Jennette wrote in with a really interesting question, and I have to say, it kind of got me in the feels, making me reflective about all we’ve done to this wonderful house over the last decade. She said “… out of all your designs in the house, what was your favorite change that you feel like other people might easily do?…”
Gosh, that’s a really good question. Because I have a LOT of favorites, from adding more intentional storage in built-ins, to salvaging old windows and repurposing them in the space. Of course, every house is different, so my changes won’t apply to everyone else. But this is something we’ve done in two of our homes now, and it may apply in more ways than you think: The Walkthrough Closet.
We increased our square footage from 1,650 sq ft to 3,705, so we added on a lot. But here’s something we did to the house that not only increased our storage {we added a ton of it} but also made for a lot of sweet memories… it was the walk-through closet. When we first took possession of the house, this particular space looked like this.
At first, all three kiddos slept in this one room. It was fondly named “the sleeping room” while we finished off the rest of the house, so we could all spread out. Then one at a time, they each had their own spaces, but we will never regret those sweet years of memories and we have some pretty great stories to tell. Anyway, ranting aside, the space was eventually changed to this, as we kept adding on and the kids were able to spread out. Everyone scored their own space.
But one of the first things we did was change this closet. It was the old-school sliding-door, limited-availability, glorious remnant of the seventies, etc., etc. The beauty of it was that, on the other side, there was another closet that was the very same.
So we broke through that dividing wall, and changed it to this.
It was a process, and the spaces didn’t look like that at first, but these photos show a little bit of that opening. And the big difference that it made in the boys’ {now shared} closets.
Because on the other side of the space… was where our oldest moved into.
His space started out like this.
And we changed it to this.
He has truly loved his room. {We’ve made a few minor changes, but check out more of those details here.}
His closet was identical to this one on the flip side. By knocking out the space between, we created more open shelving and space to hang their clothes.
It’s been truly fun connecting them.
We’ve loved this little view.
Each house is different, but this gives a little insight into one of our favorite things that may be an easy change for someone else. So here’s to thinking through what’s available in a home, and making it truly work for you. It all comes down to thinking strategically and being intentional with those spaces.
What are some of your favorite things ? We’d love to hear. Have an inspired day!
