The last update to my "closet room" was back in 2020 when I added a couch and reorganized the shelving to be all white, vs a mismatch of black and white. You can also the original layout in this wardrobe update post. It's come a long way since we moved in in May 2018, right?
This latest update was a necessity but I used it to my advantage to get something I've wanted for a while. Before we left on our trip to Missouri earlier this year, one of my inexpensive clothing racks fully collapsed while I was packing. The other one had also been broken for some time but was still usable. I decided to replace them both with a single unit white metal clothing rack with three sections, two for long items and the middle section has a double rack for shirts and bottoms. It also has two shelves on the top for more storage.
Now the only non-white piece is my dresser/old baby changing table. It feels wrong to paint it white, but I may do it someday.
Products:
Angelica 70.08" Metal Clothes Rack
KALLAX Shelf unit, white 30 3/8x57 7/8"
KALLAX
Insert for bottles, white 13x13 " (used for shoes)
BILLY Bookcase, white 31 1/2x11x79 1/2"
Target 31" Stackable Shoe Shelf, white
Shoe Slotz Storage Units in Ivory
Peryman Velvet 71.6" Square Arm Sofa in Eggplant (similar)
*This post was made in partnership with Photowall. Thank you for supporting brands I feature*
The easiest way to update almost any part of a home is artwork. Posters, paintings, photographs, even wallpaper can make a huge difference to your living space. When Photowall offered to send an item of my choice I really wanted to try one of their amazing designer wallpapers. Christian and I couldn't figure out where to put our perfect statement wall so we decided to go with a canvas print above our purple couch in the living room instead.
They've also generously offered my readers a coupon code. Enter aclosetfashionista25 for 25% off an item! This Photowall coupon code will expire in on October 14th.
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| Living Room - Before |
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| Living Room - After - Photowall Canvas: Mauve Mist |
Photowall offers everything from photographs and movie posters to illustrations, contemporary art and inspirational quotes. You can also upload your own photo/artwork. We opted to go for an abstract mountain landscape because Christian's dream is to live in/near mountains. There were almost too many to choose from and we had a hard time picking a favorite. This blueberry sky print was a close second but we ultimately decided on the Mauve Mist canvas to tie in with our couch. Coincidentally our top three choices were all by the same artist, I guess we have a very specific taste.
Sizing is super customizable and if you choose a different ratio from the original piece you can easily pick which part of the photo you want to use for your print or canvas. When choosing canvas there are 4 options, I went with "
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| Photowall canvas customization |
We got a fairly large canvas because we wanted it to make a statement,
and bigger is better, right? It adds so much fun and brightness to this basic wall. I did like our previous "art" - aka Harry Potter illustration - but this painting ties in a lot better.
My Photowall canvas arrived super quickly (3 days after I ordered) and came unmounted with an easy DIY frame. We were able to put it together in under 15 minutes with no tears. There is also a video on each product page showing how to assemble if you're more of a visual vs. written instructions person.The system was very easy to follow and I'm sure saves a bundle on shipping costs/the environmental impact of shipping.
I posted a Reel showing how easy it is to put together! Watch on Instagram.
While perusing the site I learned about their environmental efforts. In partnership with Vi Agroforestry, Photowall plants around 5000 trees every year in the area surrounding Lake Victoria in East Africa. They also operate on a made to order system so they do not produce items that are not needed which avoids unnecessary waste. The printing ink used for their wallpaper contains no solvents or hazardous chemicals, and is biodegradable. The canvas used for my beautiful piece of art is made from 100% biodegradable cotton.
If (when) we move to a new house, a statement wall with Photowall wallpaper will be something we think about as we're designing the interior. I went through 5,000 designer wallpaper options before we switched gears and there were so many I would love to have! I'm not normally a floral person but I was drawn to so many of their floral prints. How gorgeous is this purple sakura wallpaper? It would go perfectly in my purple-walled closet. Christian and I both loved this misty landscape in blue tones, he definitely has a thing for mountains.
Don't forget about the 25% off Photowall coupon code - aclosetfashionista25! It will expire on October 14th.
I had my first experience with a closet room when I lived in a small beach cottage with my friend. She knew I didn't particularly want to move out of my parents house so she offered me the small extra room in the house as a closet - SOLD! You can see that messy room here. Next I moved in with 2 of my cousins and had the smallest room in the house. It turned into a closet with a bed in it. That room was featured in this post.
