Case Study: A Teen Closet Transition

When teenagers grow up and leave the nest, they don’t leave all at once. Such is the case in Laura Baer and Mike Levine’s son Zack, who is headed off to college. As her son uses the space less and less, Laura hopes to use it more and more. Unfortunately, the poorly organized space wasn’t particularly conducive to flexible storage. Rows of hooks covered the wall in front of the closet door, providing little in the way of storage.

The old closet system was more of a eyesore than a helpful storage solution. Shelves filled the back corner of the closet, and a hanging rod in front of the shelves blocked access.

The new closet system features a floor-to-ceiling stack of shelves, which maximizes the space right in front of the door. Jeans, shirts and sweatshirts are easy to fold and stack on the shelves. Open bins hold harder-to-store items like sports equipment and some of Laura's out-of-season handbags.

The space between the shelves and hanging storage is just big enough for a row of wall-mounted hooks and a brightly colored hamper. The family wanted to make sure they were utlizing every inch of space accurately.