As summer draws to a close, everyone seemed to be making a mad dash for vacation. Travel is a great inspiration for home design. After all, everyone eventually comes home and, with the advent of fall, starts to settle into cool-weather mode.
This time of year, while spending the last few weeks on the beach, I start looking for new recipes to try and to think about organizing closets and getting my fall and winter clothes in order. Autumn is a great time to think about putting in an organized closet system, which can come in many forms from the most utilitarian to the most sophisticated and luxurious. What”™s available in the luxury market? You can take a dressing area and make it as specific and detailed as you”™d like.
Think of different options, with space for all your favorite items organized for easy reach and labeled. Some drawer systems roll out with clear drawers so you can easily see the contents. You can have a safe incorporated into the cabinetry along with valet hooks and tie holders. (Is anyone even wearing ties anymore?). Compartmentalized drawer spaces can be made to hold your toiletries, medications, costume jewelry, scarves, hats and gloves. Cabinetry can be traditional or modern and lacquered in your favorite colors. The drawers can be lined in leather, suede or other fabrics. You can have seating either built into the closet, so it stays conveniently out of the way behind closed doors or, if there is room, add a wonderful chair and ottoman. A full-length mirror is a must for trying on clothes and for that last glance as you ready to leave for your day or evening event. If you are tight on space, then mirrored doors to your closet may be a great, space-saving element.
Although we are talking luxury closets, don”™t forget these other space-saving ideas for smaller homes and apartments. Consider nightstands that have drawers for storage. I also love using covered boxes stacked up in your bedroom filled with smaller items such as gloves, hats and small umbrellas. Don”™t forget under your bed. With the right, skirted bed, you can use zippered storage bags that hold everything from shoes to sweaters and slide them right underneath. I also use skirted tables. I have taken an old, rectangular table and had a tailored skirt with fun trim fabricated for it. That enables lots of storage underneath it. Top it off with a piece of glass for a modern, inexpensive but effective storage solution. If the table is large enough, it can even double as a desk in an apartment where space is at a premium.
I was visiting a friend in New York City and her architect included a highly effective, hidden closet in her apartment. What looked like a paneled wall transitioning from one area to the next was actually a secret closet that housed cleaning supplies and a vacuum. That was an impressive use of space.
I like uncluttered spaces, which help me to think clearly and keep chaos to a minimum. At the end of the seasons, particularly fall and spring, I like to declutter as somehow papers, receipts and dry cleaning seem to pile up. Clothes get squished into closets or cover a bedroom chair as we dash about from appointment to appointment.
For me as a designer, the fall reset clears the way for the ensuing holidays. I constantly collect samples, so even my offices get a clearing out of what we have accumulated and are no longer using for specific projects. We are careful to return all samples so that someone else can easily access them. And those recipes: We do eventually try them. Usually, we”™ll try one, take a vote and, if the recipe doesn”™t make the cut, then out it goes and we make room for the new one.
I hope you are looking forward to fall, and reorganizing, as much as I am.
Cami Weinstein Designs LLC is at 225 W. 106th St. in Manhattan and at 8 Main St. in East Hampton. For more, call 914-447-6904 or email info@camidesigns.com.