When Christian and I were house hunting we wanted a house with at 2 bedrooms so one could be an office. We were fortunate enough to find one that had 3 bedrooms, a sun-room AND a finished basement. This meant that one of the bedrooms could be turned into a closet for me, my dream! I painted the walls purple after we moved in because it's my favorite color and I wanted the room to be extra fun.
The closet room has undergone many transformations since we moved in May 2018. This latest has brought it a little closer to being how I envisioned it. A post in July 2018 showed how it looked early on. I started off with pieces of furniture and storage I already had from previous closets.
This is what the closet looked like before this newest update:
Now to what you've all been waiting for - the new and improved closet room! We finished in early October but it took forever for me to stop being lazy and take photos. Plus the lighting never wanted to cooperate. I apologize for the photo quality but I didn't want to bug Christian to take better ones, ha ha.
In October 2018 we bought 2 white shelving units from IKEA to use for some of my Harry Potter books that didn't fit in our living room display. I ended up only needing 1 so the second was moved into my closet to house my shoes. In November 2019 we bought a second cube storage shelf for my closet. We went with white (even though the other cube unit in the room was brown) because eventually I want everything in the closet to be white.
In retrospect, I should have used both the tall white shelving units in my closet from the start and used my brown cube storage for Harry Potter books. Sometimes the brain just doesn't work that way. I had to figure it out on my own almost 2 years later, ha ha.
I still have one non-white piece in the closet because it is too perfect to replace. It's actually a changing table dresser from when my siblings and I were babies. I love that the top folds over to make shelves which is perfect for storing my makeup and jewelry. Eventually I should just paint it white to match. Probably would have been a good project for quarantine, but I can't think about that now.
I did paint a bookshelf that used to house purses and miscellaneous items, but that has moved to a new spot in the house. I was able to relocate all the things on it to save room. Some of which have cluttered up the dresser making it a little crowded right now, but I haven't felt up to purging more items yet.
Here comes the interesting part of the story. The couch. If you remember this Instagram post, we got a new couch at the beginning of September. To make a long story short - we ordered the couch from Walmart on August 15th with a delivery date of August 26th. That date came and no couch or update on the tracking info. I messaged Walmart and they said it must have gotten lost in the mail so they sent another to be delivered on September 17th. UGH! The original couch randomly arrived on September 8th with the second one being delivered on September 21st. We waited a few weeks and when they didn't contact us we considered the second one ours too.
The white faux fur rug was Christian's idea. I had wanted a rug in here
but couldn't really decide if I needed one or what to do and he randomly
said one day "Why don't you get a white fur rug for in here? It would
make it so cozy." He didn't have to tell me twice. The search began for
the proper shaped faux fur rug, it's a lot harder than you think. When I
originally put this rug in the room it seemed too small, but then we
added the couch and it was a perfect match. (This also got lost in the mail so I had to order it again. No second rug though, used all my luck on the couch!)
In order for it to fit in the room without too much rearranging - or removal of crucial storage pieces - we removed the back and arms so it could fit snugly between one of the shelving units and the closet (which we removed the door from.) It almost looks like a fancy department store try-on room now!
Speaking of the closet in the closet - I decided to re-paint it white during this whole process because ever since we moved in it was dirty and yellow looking (I was too lazy to paint it in 2018.) One coat of white paint later and it looked brand new! I rearranged everything inside it and was even able to add my blazers - which have been in the guest room closet since we moved in. Now every item of clothing I own (except Winter coats) lives in this room. Not sure you can tell the difference in the paint, but I swear it looks better!
I would love to one day have an actual custom closet with fancy shelves/rods for jewelry and clothes but this will definitely do. I much prefer the price of these products than the thousands it would cost for a real custom closet.
Products:
KALLAX Shelf unit, white 30 3/8x57 7/8"
KALLAX
Insert for bottles, white 13x13 " (used for shoes)
BILLY Bookcase, white 31 1/2x11x79 1/2"
Target 31" Stackable Shoe Shelf, white
Shoe Slotz Storage Units in Ivory
Peryman Velvet 71.6" Square Arm Sofa in EggplantTarget Room Essentials - