A Recent Closet Installation Transforms a Maple Ridge Bedroom

By Mike Pachal, Tailored Living Coquitlam

Believe it or not, this gorgeous cabinet with solid maple wood and dark chocolate pear stain is a fully- functioning closet.  I recently had the opportunity to install this particular piece in a detached home on a rural property in Maple Ridge.

Behind the full length wood doors on the left and right is space for hanging clothes and shelves for folded clothes.  This space includes built in tie and belt racks.

A pull out tie rack keeps ties organized and wrinkle-free

Tie racks like the one shown here are perfect for the working professional.  Rather than rolling ties and putting them in a drawer, the rack keeps them from wrinkling while at the same time allowing the home owner to see all of his ties at once, with a single glance.  The same is true for the belt rack.  This system helps save a little time in the morning, and every second is precious when you have a long commute ahead of you.

Keep belts handy with this pull-out belt rack

Behind the cool looking frosted glass are custom shoe shelves and spaces for accessories, jewellery, hand bags and other items.

One of several styles of shelving for shoes available from Tailored Living

It also includes 9 full depth drawers and a dual bag laundry hamper, ideal for “his” and “hers” laundry, or for separating lights from darks.

One style of dual laundry hampers available from Tailored Living

This particular system was created for a couple and customized to fit their lifestyle.  It’s just one example of how Tailored Living can create a closet that’s as unique as the person or people who live in the home.  Tailored Living can mix and match different design elements like these and many others (visit the Tailored Living closet designs page for more examples) to create the perfect, individualized system.  We offer several different finish options, from the rich dark chocolate colour of this closet to deep warm browns to crisp, clean whites.  Tailored Living’s exclusive D’ Vinci 3-D design program allows you to get a three-dimensional picture of what your new closet renovation can look like before it’s installed, saving you from any surprises.  Tailored Living offers free, no-obligation in-home consultations throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

Do’s and Don’ts for Small Living Spaces

Here in BC’s Lower Mainland, particularly in the denser urban areas, small living spaces are the norm.  Even Vancouver’s luxury condos have space limitations.  Though Vancouver doesn’t have the same kind of space crunch as some other major cities (think Toronto or New York), urban square footage is still best used wisely.  Our professional home organization experts have some helpful advice when it comes to making the most of small living spaces.  This list of “do’s” and “don’ts” probably contains some things you may have already discovered and a few that might surprise you.  Put into action, you might find that you can live more comfortably than you ever imagined, even with less than 1000 square feet.

Don’t get into the habit of letting clutter collect.  Clutter can take over very quickly in a small living space.  Put things away right away.

Don’t buy or bring home things that you can live without.  Sure, that funky retro floor lamp might be half-price, but if you don’t really need more lighting then pass it over.  Save your precious real estate for things that you really need.

Do have a designated space for everything.  For those things that are absolutely essential to own, make sure they all have a designated “home” within your home.

Do communicate your system of organization to others that you share your space with (family, partner, room-mate) so that they are all on the same page when it comes to organization.  Better yet, come up with a system together that works for everyone.  It will be an easier system to maintain when everyone buys in to the same philosophy.

Do utilize wall space effectively.  Install shelving, cubbies and other things that turn your wall space into storage space.

Don’t over-pack shelves.  Adding shelving to empty wall space can actually be a bad idea if you end up filling up an entire wall, floor to ceiling, with books.  This only makes a small room look even smaller and more crowded.  Space things thinly on shelving to create an illusion of airiness while still having some extra storage space.  (If you have enough books to fill up an entire wall, it’s probably time to thin out your collection.  Refer to our first “don’t.”)

Do choose furniture pieces that are multi-purpose, like a foot stool with storage space inside or a couch that folds out into a bed.  Murphy beds are also ideal for small living spaces.  Another furniture tip: choose “light” furniture.  Not light, as in weight, but “light” in appearance.  Avoid solid, chunky furniture and over-stuffed couches and opt instead for things like tapered/thin-legged tables and couches with crisp, clean lines.

Do make the most of closet space.  You might think your closet is already too full, but there are ways to make your closet spaces even more efficient, hold more items AND make them easier to find.  Consider a Tailored Living closet makeover for your small home.

Seasonal Storage Tips from the Organization Pros at Tailored Living

We’re well into Fall now and marching swiftly toward Winter.  Now that Halloween is over, like it or not it seems that everyone is getting into holiday mode.

Transitions between seasons are always a great time to evaluate (and re-evaluate) your home and to get organized.  It may soon be time to get out the winter jackets, mittens and scarves and to polish up those sleds, so remaining organized during the transition will make everything smoother. We’ve already blogged about getting organized for Fall, and now we’d like to share a few more organization tips that have been provided to us courtesy of the Tailored Living home office’s team of professional organizers and planners.  They can also be viewed in full-colour online by visiting http://lms.dbmgroup.com/Email/TailoredLivingCorporate/J111010/J111010.asp?EmailAddr=pachal@tailoredliving.com&LogID=6596&ID=61097732&EID=NjEwOTc3MzI=

1) Have a closet in your home dedicated to seasonal items for the entire family.  This is where all of your winter coats would hang during the spring, summer and fall, for example.  When winter arrives, these items can be moved into your main entryway closet and spring/summer items can take their place until winter is over.

