Patty Miller, P Miller Luxury Closets Inc., is a 2024 Top Shelf Design Awards finalist.

Category:
Closet: Laminate Under 18 linear ft.

Project title:
Ensuite Enclave

Project Description:
This job was for a client renovating their master suite. They were combining their existing, tiny, side-by-side His and Hers closets into a dressing room just for "Her."  What is different about the new closet/dressing room is that it is accessible solely through the master bathroom. The client wanted a doorless entry into her closet, open to the master bath. Thus, the main focus was to ensure the left and back walls looked gorgeous since that is the angle seen from the master bath. 

The first step was taking inventory of the client's clothing. She had 24 feet of short hanging and 6 feet of medium/long hanging. Medium hanging included 4 feet of pants which needed to be hung straight. There were also many items to be folded - a lot for the size closet we were designing. (She didn't believe I could get everything in!) My largest concern was how to get all this hanging into the closet without having hanging butt up to hanging on perpendicular walls causing huge blind corners. The client wanted all her hanging to be fully enclosed in the cabinetry but to remain open, where she could view everything easily. Her requirements were to have a full-length mirror, space for her handbag collection, accessories, belts, scarves, etc., display for her favorite accessories, a location to store a step stool, and crown molding to the ceiling. Since the closet is open to the master bath, I worked to coordinate and express the same aesthetic feeling in the closet as in the master bath while still making it a separate space. 

The client did not want dark cabinetry in the master bath in her closet. So, we selected the Tafisa finish Latitude West, which is white but has a dark ticking texture. Along with brass accents, we created a beautiful enclave alongside her stunning master bath.    

Project Construction:
Since her closet needed so much hanging, I focused on the two longest walls (front & back) to house her double hanging. To completely encase her hanging as per her wishes, I used 23-inch deep cabinets with 3/4-inch backs. I didn't want any visible holes for adjustability, so all the exposed shelves and rods were custom-drilled on-site. Rods were centered at 11 1/8 inches in the 22.25-inch depth of the cabinet so all items would remain inside the cabinet. The client wanted the few cabinets that had doors on them to have holes so she could adjust things as needed. 

Since the back and left walls are visible from the master bath, I ensured those areas received the most "beautiful" accents in the closet. For example, there was not enough wall space for a full-length mirror, so I convinced the client to allow me to place her long hanging behind a beautiful, beveled mirrored door, which I centered on the back wall. (Originally, she wanted all hanging to be in open cabinets. But since she doesn't wear long hanging very often, she agreed)  I used a solid recessed panel door and had a beveled mirror applied to it. This gives added strength to the door as opposed to just setting a mirror into a frame. It also looks much nicer on the back of the door. To add interest to the back wall, which is the main focal point, I designed two 25-inch deep by 7.5-inch wide 90-inch tall accessory cabinets. Each had doors flanking the mirrored cabinet to give a furniture-like feel. The left cabinet stores her scarf and belt racks; the right cabinet stores her step stool. The rest of the space on this wall occupies a double hanging, which l left open as requested. Since the rest of her double hanging is also open, I placed that on the opposite wall, out of view from the master bath. I got all 24 feet of her short hanging and all 2 feet long hanging on the back and front walls. 

On the left wall of the closet, three cabinets share the same wall as the entry to the closet. These cabinets step into the right slightly more than 2 feet to allow for open access into the closet. I designed them as only 14-inch deep, again so as not to obstruct too much of the hanging on the back wall with blind corners. These cabinets are also visible from the master bath, therefore, I put a solid door on the center cabinet which stores all the client's folded items and used the right and left shelving for display. I still have 48 inches of pants hung straight to find a home for. So, on the right wall, I designed 19-inch deep cabinets to house her pants and added 10-inch high drawers below. 

Since pants hangers are only 14-16 inches, I had the rods centered front to back at 9.5 inches. This allowed the pants to be completely enclosed in these cabinets and resolved the problem of having large blind corners. The contractor required the closet to have a kick space heater placed within the toe kick of one of the cabinets. After supplying him with our specs, he ensured the heater would fit perfectly in our toe kick. He planned for the location of the toe kick but not the height inside the toe kick. My installer was to notch a space to install a grill to allow the heat to escape. Unfortunately, the heater was 1/2 inch taller than the space in our toe kick. 

To resolve this issue, we needed to remove some of the wood flooring under the cabinet to gain the height needed. No one but the homeowner, contractor, or my team will ever know! To finish this closet with exquisite detail, we added fascia and cove crown molding to the ceiling. We added shagreen leather in the finish "grey stone" to the interior panels of six transitional doors framing the beveled mirrored door.  The customer wanted very special, jewelry-like hardware to add the final touches. We found brass with ivory leather handles. Since the back wall has a cluster of doors, I didn't want to overwhelm the space with many handles. I decided to use stunning "jewelry" mother of pearl clover knobs on all the doors surrounding the framed mirror and on the small upper doors on the left wall.      

Materials Used:
Tafisa Latitude North melamine. Beveled mirror. EcoDomo Shagreen leather. Leather handles Mother of Pearl knobs

Equipment Used:
KCD Closet Pro