Beautiful Built-In Closet Design Inspiration and Planning Checklist

When we bought our house in 2013, it had very large his and hers master closets with very little design. Our closets were basically wide open spaces with a few shelves and lots of hanging space.

Having come from a small house in Philadelphia, we were thrilled with the walk-in closet space. But we quickly learned that these spaces were not very functional at all. We had stuff piled up on the floor, as well including all of our shoes. If we didn’t want to hang a garment, the closets offered us no where to put that garment. These closets were basically blank canvases for my husband and I to make our own.

A few years later, when we finally got settled with our babies, we called California Closets. They sent a closet designer out to our home so that we could discuss our needs and wants in our master closets. And after much deliberation and lots of measuring, the designer helped us solidify our designs so that our closet dreams could finally be realized. (You do not need a professional closet company to organize your closet. That’s just what we chose. You can instead find built-in options from places like Ikea and The Container Store!)

While my closet still isn’t quite perfectly the way I would like it to be in terms of its contents, I am thoroughly happy with the design. (I bought the knobs/drawer pulls separately, and the installer put them on for me!) I hope to share more with you as I edit my wardrobe and accumulate some more closet decor, both of which I feel as though I’ll be doing forever. (I added some affordable fashion room decor in my shop at the bottom of this post!)

Until then, please enjoy these photos of my walk-in closet and a checklist of what to include when designing your own!! Pin the images so that you have master closet inspiration at your fingertips if you decide to redo your own closet! xo

full length mirror with white frame in master closet

Master Closet Checklist

concealed laundry bin
vanity area (if space allows)
open shelves in varying sizes
purse storage area
drawers (Do you like opaque or translucent drawers? Think about your aesthetic.)
knob pulls
shoe storage
Think about the majority of your wardrobe. For example, how much “long hang” space you need. Do you have a lot of long dresses? Not many at all? Do you like to fold most things? Will you hang or fold your jeans?
an outlet!
lighting (I plan on switching out my ceiling fixtures.)
Where will you hang a full-sized mirror? This is something I actually overlooked. I ended up hanging a mirror on the inside of one of the french doors, but I wish I had made space elsewhere.
flooring- Will you carpet or add an area rug?