· Michael Blair
A builder-standard closet is one rail at about five and a half feet with a shelf above. Below the hanging clothes is a large volume of dead air, and above the shelf is another.
Double hanging
Most shirts, jackets and folded trousers need around forty inches of hanging height. Two rails stacked in the same space that held one roughly doubles hanging capacity.
Reserve a single long-hang section for dresses and coats — typically a quarter of the run is plenty in most households.
Use the height
Shelving above the top rail is usable for seasonal items with steps. Taking the system to the ceiling removes the dust shelf and adds real capacity.
Below the lower rail, shoe shelving or drawers recover the floor volume that otherwise becomes a pile.
- Double hang most of the run, long hang a quarter
- Shelving above the top rail to the ceiling
- Shoe storage or drawers below the lower rail
- Adjustable rather than fixed, always
- Measure what you own before designing
Measure your actual wardrobe
Count linear feet of hanging clothes and note how many are long. Designing to a generic ratio produces a closet that does not fit what you own.
It takes twenty minutes and it is the difference between a system that works and one that looks good empty.
Adjustable beats fixed
Wardrobes change. A system on adjustable standards can be reconfigured; one built in fixed positions cannot without rebuilding.
It costs little more and it is the specification most people are glad of within a few years.