This is the story of a dream turned into bona-fide reality.
When my husband, daughter and I moved back to the big city from the ‘burbs last summer, we lost half a house. Actually (literally?). We went from a 3,000-square-foot home in Fort Langley, B.C., to a 1,500-square-foot townhouse on Vancouver’s east side.
To be clear, I’m not complaining. Moving beyond urban limits turned out to be challenging for my late-night-eating, walking-everywhere, seeing-friends-on-the-regular loving self (and, I do feel fortunate that my family and I were able to choose to live in Metro Van, when so many may not have that luxury).
However, the space thing was a problem. Specifically, the closet-space thing. While our new master bedroom had, technically, a walk-in, it was designed (and outfitted) in such a way that our stuff simply did not fit (and yes, I did a major purge before the move—still no dice). We had to do something, and, with clothes and bags and belts and shoes and linens bursting beyond our closet door into our bedroom (and other rooms in the house), we had to do it fast.
Enter California Closets. A close friend (and neighbour—Niki lives a block a way from my new place) had recently had the company make over her walk-in closet, with stunning results. True, the total square footage didn’t change but, thanks to thoughtful consultation, custom design and innovative fixtures, the space seemed (besides being beautifully transformed) to grow. Best of all, all of Niki and her new hubby’s stuff now fit.
I was spurred to action. One phone call to my local California Closets showroom and I was set up with a free in-home visit by one of the company’s top local design experts, Tara Blanchet. This lady was a star, coming to consult with my husband and I to discover what wasn’t working with our current closet and what we needed to make it functional (and pretty, too). She checked out the space, took measurements, asked a tonne of questions and explained new concepts like short-versus-long hang to us. She showed us materials samples (California Closets has a wide range of gorgeous finishes to choose from, to make things truly personal) and ran through various hook and rack styles specific to belts, ties, hats and scarves. She even gave practical advice on, for instance, the best types of space-saving hangers (our bulky plastic ones weren’t doing us any favours) along the way. After collecting all the data she needed, Tara entered everything into laptop and, voila! Our new closet came to life right before our eyes (well, on screen, anyway).
A few weeks later … C-Day! Two friendly California Closet installers arrived at our home, all of our custom-made parts and cafrefully chosen fixtures in tow, to create our brand-new closet and additional stand-alone wall unit. We had prepped the space by ripping out the old shelving and applying a coat of fresh paint, and only had to sit back and let the guys work their magic. And magic it was. Several hours later, I happily placed my clothes, shoes and accessories to their new home—truly, there was a place for everything, with, wonders of all wonders, extra space to boot! Among my favourite features (there are actually too many to list, but … ): the gorgeous Tuscan Moon finish that fit seamlessly with our existing décor, the designated shoe shelves (!) and the soft-close mechanism on every drawer (slamming is a thing of the past).
If there is such thing as closet bliss, I’ve found it—with every last bit of credit going to California Closets (please don’t pinch me). See the full photo story here. —Noa Nichol
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