When we bought our Denver home, one area we weren’t sure how to utilize was the basement (especially coming from Texas!). It has a couple of rooms that work well as guest rooms, but there’s also a large hangout space and then a room that the builder intended on as a workout room… aka a big blank room with lots of plugs (ha!). At first we thought that might be cool but then decided against that because we both like to get outside or go to the gym to be social. At the same time, I came to the realization that the Master Bedroom closet space wasn’t the best for my job. Eventually, I decided to use that extra room as a closet/office space and have been really happy with that decision! I wasn’t sure if I needed a full room for a closet, but since my job revolves around shopping, try-on’s, etc., it has been super helpful.

While I know not everyone has the same job, I know a lot of y’all have reached out about the closet/office situation and how to layout the space. As such, I wanted to create a one-stop place to explain everything and share links which you’ll find in this post!

One thing to note: this isn’t our forever home and so I’m not going about designing/editing it like so. In terms of organizing solutions, I’m working off more flexible and short-term solutions in case they don’t work in our forever home.

OK let’s get into the details! Let me know if you have any additional questions – I’d be happy to answer!

Organizing My Shoes

The first thing I wanted to figure out was what to do with my shoes. I wanted shelving to display them, but I wanted it to look like built-ins rather than actual shelves. I measured the space and ordered some floating Ikea shelves to fit it, with a plan to flush them together so it looked like one long, single shelf. But you can see that it’s not perfect (if you look closely – they don’t flush exactly but it works!) I did the same height in between in shelf so it looked nice and even – I think I did around 12 inches.

If you do this, I just want to give you a heads up that installing the shelves is not as satisfying as the price tag (ha!). It takes several hours – or at least it did for us! I ended up hiring a task rabbit person to help – otherwise, I probably would have given up! Even still, the shelves didn’t line up perfectly but you really can’t tell so I didn’t mind.

Also, I’ve seen other people paint these same shelves and even replace the hardware. It can look really nice if you want to put in that extra work! I think I would have considered this element if this was, in fact, our forever home.

Organizing My Clothes & Handbags

Next problem I wanted to solve was what to do with all my clothes. I thought about getting some hanging racks installed professionally so it would all be uniform. But again, I didn’t want to spend much money! So I purchased several hanging racks from Amazon and called it a day! These have been GREAT!

My next question was where on Earth do I put my handbags? I didn’t want them on the ground or stored in a box where they could get ruined, so I decided shelving was the best bet. I got some more floating IKEA shelves and installed them atop my hanging racks. Not all my bags fit, but it’ll work for now.

Displaying My Sunglasses

I had a sunglass rack in my last home’s closet that I loved so much. I knew I wanted to do that again because it was so nice to have an actual place to put up my sunglasses and see them all and keep them nice. They don’t make the ones I used to have, so I found a new sunglass organizer on Amazon. I hung it on the wall and bam – now my sunglasses have a home!

Making The Closet a Work Space

Since I’m down there a lot with my assistant Alyssa, I wanted to get a table and some chairs and have it be more of a workspace as well. I ordered this table from CB2 (it’s a great price for the look!) and I got these chairs from Amazon and LOVE them! They’re a great price and super comfortable!

My mirror is one I got several years ago at Z Gallery.

Outfit Planning Display

I wanted a way for us to be able to plan outfits without making a HUGE mess or laying them out on the ground (which is what I usually do). After doing some research, I found these metal racks on amazon and had them installed behind the hanging racks! They’ve been so great for outfit planning!

Alright y’all, hope those quick details are helpful for anyone working on their own closet or storage solutions. I’ll be sure to share if I add anything to the space!