For some people, it's not just a closet. It's an inner inner sanctum.

By Amy E. Lemen
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Thursday, February 27, 2003

It's dark. Mysterious. It hides your hiphuggers, eats your espadrilles, it devours your dress shirts and secrets away your silk scarves. It is your closet. If you're like most people.

There are others, you see, who approach their closet doors like the pearly gates, behind which rest rows of stacked sweaters and clear boxes -- cue choir of angels here -- in an oasis of order and elegance.
Think we're overstating it? Then listen in on Jean Loyd: "It's one of those dreams a woman has. It just makes you feel special."

Loyd had always wanted a "great big closet." When she and her husband moved into a new house in Burnet last December, she got one. For $4,000 (which includes design and installation) this stylish super-storer displays purses and shoes in cabinets across one wall, offers plenty of shelving, belt racks, a built-in dresser and a glass-front cabinet just for sweaters. For Loyd, it's closet nirvana.

" I won't move into another house without a custom closet," she says. "Even my husband is impressed with it." Of course, even more impressive are closets of the rich and famous. In last Sunday's New York Times Magazine, Diana Ross' daughter, actress Tracee Ellis Ross, dished about her mother's fashion storage: "She has a conveyor belt -- like at a cleaner's -- she broke through the sewing room that was above her bedroom, and that is now half of her closet."

The younger Ross feels the opening scene of "Mommie Dearest" displays "the most beautiful closet ever." But who can forget 1995's "Clueless" with Alicia Silverstone's coveted rotating clothes racks? Or 1987's "Overboard," in which a wealthy Goldie Hawn docks her boat for "emergency repairs" -- a shoe-closet remodeling job?

Celluloid aside, closets are clearly priority for some people. There's Dana Gribi, who tore up the plans for her four-bedroom Austin home just so she could add more closet space. She now has five custom closets, including a 12-by-19 space that she adores, which used to be a guest bedroom and cost about $4,800 for design and installation. " I'm very organized and I have a ton of clothes -- and didn't have any place to put all of them," she says. "Now everything's categorized according to what they are and what season. It was worth every penny." Ginny Snook Scott, design expert at California Closets Inc., says the options are endless. "People call because they want additional hanging space, and they end up doing every area in the house."

More than a home for your shirts

Zel Heany, director of sales for Closet Craft -- a division of custom cabinetmaker Austin Woodworks, which opened its doors last April -- says there's a lot more to custom closets than just putting clothes away, and that's why they've become abode objects of desire.

Heany says they've put in coffee bars so homeowners could make espresso without trekking to the kitchen; sinks for laundering hand-washables; small refrigerators to house drinks and munchies; and islands with little benches that make it easier to put on shoes.

" It's a very personal thing," Heaney says. "People are spending a lot more money on their closets and even on their bathrooms. Why not enjoy going into the closet instead of being stressed because it's not organized?"
That was the case with Judi and Ron Shimek of Austin, whose closet mess was the catalyst for a complete bedroom remodel. And it wasn't Judi's closet that was the problem, but Ron's.

" He had to store his clothes in other closets around the house," says Judi. "Our house was built in the late '60s, and we didn't have the space like homes do now."

Ron, who owns Ron Shimek Automotive off North Lamar Boulevard, explains: "I'd put shelves in my little closet, but the whole thing was 36 inches long, so there's only so much we could do with it." For style buffs who collect fine hats, delicate formal wear or fragile vintage finds, a custom closet has practical applications for preserving clothing.

" People invest a lot in their wardrobes, and the closet is the place to showcase all those things," says Scott."br

Mary Rodriguez, a human resources manager for a Georgetown company, is "going nuts" with her closet. She and her husband are building their dream house in Georgetown, a project that's been in the planning stages for four years now.

This will be her first custom closet and when it's done, it'll have a pullout ironing board; designated spaces for hand-washables; laundry and dry cleaning; built-in jewelry drawers with locks; glass-front doors; space for shoes; and an island with a marble top, bench and custom rods that pull out for hanging clothes while you're, say, trying to decide what to wear. And all will have the same wood and design as the coffee bar in the exercise room off the bathroom in the master suite.

" I like order in my closet and have always wanted an elegant closet," she says simply. "I buy nice shoes and clothing, and I wanted to keep them looking good." Protecting her fashion investments is a priority for Rodriguez: "Whoever thought of putting clothes behind glass doors is brilliant."

How custom is custom?

Like anything that's custom-designed, custom closets can vary in price -- from $800 up to about $20,000, says Heany of Closet Craft. At California Closets, which has more than 100 franchises in nine countries and made revenues of $160 million in 2002, prices for custom storage systems range from $400 to $30,000, with an average price of about $2,500. And usually what you're paying for is the materials.

