How To Renovate

EP52 My Process For Planning Wardrobe Storage

• Tash South

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Do you ever open your wardrobe and feel instantly… annoyed?

Overflowing drawers, crammed rails, mystery piles of socks — we’ve all been there. But here’s the thing: wardrobe storage doesn’t have to be a daily frustration. In this week’s episode of How To Renovate, I’m sharing my go-to strategies for designing wardrobe storage that actually works.

This episode is full of practical tips I use with clients all the time.

Inside I share how to work out exactly how much space you need, clever layout tips, and how to make it beautiful, not just functional.

Whether you’re planning a full renovation or just rethinking your current setup, this one’s for you. Because starting your day with a wardrobe that works? Total game-changer!

I’ll see you there!

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Hi I'm your host, Tash South I'm an Interior Designer and Renovation Consultant.
Each episode of How To Renovate is short, but brimming with practical advice to help you manage your renovation project with confidence and success.

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https://www.southplacestudio.com/freebies

Everything I teach about renovation falls within my Five Pillar Process for A Successful Renovation, to learn more about the process, head to
https://www.southplacestudio.com/pillars


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Tash South:

Hello, hello everybody, tash here, and it's the how to Renovate podcast, welcome back. So today I thought I would talk a little bit about wardrobe storage. Now I've done lots of client projects where I've had to design wardrobes for other people, which can be quite tricky because you have to know exactly what they have in their wardrobes, which can be a bit awkward sometimes. But I think the best way to do this is to first find out what you need to store. So therefore, I'm always asking my clients for lists of how many items they have in their drawers, how many meters of hanging space they need. So that's kind of where we start, because I find, funnily enough, even though your people are adding wardrobes into their home, they're not really thinking about what they actually need to store.

Tash South:

So number one is what are you actually storing? Because I think people just will get a wardrobe of a size that may fit into their room and they're not actually thinking about what they need to store. And I think it's really frustrating to go through the effort of buying a wardrobe or having one built in and then finding out, as you're putting your items into the wardrobe, that you don't actually have enough space and everything's still crammed together and the drawers are overflowing. So I think obviously the way to avoid that is to first look at what you need to store. How many items are kind of the different groups of items, such as, you know, hanging items, folding items, items, bags, shoes again, which most people forget about when it comes to storage and planning their wardrobe. So it's just kind of taking an inventory of everything you need to store and then noting it down. Before I even start designing a wardrobe space for a client, I actually ask them to hang out everything that they have on a rail with good enough spacing so they can actually move it and then measure in meters how many meters of clothes they actually have on hangers, because then we need to add extra as well, because you know some people will be adding to their wardrobes a few items every year, so you don't want to have it where everything's already crammed full and then when you do want to add something new, that's then being crammed in. So it's just thinking about these things before you start, so you can just avoid that frustration of going through the trouble of doing it all and then still finding out that you don't have enough space for everything that you want to store, and then then number two is maximising every inch, so that really again comes down to what you need to store. So I mean, especially here in London, we don't generally have huge spaces, so we don't have these luxuries of walking wardrobes and having a whole room for clothing and so on.

Tash South:

So I'm always finding that when I'm designing storage like this, I'm having to be so conservative with space, making sure that every single inch is used well, used properly, that we have to make sure that there's enough drawers for what the client needs to store, there's enough hanging space, there's enough shelves, and so finding little tricks and systems that help with the lack of space is really great here as well. So do look into the market and see what's available. There are kind of multiple hangers that you can get that lay things flat against each other. You can get that lay things flat against each other. You can get drawer dividers to make things a little bit more easier and maybe so your things don't get mixed up and you can use one drawer to store two different types of items, but still easily found. And then I've even designed wardrobes into understair spaces where you have angled ceilings, angled walls, so having to think about really clever ways so that space is not wasted and used really effectively, like angled rails or perhaps shelving that's built in that falls along the angle. Then of course, you've got items like jewellery, belts, ties and so on. So you want to make sure that you've got space for shallow drawers as well. So just kind of looking what's out there, and if you go to one of the flat pack stores, they will have a huge range of organizational items and add-ons that you can add into your wardrobes. So it doesn't mean that everything needs to be built bespoke, but I just think if you think about, if you go back to the start, look at everything you need to store and really plan for it, I think that's a great way of just really coming out at the end with a really effective outcome.

Tash South:

And then moving on to number three is to think beyond the rail. So obviously hanging space really important in any wardrobe. But then, of course, think about all the items that are quite forgotten, like little items, like socks and any smaller items. Maybe get some shelves as well, with baskets for those, or obviously drawers are great for those. And if you, if you're building from scratch, if you're having a built-in done, I think, a really effective way.

Tash South:

And again, going back to if you know how much you need to store, you can then plan how deep those drawers need to be, which means that no space is wasted. So let's say you have lots of jumpers which need more space. You can have a deeper drawer for that, and then, instead of having all the drawers the same height, you can then plan the height of the drawers according to the items you need to store. So perhaps for things for items like underwear or t-shirts, you'll need a shallower drawer, and then for things like belts and ties, you'll need a really shallow drawer. So you can plan to have a place for everything just by thinking in really simple terms, like the different depths of the drawers. So it all comes down to just figuring out exactly what you need to store, and then, if you're lucky enough to be able to have that built bespoke and do that, that's amazing as well. And then, of course, even the flat pack companies do do that. Now you can get different ranges. They might not be as bespoke as that or as flexible as that, but you can for certain get different height drawers, different systems that work with what you need to store and then other things you can think of beyond those rails, of course.

