Pam Porter and her husband, Lee Bissmeyer, had a laundry area inconveniently situated in the basement. They also had an alcove closet off the master suite that was generous in size but poorly utilized. And with the entrance open to the master suite, "all the things you like to tuck behind closet doors were exposed," says Pam. So the couple decided to clean up their act with new closed closets and washer and dryer.

Need a more convenient, upstairs laundry room.

 

Route the plumbing from a nearby bath into the closet to create a spot for the washing machine, and vent the dryer through the outside wall. Have plain canvas bags custom-embroidered and hang them on a pair of rods to keep dirty clothes off the floor. Gather ironing and laundry supplies into handled baskets.

Visible clothes and shelves always look messy.

 

Cover up clothing chaos with attractive floor-to-ceiling doors along each side of the closet. (There's still enough space to walk by even when the doors are open, and they don't block light from the window.) Recess lighting into the ceiling to allow for swinging doors and illumination for both sides of the closet.

No place to store smaller items.

 

Combine hanging racks and tall units with adjustable shelves to make limited closet space work harder. Trim the top of each vertical cabinet to fit into formerly unused space beneath the sloped ceiling. Outfit drawers with desk organizing trays from an office supply store to tame a jewelry collection.