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So I am looking to add a closet to an existing room. I want this to be a built-in because where I live real estate listings do not count a bedroom with a free standing closet. However I can't ever recall seeing someone's house with this and I can't help but think it will look terrible. Is it possible to have a closet that builds out into the room, but still looks nice? I was thinking of placing it where the 19" short wall is and covering up an existing door.

enter image description here

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2 possible places the one you mentioned and bottom right corner at the 37" wall, this last one will give a little corridor effect on coming in – ratchet freak Mar 18 '12 at 23:39
@ratchetfreak - thanks, that is a very good idea. I hadn't thought about the corridor effect. Now that I think about it, that does seem like a naturally better location. – mrtsherman Mar 19 '12 at 2:09
If you show some more of the surrounding floor plan, we may be able to suggest some other alternatives as well. For example, it is sometimes possible to split an existing closet in an adjoining room into to. You say the one door can be removed -- where does it go? Can the inside of that room be turned into a closet? – gregmac Mar 19 '12 at 23:05
@gregmac - thanks for the floorplan suggestion, unfortunately the surrounding area won't allow building out into another room. Along the left wall is a narrow hallway, 30", and along the bottom wall is a galley bathroom. – mrtsherman Mar 20 '12 at 2:20
Nice work. I have the same problem - a kid's room that needs a closet. How deep and wide did you make it? I'm trying to make it as small as possible but still useable. Thanks for the picture. – user7698 Oct 8 '12 at 1:05
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2 Answers

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So based on advice from ratchetfreak in comments I took his advice and went with the 'corridor' effect on the 37" wall (pic below). As the room has two doors it gave me an interesting perspective on what the 'walking into the room' vibe was. For door #1 (the bottom door in pic) I felt like the closet made the room feel smaller on entrance. For door #2 (left wall) I was really surprised that walking into the room didn't feel like the closet was overbearing.

So my end analysis is that a closet jutting into the room across from a doorway is fine. Also, that a corridor effect makes a room feel smaller on entrance. I prefer option one, although we ended up going with option two because it really was the only place the closet would fit.

enter image description here enter image description here

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nicely done (but don't forget the crown moulding!) – DA01 May 22 '12 at 15:29
@DA01 - haha, I couldn't find crown moulding that matched! Maybe that's a new diy.se question – mrtsherman May 22 '12 at 16:11
up vote 1 down vote

Take a look at the Ikea closets. They are pretty functional and are designed to look built in.

Also I don't think there's any actual law requiring a closet in the bedroom. So you can call any room a bedroom as long as it has appropriate egress, door and your septic tank is big enough.

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I saw a brand new house on the market that had to advertise that the builder would add a closet to the room before they could call it a bedroom. If it isn't a law, then maybe it is just an understanding among listing agents? – Kellenjb Mar 19 '12 at 13:55
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I've heard the reverse, if a room has a closet, it's considered a bedroom, and therefore must meet code requirements for bedrooms (egress, fire alarm, etc.). – DA01 May 22 '12 at 15:28

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