From the simple cotton shirt hanging on an antique finial on our bedroom wall, to the wooden hangers in one wardrobe, and the column of drawers in another, there is room here in this little house for the garments I wear. For a full visual of the room, see our bedroom tour here.
Yes, you'd be right in pointing out that the 16" of hanging rod length that I have is remarkably shorter than those in most American closets, and you might wonder aloud at how that, plus seven medium-size drawers could possibly be sufficient for a woman's wardrobe. I totally understand this perplexity. Within our society's context of 'more is more', it is quite contrary. But it's also quite true - this is, indeed, the wordrobe space that I have, and it's honestly enough for me and the lifestyle I keep.
I can also say that it's a relief. It's a relief to not spend my time buying, washing, drying, ironing, folding, mending, and putting away so many clothes. There are so many other things I'd rather be doing with my time.
That's not to say that I don't like clothes, however. My first career was in fashion, after all (fun!). What I like are garments that have intention in their design, craftsmanship in their construction, and timelessness in their style. I love to pair a great shirt with a killer necklace. I love to wear a silk scarf, a tooled leather belt, or a sweet pair of shoes with jeans and a sweater. I like a simple skirt on hot summer days.
My wardrobe is comprised of my favorite garments - I've kept only those pieces that I actually wear (I'm continually purging and passing along less-favored things when I acquire more-favored things). Classic pieces that coordinate with each other multiply the possibilities, and a few statement pieces of jewelry extend my wardrobe even further.
But, enough chatter about this now, I'll open my closet doors and let you have a look...
This white cotton shirt hangs here during the warmer months of the year. I like to change necklaces when the mood strikes. During the colder months, I'll change out the shirt for a cashmere sweater. Clothing as art? There's just something about it.
This is a fairly accurate showing of my summer wardrobe (there are some things in the laundry hamper). Many of the pieces hanging here stay all year; some are exchanged for winter garments.
My occupation doesn't require office attire, but I do have a couple dressier ensembles for weddings and such - the polka dot skirt you see there is one of them. Speaking of skirts - to save space, I hang two, and sometimes three skirts per hanger (I use the clamp kind).
I appreciate the look of matching wooden hangers, and have found that the trick of wrapping neutral rubberbands around the ends keeps wide-necked shirts from slipping off.
My vintage jewelry box sits open at the bottom of my wardrobe, and simple wooden trays hold my necklaces. I've laid my longer and bigger necklaces to the side. A small bottle of perfume is kept here, too.
On my night stand, I always have books, a clock, this thrifted marble dish, and I try my best to have flowers, even if they are dried from last winter. Wink
Below the night stand, I keep currently-being-referenced books, magazines, and my yoga mat. I have plans to add a shelf here, with a basket-drawer, but for now, this works.
My husband's wardrobe is built exactly the same on his side of the bed, only his is more sparsely populated (grin) than mine, and on his night stand sits a vintage wood and brass cigar box. The space below his nightstand is perfect for his flight backpack.
At the opposite end of the bedroom, you may remember the other set of floor-to-ceiling cabinets that flank my writing desk.
Here is the inside view of the cabinet on the right. The top shelf is for my husband's suitcase. He's an aviator who comes and goes often, so a place in the bedroom for his bag was a must. The next shelf down holds my sewing machine, fabric, and just out of sight at the back of the shelf is a small wooden chest of drawers that holds spools of thread, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and other bits and bobs for making. I do have a couple of drawers in the shed that hold a bit more fabric, but, as with my clothes, I like to keep my fabric stash to a minimum of pieces that I really love and will use.
The next shelf holds the printer and a box of sewing things.
The drawers are for our clothes. My husband and I have four drawers each here (we also have three shallow totes each that slide under our respective sides of the bed).
Below the drawers is our laundry hamper, and beside that is a vintage suitcase that holds an extra quilt.
On the back of the door are robe hooks, which are wonderful for keeping the room free of those clothes that you take off and want to toss over a chair - hang them instead and close the door. Tidy. Wink
For those of you who are wondering about shoes, we keep them either tucked under the foot of the bed, or in the coat closet in the hall - we don't have many.
The laundry machines are in the cabinet to the left of my desk. On top of the dryer are the laundry soaps, the iron and spray bottle, a basket full of extra toilet tissue (there's space for two rolls in the bathroom cabinet), and this basket you see here, which holds an extra hand towel and wash cloth, a few cleaning rags, a duster, a lint roller, the hair cutting kit, and any sundry items that we don't keep in the bathroom. Slipped in beside the washer and dryer is the ironing board, the broom, and the dust pan. Slipped in to the left of the washer and dryer are my fabric cutting mat and ruler.
There you have it! There really is a place for everything that we need at hand. It's been fun showing you the details of our bedroom storage - I know many of you have been waiting quite a while to see behind these doors. If you have any questions, I'd love to answer them in the comments.
With that, I'll wish you the loveliest of weekends, friends!
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