This can accommodate around 14 garments, 10 pairs of shoes, 3 drawers, 8 shelves and pull-out trays for toys and folded clothes.

TYPES OF CLOSETS:

Storage closets are required for various purposes in different parts of the house. Some of the different types of Closets are:

• Kitchen Cabinets: used for storing glassware, dinnerware, kitchen supplies, table linens, food etc. A closet for food storage is usually referred to as a Pantry or a Larder.

• Bathroom and medicine Closet: used for storing reserve and current supplies like bath towels, hand towels, toilet tissue rolls, soaps, shampoos and other toiletries. It can also be used for storing medicines. A closet 2'4" wide and 2' deep is sufficient to store toiletries and medicines.

• Broom closet: A narrow floor-to-ceiling space for the storage of lengthy items like brooms, vacuum cleaner, etc. It can be used for storing all the cleaning equipment etc on shelves and hooks. It can be about 3'6" wide and 2' deep.

• Wall closet: A very shallow closet closed off from a room by a curtain or folding doors, with only enough depth to hang clothes or store them folded on shelves.

• Book storage: This is usually provided for in the living room or study or library or family room. It is used for books and most books can fit comfortably on 8" deep shelves, though some books need 10" deep shelves. For books, open shelves are acceptable though regular dusting may be needed.

• Toy and Game storage: This is provided for in the Children's bedroom and wherever the toys are regularly used. Toys can be stored on shelves or in pull-out trays within a closet. Toy storage should be designed such that it can be used for some other type of storage in the future, when children grow out of toys.

• Sports equipment: like golf bags, ski equipment, camping equipment, etc may require a separate closet and preferably near the front or outside entrance. It has to be minimum 2'4" deep and 6' wide. It can have shelves of different widths and heights, hooks and poles to accommodate boots, shoes, sneakers, golf clubs, tees, hockey sticks, skates, sports clothes, pistols, bats, fishing rods, knap-sacks. tennis, badminton rackets etc.

• Outdoor closet: This should be accessible from outdoors and can be used to store lawn mowers, wheelbarrows, rakes, garden tools, shovels, ladders, hammocks, outdoor furniture, bicycles, tricycles etc. Tools and associated items can also be stored here.

• General storage: This is for bulky, seldom used items like suitcases, extra furniture, etc. A good place for this kind of storage can be above 7' and can be reached by the use of a ladder.

• Coat closet: A coat closet is a closet of a house where people store their hoods, jackets, umbrellas, scarves, shoes, boots and coats. A coat closet is typically located in the entryway, so that it is close to the front door. Usually a coat closet is at least 2'6" deep to allow for the bulky overcoats and to allow for air circulation around the garments which are often damp when you just come in from outside. 

• Linen closet: A tall, narrow closet, typically located in or near bathrooms and/or bedrooms. Such a closet contains shelves used to hold towels, washcloths, bedsheets, blankets, and toiletries. The minimum size of such a closet is 1'6" wide and 1'3" deep with shelves spaced at 1' vertically.

Related Topics:

• DESIGN OF A CLOSET | PLANNING
• DESIGN OF OTHER ROOMS IN A HOUSE