Kathleen Jacobson, The Couture Closet, is a 2024 Top Shelf Design Awards finalist.

Category:
Closet: Wood Over 18 linear ft.

Project title:
Lavender Elegance

Project Description:
The client purchased a historic late 1930s home in Dallas, and the small closet needed a serious remodel! The previous owners took space from the closet and built drawer storage in their master bedroom. We suggested putting the storage back into the closet to create a more functional dressing area that would also increase the width of the closet. We weren't sure what we had hiding in the walls until we gutted the space. We were able to reclaim the storage in her walk-in closet with 24-inch deep drawers and hanging above. After we gutted the space, we also discovered part of the bricked roof line from the porch below came into the closet!  We changed our plans to hide the intrusion inside a box that we turned into a bench and modified the shoe shelving unit next to it. We were able to maximize every inch of the space and create a beautiful, sophisticated walk-in closet for our client. 

Project Construction:
Our client chose a very transitional look for her new walk-in. We designed a shaker-beaded drawer front with bone trim to dress up the millwork. Being an old house with a master closet upstairs, it followed the slope of the roof line.  We custom-trimmed and fitted the woodwork for the challenging angles. Lighting had a big impact on this closet. We used Hafele Loox 5 LED tape with a 45-degree channel to distribute the light back into the wardrobe boxes. We concealed the vertical lighting behind custom-fitted face frames. We built 12 drawers in our new space with hanging above and one section dedicated to her handbag collection. Beautiful marble countertops added a very elegant touch. The back wall was all hanging with one shelf above for extra storage.  Boxes built on an angle.  Two shoe box units with adjustable slanted shelves with a toe lip and a hamper finished out the space. We turned a top drawer into a packing surface with belts tucked inside.   Wallpaper, an antique mirror, and a soft lavender-colored paint finish helped to showcase this cozy but sophisticated walk-in closet!    

Materials Used:
*All wardrobe boxes built with paint-grade maple plywood *Baltic birch inside the drawers  *Grass under-mount soft-closing full extension glides *Blum full overlay soft-close hinges  *Hafele Loox5 LED tape lighting and WAC 45-degree channels *Colonial Bronze inset style pull out valet rods  *Marble Countertops *Richelieu Brass wardrobe rods  *Schaub Brass Hardware pulls  *Starphire glass & mirrors  

Equipment Used:
CAD drawings were used for our clients' conceptual design work.   J & J Construction & Cabinetry field-measured and laser-leveled all walls & floors to begin fabrication