Inside Out

For kitchen and bath designers interested in maximizing space in their next design – and maximizing profits at the same time – creating a master closet system may be just the right project.

Closet systems often work seamlessly with bathroom remodel projects and provide an upsell opportunity. The result is a win-win situation for designers and their clients.

“Even if you’re not doing a big master bath, you can still update the closets,” stresses Roy McClain, v.p. of Mechanicsburg, PA-based Advanced Kitchen and Bath.

However, it is the master bath project that often leads to the creation of a closet system.

“Most of our closet projects come when we’re doing a master bath, where we’ve knocked out walls and enlarged the master bathroom and incorporated the dressing room and the closet into that area,” reports McClain. “Once you start the master bath and ripping out walls, you are often also destroying the existing closets. As a result, you are also asked to provide a new design.”

Lori Jo Krengel, CMKBD, president of Kitchens by Krengel in St. Paul, MN, offers: “What I see is what I call value engineering. If you are talking about a master bedroom or bathroom en suite ensemble, the closet is an easy transition into the completion of those areas.”

Mastering the Transition

If a designer is proficient at kitchen design, much of this knowledge translates to wardrobes, according to Kevin Farrell, AIA, NCARB of Farrell Design Association in Encinitas, CA and Captiva Island, FL.

“The key for kitchen and bath designers is to become well versed in correct space planning for cabinetry dimensions and capacity required for apparel,” stresses Tom Shirley, designer, Cabinets & Designs in Lexington, KY. “The designer must be familiar with the special hardware and storage items that are available, as well.”

“The ability to estimate the owners’ use by establishing a program will help assure success,” adds Farrell.

In addition to material adjustments, there are structural considerations with these projects that designers should familiarize themselves with as well.

“You have to make sure you don’t have any supporting walls,” stresses Shirley. “A lot of times, you steal a foot or so out of the master bedroom that really isn’t needed and is more of a benefit in the walk-in closet because it allows it to have open air in that space.”

But, he notes, designers also have to understand the structural requirements of the space before that can be done.

“Overall, the key is to look at every bathroom and see what other opportunities there are besides doing the floor, the vanity, the water closet and the tub,” Shirley continues. That’s where the opportunity for the master closet often presents itself. “The bottom line is to always try and pick up a new trick,” he notes.

Just as a master bath can be enhanced by a dynamic closet system, often a closet system can be enhanced by a master bath, reports McClain. “It simply requires thinking outside the box,” he notes.

When creating a master bedroom closet, customers often expect the overall design to coordinate with the adjacent bath suite.

“The level of sophistication in door style, finish and details found in the master bath needs to be carried over into the dressing room,” states Shirley.

“Obviously, the more high-end things you include in the closet design, the more you boost your bottom line,” stresses McClain.

What’s in Store

Of course, closet systems are nearly synonymous with storage, so a quality closet design needs to start with the basics.

“Many people don’t want clutter in their master bedroom, so the walk-in closet is the place to put [things like that],” McClain explains.

“Often, clients are looking for more storage for shoes, hats or ties, for instance,” he continues. “It’s similar to the kitchen in that you have different areas you concentrate on when it comes to storage.”