Coming Home to Your Closet

It’s 6:30pm, you just got home from work and you’re desperate to get out of those worn-in clothes and into your evening wear. Your jacket and sweater were just washed and still smell good, but everything else you’re wearing is dirty. You toss your underwear, socks and pants into the overflowing laundry hamper, then take one look at your bursting closet and decide you’ll hang up your sweater and jacket later…Why? Because every time you try to stuff a pair of pants or a sweater in that closet you end up feeling frustrated as other items get mashed backwards or fall off their hanger leaving you with zero visibility as to what you even own. You toss your sweater and jacket over the chair and move on thinking you’ll hang it up eventually, and the cycle continues.

When renting an apartment, restrictions can come in many forms, one of them is of course not being able to build your own walk-in-closet. This means when you find the perfect apartment, your storage options may be less than optimal. If you’re not careful this could be you:

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You can increase the efficiency of your closet using the closet dividers featured in this post or using the organizational tips featured in this closet organization infographic, but sometimes spacesavers just don’t solve your storage woes. What if you could have just gotten it right from the beginning? Is there such a thing as a rental apartment with nice closets? The answer is yes.

Kickass Apartment Closet 1:

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This closet comes from a luxury apartment rental in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It features 3 levels of shelves, shirt hangers, dress hangers and you can walk into it. The storage boxes at the top are a nice addition for accessories but you can’t see what’s in them. Either use transparent boxes or reserve these for items that are out of season or rarely used. This closet could also benefit from a shoe rack. Either way, really sweet digs for a rental.

Kickass Apartment Closet 2:

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A bit narrow but a dressing-room dream come true nonetheless. I love the walk-in-closet featured in this California apartment for rent. There are two tiers for hanging shirts and pants. Since these hanging racks don’t leave much room for long dresses, this closet is actually more suitable for a man’s wardrobe. The center storage unit gives added functionality where space would otherwise be wasted, but may make the lower racks a bit awkward to access. Save these lower racks for your less-frequently worn item. Would be nice to walk into a rental apartment closet like this wouldn’t it?!

Kickass Apartment Closet 3:

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This closet for rent is unfortunately only available for short term stays. Guests can get out of their suitcase and be sure that their few weeks in this Paris apartment will definitely let them unpack and easily access wardrobe items.

Kickass Apartment Closet 4:

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These apartment renters went the extra mile to design photos that really demonstrate the functionality of their space. Here in this St Johns apartment we see a master bedroom of a rental apartment that is ideal, with a walk in closet, a built-in vanity with storage and a bathroom included. With all of these highly desirable bedroom features, you can put things where they belong right from the bedroom. There are dedicated shelves for all types of pants and sweaters,  racks for hanging and room for shoe storage down below. All of this and your bathrobe can get hung up where it belongs next door, and not end up on the floor of your closet.

Kickass Apartment Closet 5:

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So you already rented an apartment and you’re not ready to move or go on a wild goose chase for an apartment with one of these unicorn-walk-in-closets, what can you do now? If you can’t walk into your closet, or you don’t have a closet at all, you can DIY a cute and functional space almost anywhere. This example from apartmenttherapy.com doesn’t offer all the glam of the closets featured above, but it is still functional. In fact keeping it all out in the open like this will force you to keep it tidy, while allowing you take frequent visual inventory of your wardrobe.

Final Thoughts

When apartment hunting, make sure you sign up for a functional space with closets that will actually make you want to hang up your clothes! If you haven’t done that and you’re now signed into a three year lease, this post still offers some tips for closet storage while showing you how to make the best of your space, still allowing for functional living.