Tash South:

Any shelves at the top really great for anything. You don't need to use every day any extra duvets, pillows, out of season clothes. Always make sure, if you've got enough height, that you're making use of the space above for things that you don't need to access every day. Great storage space for that kind of thing. I really do think that a wardrobe should function like a well-designed kitchen. There really should be a place for everything and everything in its place and an obvious place to store things, and you can mix up the storage types, of course. So you've got the rails. Perhaps you've got double rails for shorter items like shirts, and only a small section for long hanging space, and then you can make use of the space underneath the short hanging space for drawers, for shelves, for baskets. So just thinking about where everything will go and, again, how many items you'll need to store will really make sure that you get a really good wardrobe internal design. And then, of course, there's so many clever add-ons now. You can get slide-out trouser racks, you can get built-in laundry hampers, you can get velvet-lined drawers. I mean there's so many options and I do think that it just adds to your smooth running of your day, every day, and your productivity if you can find things.

Tash South:

I mean. I mean, how much time do we spend every day looking for things? We don't know where they are, we don't know where we've last put them. We'll have seen it. And I just think that if, if your wardrobe's organized the same as with a kitchen, if you know where things are, it's just a lot smoother. It makes your day run a lot smoother. You can get ready a lot quicker, get out the door a lot quicker. So I really do think it's worth putting in the time if you're, if you're planning this to, to do it well, to think about it.

Tash South:

And then number four is not to get dressed in the dark, so nobody wants to choose their outfit in the dark, right, so you can get some integrated lighting. Now. I just think it's such a great tip here to add some lighting into your wardrobe. I do it every time now I do it for a client. Even if it's, you know, if it's not a luxury renovation, it's not difficult, if you're doing a gut renovation anyway and adding electrics, to add a couple of spotlights or some LEDs into your wardrobe on a sensor so that when you open the doors, the lights go on. It's actually quite a simple thing to do if you're doing that sort of work anyway, and it just adds a little touch of luxury. You can see everything. You can find everything a lot easier. So I really really recommend that and I think, even if you're not wiring in now, there are options on the market where you can get rechargeable options where you can just stick them on and you can recharge the batteries, or they can be battery operated and also on a sensor, so you'll get the same feel, but obviously you'll just have the additional job of having to recharge or change the batteries to those. But I really do think it just adds a little something special and it also is practical because you can see what's inside your wardrobe.

Tash South:

And then number five is to plan for growth. So I briefly mentioned this earlier, but I always say um, I know this can be tricky, especially if you're working with a small space, but try and give your items some breathing room. Um, it's really frustrating when everything's really packed full and you're struggling to get things out and when you pull one thing out, three other things come out with it. So just plan for growth, if you can Try and give your items a bit of space. Or maybe it's time to donate some items before you start planning your wardrobe so you've got a bit of extra space to work with. Because, I mean, realistically, we all buy more, perhaps more than we should, and so you want to be able to add to your wardrobe as those items come in, and maybe you know some people are better than others at getting rid of some stuff when they get some new items in. But it doesn't have to be extreme. Just make sure you've got a bit of extra space for when those new items come into your wardrobe.

Tash South:

And then, lastly, number six is to make it beautiful. I know it's just storage, but I think if you're thinking about redoing your wardrobe, why not just add some extra lovely touches? So obviously the lighting is one, but you could do some really interesting things here. I once wallpapered the inside of the wardrobe and the doors and that was really beautiful, just like a little explosion of colour every time we went to get ready for the day. So even if it's hidden behind doors, you know, just if you have the time and you appreciate that, then just maybe take a little time, go that extra step and make it a little bit pretty as well, and then you could even go so far as to kind of line your drawers with pretty paper. You can get kind of velvet line drawers now for things like jewelry and belts and so on.

Tash South:

And when you're choosing baskets or anything that will sit on the shelves, you know, choose some really lovely ones. They don't always have to be just, you know, the kind of see-through plastic ones. They are practical for what's what you're seeing inside, but perhaps just kind of upgrade a bit on those. You could add some beautiful hooks inside. So if you're hanging any handbags or so on, maybe choose some pretty hooks rather than just some practical ones.

Tash South:

And then also there, if you're wanting to decorate the outside as part of your wider room design, there's so many things you can do with it. Outside of the wardrobe doors you can wallpaper within the panels. You could paint them different colors. You could wallpaper them with some fabric. There's some beautiful kind of fabric effect wallpapers now you could add some sort of mesh. So there's so many ways just to kind of make more of a statement of them rather than just being storage.

Tash South:

So I think the main takeaway here for this episode is just to plan. So count all your things, make sure you can lay everything out, measure how much space you need for all of your items, make sure you've got enough hanging space really important and then that last point which was make sure there's some space for everything to breathe so that you've got a little bit of room for growth. So I think those are the main takeaways here, but I hope this episode was useful and I hope you get to have the fun experience of planning your wardrobe. Um, I always think it's so lovely to have everything organized and in its place and to have that luxury of space. To have everything in this place is really a lovely thing. So I hope you enjoyed the episode, everybody, and I hope it was useful and I shall see you in the next episode. Bye for now.

Tash South:

For more information on my five pillar process for successful renovation, you can go directly to southplacestudiocom forward slash pillars where you'll find an introduction to the process which covers each of the pillars and what they cover. We also have a number of other free renovation resources. Go now to southplacestudiocom forward slash freebies. I have created some amazing freebies for you there. There is one on the process. Like we just said, there is one on planning permission, there is one on kitchen design, there is another one on lighting planning. Go and check those out. There's so much free information there to help you with your renovation.