HOW TO CREATE A BOUTIQUE-STYLE CLOSET: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE
Today I am going to talk to you about my very first client: a fashionista with a passion for beautiful things, functionality and minimalism. Almost sounds like me, doesn’t it?! Well, that’s because my first client was me. When I moved into my first house, I was immediately bothered by the master closet. It looked perfect to house my (then) husband’s clothes but there was no way we were going to both be able to fit our clothes there in a functional way. There is nothing that bothers me more than multiple pieces of clothing hanging from the same hanger or long dresses hanging from a short rod which makes half of it dangle on the floor. I don’t care much about size but I do care A LOT about functionality, and this closet was not going to work for the both of us. Luckily we had an extra room that was not being used for anything in particular.
It was a semi-empty room with beautiful architectural details used for the occasional workout or meditation session. I wanted to convert it into a room where I could still do those things but that would also serve as my walk-in closet. And I wanted my closet to feel like a boutique. Every time I put my outfits together, I wanted it to feel like I was shopping there - starting from the lingerie, finishing with the last accessory. To make my boutique-style closet serve as my podcast, office and workout room and still look pretty, I had to get creative.
The table I chose to place in the middle of the room was ideal for the purpose. Although IKEA Tornviken is sold as a kitchen island, it was perfect for what I was going for.
It fits 2 bar stools on one side and has shelves on the other. The bar stool side would be used for making podcasts and working on my computer. The shelves would be used to display some of my cuter accessories.
Another thing I knew I needed was a wall-mounted shelf with a rack to display my all-time favorite pieces. For custom-sized furniture/accessories Etsy is always my go-to. I measured the space under the window and ordered this beautiful wall-mounted shelf with gold rack from ShopAndisList Etsy store to display my closet staples.
The rest of my clothes would either be folded and placed into a wardrobe or hung in the actual walk-in closet adjacent to the room.
Next step in the project was to find the wardrobe that would fit most of my shoes, most of my accessories, lingerie and bathing suits as well as casual crop tops and mini skirts which I tend to wear a lot in the summer.
I ended up choosing the IKEA pax system. As you can see above, you can customize everything about this amazing product: frame, doors, handles, shelves, accessories, etc. In short, you can cater it perfectly to your needs. And their custom design tool allows you to see what it’ll look like when you’re done. This is what I ended up designing.
Ikea PAX before glamming it up!
I know it looks bland AF! 3 things needed to be changed.
Holes to be covered
Glam handlebars to be added
Molding to be installed
Ikea PAX after glamming it up!
Could you ever tell it’s the same wardrobe?
First I covered the unattractive holes inside using the Variera cover plates from Ikea to make it look less cheap. Only about $6 and voilà - it looked so much better. Pretty time-consuming and boring but so worth it because it makes such a big difference.
Then I decided to install some beautiful hardware. I chose these golden champagne drawer pulls from Amazon.
And lastly, I decided to call my very good friend Spiro who is an amazing handyman and painter. I asked him to help me install some molding on it. It was going to make the biggest difference. Spiro has helped me so much throughout years to bring my vision to life. A few trips to home depot, a little paint, some wood and sawing later - we completely transformed this cheap looking wardrobe, didn’t we?!
To store my favorite purses I chose the IKEA Elvarli solution, another customizable one (I don’t have any good pictures. If you’re interested, check out my tiktok video with all the details).
How do you like this makeover? What is your favorite part? Which tips are you going to utilize? Comment below! I read every single one!
