Sunday, March 25, 2012

A Lilac Home for Clothes

Here we have the third and final installment of the impromptu "purple home" series, in which my clothes (and footwear) come to live in more colorful surroundings.

Somewhat out of scale with the rest of my small house, my bedroom closet is huge, about 6' x 8'. I'd given all the closets a fresh coat of white paint before moving in, but I felt it was time for this one to have a bit of color (and for me, color usually means purple). To keep the space bright enough -- choosing black clothes in a dark space is seriously annoying -- I chose a pale purple (Behr's "Rhapsody Lilac").

But as with most projects in my house, repairs were needed first. In the closet are two holes for access to plumbing and ductwork. To prevent the wallboard cutouts from falling back into the holes, a thin frame had been added. But this didn't keep the larger panel from falling out into the closet. It kept spontaneously leaping out of the hole, including once in the middle of the night with a surprisingly loud crash that scared the bejeezus out of me.

To prevent further nighttime scares, I made a sturdier panel that would stay in place. I cut a piece of plywood a few inches larger than the wallboard and glued the two together with construction adhesive, making sure to match the sides properly so the wallboard would fit back into the crookedly cut cleverly angled hole.

I was surprised to discover the adhesive was lavender
wallboard glued to plywood
I fit the wallboard back into the hole and screwed the plywood into the studs framing the opening. No more jumping panel falling on my New Rocks or frightening me in the middle of the night! The ductwork can still be accessed by simply removing the screws.

On to the painting at last! Painted the same color as the walls, the panel is almost invisible.
it's not really a two-tone paint job - the overhead light skewed the color of the photo
And my clothes, shoes and boots returned to live happily ever after in their lilac home.
this photo is a better representation of the wall color
Well, not everyone returned... I purged 51 pieces from my wardrobe. :o This left me with a long expanse of empty closet bar. The obvious solution is to go shopping! :)

20 comments:

  1. I love how you shelved your shoes -- very cool idea. sigh ... empty clothing bars make me happy because I know that shopping is close at hand! :D

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    1. Thanks. I wrote a draft about the shelves ages ago; I need to post it. :) I imagine shopping for your new slimmer self will be loads of fun!

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    2. Oooo, yes! Post it. I started shopping here and there and it feel tremendous! I'm waiting until after my birthday (and when the Fall line is in the stores) to really have at it. WAHOO!

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  2. I have always been afraid of putting my shoes in the closet with my clothes because I fear foot stink getting into my clothes. Baking soda is the best odor defense I know of, but it doesn't look good sprinkled all over black shoes. Do you have any advice? Thanks!

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    1. Hmmm... I've never really thought about it. I have never noticed an odor. I always wear cotton socks and I strongly prefer shoes/boots made of real leather, which "breathes" much better than synthetics. Beyond that, I don't know...

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    2. Oh well, thanks anyway! Your home is looking great. Congrats on the roof; that is great news! :)

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  3. Freaking awesome closet. Very very nice. LOVE the colors, of course.

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    1. Thank you! :) This house has a lot of minuses (a LOT)... but the closet is a big plus for me.

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  4. Hnnnnng. >want to touch the closet<

    Mine's all cedar. Useful, but not... you know.... purple.

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    1. Ooh, cedar is nice. Too bad there's no purple cedar... that would make a closet of unparalleled awesomeness!

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    1. Indeed! I'm overdue for a good shopping excursion. :)

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  6. WOW. I could really use a house with that much closet space! I'm fairly certain your closet is bigger than my bathroom =P.

    Looks really good pale purple; shows off black clothes a treat!

    Enjoy shopping =]

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    1. My closet is bigger than my bathroom. :)

      I'm really liking pale purple with black lately. In fact, I have a couple of sewing projects in mind with those colors.

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  7. Can I just move into your closet? I don't eat much and I can keep everything organized for you :) *Scratch scratch* "What's that?!", "Oh that's just the girl who lives in the closet".

    And yay for purging and MORE shopping ;)

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    1. Absolutely! You could put together outfits for me. "That's my personal stylist who lives in the closet." ;)

      I shop at the thrift store often, and I can't help but wonder if I'll ever see my recently purged clothing hanging on the racks.

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  8. "...I purged 51 pieces from my wardrobe..."

    Whoa! My hero! But that's the way to do it, for sure.
    Nice work, and a that's a properly useful closet. Great to be able to hang up most everything without having to crease up things by stuffing them in drawers (only undies and socks belong there).

    It's very difficult to get faithful colour reproduction in photographs, and with casting from the ambeint lighting, and then it's all at the mercy of the final viewer's technology! Here's a link to a colour swatch at HomeDepot.

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    1. Hanging everything also makes it easier to put together outfits. I keep a full-length standing mirror at the back (moved so I could take photos) so I can try various combos right there in the closet. :)

      Purple seems to be particularly difficult to photograph.

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  9. Hooray for your spacious closet, and room for more shopping!! You need to give lessons in closet purging. 51 things in one shot is unheard of. I usually can't bring myself to do even get rid of five, because I always think of a way to wear something again that I *think* I will like... But then I see the same piece day after day and say to myself, "I'll definitely wear that soon, but not today." Strange psychological thing happening there... ;)

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    1. I hope to someday make a career out of giving lessons in closet purging; or more broadly, as a professional organizer. :) I have a few "lingering" items... things that would look great in the right combination, but I never get around to figuring out what that combination is.

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