" Melamine (a pressed wood veneer with a laminate top) is the least expensive; then there are woods like cherry, oak, birch and pecan," says Heany. Built-ins such as dressers, shoe and sweater cabinets, jewelry drawers and special compartments for accessories such as hats also drive up the price. You can also get glass-front cabinets that make your closet look like an expensive boutique rather than, well, your closet.

" Bedrooms are becoming sanctuaries for people," says Heany. "They're creating reading areas and don't want bulky furniture like dressers crowding their space, so we do a lot of built-ins."

Craig Maxwell, owner of Maxwell's Closet Classics in Austin, says about 75 percent of his business is custom closets, but that it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to get organized. He says the biggest problems with today's closets are that the rods aren't high enough, there's no adjustable shelving and there's too much long hanging space and not enough short space.

" A lot of the time, people just don't have the right tools to be organized, so it's not a functional closet."

One of those tools is a wall-mounted unit that's less expensive than other custom options, as well as accessories such as wardrobe valets -- a hydraulic-mounted wardrobe that pulls down when you want it. "We sell a lot of those," he says.

" The more hanging space, the less expensive it is," says Davina Jones, a San Antonio-based designer for California Closets who serves the Austin area. "The more shelving and drawers, the more expensive -- the cost is directly correlated to the wood and the amount you use."

Organize the stuff, soothe the soul

Did you know that average Americans will spend one year over their lifetimes just looking for misplaced objects? Or that each week, we spend two hours selecting clothes and getting dressed? Barry Izsak, vice president of the National Association of Professional Organizers, cites those little tidbits to show how a well-organized closet can be an emotional rescue in addition to being a utilitarian rescue.

" There are a lot of emotional and psychological benefits to getting organized, not to mention the practical benefits," says Stephanie Denton, a professional organizer who is president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. "It's the first thing you're doing, and if it's a cluttered, confusing, jammed mess, it's not a peaceful way to start the day."

People often attempt to get organized at the beginning of the year but then drop the ball, says Lorie Marrero, an Austin professional organizer and co-founder of Living Order, an Austin business that solves storage issues for homes and businesses. "That's why people hire organizers -- to make it a priority. Friends are good, too, especially for objectivity about your stuff."

Marrero and other organizers say that custom closets are great, but you can get organized without one, too. " People think they need a new closet, but they probably don't," says Izsak, owner of Austin-based Arranging It All, a "one-stop shop for organizing." "The problem is organizing things the right way and maximizing the space you do have."

On the other hand, custom closets can be just what you need to brighten your day. Just ask Ron Shimek. He now has drawers, shelving and plenty of room -- and a closet that makes him smile when he sees it.

" You look for the little joys in life to keep you amused, and this is one of them," he laughs. "It'll also help the economy because now I'm going to buy more clothes to fill it."

Cutting through the clutter

Is your closet a source of pride -- or pity? It's time to reclaim and rectify this storage space. To get you started, here are some tips from people who make closet clutter-busting their business.

• Get rid of those sad wire hangers from the dry cleaners, advises Julie Morgenstern, author of The New York Times best seller "Organizing from the Inside Out." Matching acrylic, plastic or wood hangers will make getting dressed each morning more pleasant, and it will motivate you to hang up your clothes at the end of each day.

• "Take out whatever doesn't belong in your closet: memorabilia, old lamps and the like," says Barry Izsak, owner of Arranging It All in Austin. Nowhere else to put it? Think garage sale.

• For kids' closets, buy extenders that can clip on an existing rod so you get extra hanging space, says Lorie Marrero, an Austin-based professional organizer and co-founder of storage consultancy Living Order. And don't underestimate the power of storage bins for collecting clutter and toys.

• "Sort by type of clothing: suits, dresses, shirts," says Izsak. "It's a lot easier to get dressed in the morning rush."

• Use a shoe rack at the bottom of your closet, says Morgenstern, who's also president of Task Masters, a nationwide organizing-consulting firm. Keep casual shoes you can't fit on the shoe rack in a big, beautiful floor basket.

• "Look for vertical space -- add an extra shelf higher up if you need it," says Marrero. "And keep frequently used items in frequently used spaces. That means storing formals and out-of-season clothes."

• Purge or pare down, says Izsak. "Do you really need 18 pairs of black pants and 56 pairs of shoes, or size 4s if you're a 12?" he asks. If you didn't wear it last year, will you really wear it this year?

• Use an attractive hamper for your dirty clothes. Morgenstern says a hamper keeps soiled clothing from taking over your closet and can also be a great way to accessorize your bedroom. -- Amy E. Lemen