Dedicate an entire closet to the family’s seasonal wear

2) Make the most of unused garage space.  Garage space in 95 percent of homes is either under-utilized or could be made more efficient by re-configuring garage spaces.  The garage is the ideal place for storing seasonal items like holiday decorations as well as things found in most garages like tools, spare vehicle parts, automotive and cleaning fluids, etc.  Need ideas for making better use of this space?  Visit Premier Garage.  You can also check out our recent blog post for garage winterization tips, perfect for this time of year.

The transitions between seasons is always a good time to reorganize the garage

3) Enhance your entryway.  This area is another space that is often under-utilized or poorly configured.  Tailored Living suggests that doing some very simple things like adding strategically-placed hooks can make dramatic improvements in this area.  Or, consider having an entryway makeover to really get the most out of this space.

Prevent clutter at the front door with an organized entryway

Tailored Living Offers Eco-Friendly Options for Your Home Reno Projects

Tailored Living home organization specialists have access to dozens of suppliers and products so that our designers can provide, literally, hundreds of different options when it comes to closet, home office, pantry, laundry room and garage design.  But many people don’t realized that Tailored Living also offers eco-friendly particleboard, an environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional cabinet and closet materials.

Tailored Living’s eco-friendly particleboard comes from Roseburg Forest Products, a company that’s committed to viable, sustainable forests and wood products.  Roseburg’s UltraBlend™ Particleboard is made from 100 percent recycled or recovered fiber content, like that which comes from reclaimed wood.  UltraBlend™ has been certified as an Environmentally Preferable Product by Scientific Certification Systems, a label that has been inspiring consumer confidence for more than three decades.

UltraBlend™ Particleboard isn’t just good for the environment.  As a building material, it features a high-quality smooth surface, tight machinable edges and excellent dimensional stability.  UltraBlend™ Particleboard is available with a variety of finishes and looks exactly the same as any traditional type of particleboard once installed and finished.  UltraBlend™ Particleboard can be used in a variety of applications, particularly cabinetry, so it’s an excellent choice for your garage or closet renovation.

Speaking of renovations, there’s still time to take advantage of Tailored Living’s Back-to-School reno special.  In spite of the teacher’s strike that’s taking place here in BC, we’re forging ahead into fall anyway and offering a $200 rebate on your Tailored Living renovation.  Use it toward whatever you like, including a home office/study makeover so your children have a place to do their homework.  This is a limited-time offer, so take advantage of it while it’s still here. Tailored Living offers free in-home estimates, and we’re happy to show you how you can incorporate our green particle board into your project.

Living in Coquitlam? Click here for Coquitlam Tailored Living.

Living in Vancouver/North Vancouver? Click here for North Vancouver Tailored Living.

Living in Surrey/Langley/Delta/Abbotsford/Fraser Valley area? Click here for Tailored Living Fraser Valley.

Savvy Closet Organization Tips for Fall

Try as you might to hang on to summer, soon you’ll have to throw a sweater on over your shirt to stay warm.  Hopefully you’ll still be able to find all the sweaters and boots that you packed away last spring.  Tailored Living has some suggestions that will help you get your closet organized for the upcoming autumn season, and will also help ensure that when it comes time to dig out those shorts and bathing suits again in time for next summer, you’ll know exactly where to look.

* Pack summer clothes into water-resistant containers/boxes.  Since you probably don’t have the luxury of a different closet for every season, make more room in the one you do have by storing summer clothing for the fall/winter season.  Tailored Living suggests heavy-duty plastic tote boxes/bins with lids that clamp or snap down.  This will keep bugs and moths out, and water too, just in case of an accidental leak or flood.

* Label your boxes.  You can print labels from your home computer/printer, or just write them by hand (no need to get fancy).  This way you’ll know what’s inside without having to open the box.  This will be especially handy if you have many boxes/bins that are the same, or you have to store your bins on a high shelf.

* Take this opportunity to get rid of clothing you no longer need/wear.  Pack up items and donate them to a local charity if they’re still in good condition.

* Organize clothing by type.  Hang shirts together in one section, pants/skirts in another.  This will cut down on the time it takes to hunt for a particular article of clothing.

* Give your closet a cleaning.  You probably don’t vacuum your closet floor regularly, especially if it is covered with shoes and other things.  Take a few minutes to pull out items on the closet floor and sweep or vacuum.

* Don’t forget your kids’ closets!  The same suggestions apply to their closets as to your own.  But one additional thing you should think about when organizing your child’s closet is the growth factor.  Kids grow from year to year and can even experience significant growth with the passage of a single season. So while you are transitioning them from their summer wardrobe to their Fall one, make sure they haven’t outgrown their clothing from last year.  Pull out anything that no longer fits and add it to your “donate” pile.

Perhaps you’ll find while you’re organizing your closet for Fall that you actually need an entire closet overhaul.  Tailored Living has hundreds of closet organization solutions, from small accessories like valet rods and belt hooks to pull-out mirrors and built in drawers and sliding bins.  Tailored Living can make any closet, even small, apartment-sized ones, more efficient, organized and easier to live with.

Check out some of our favourite closet mods.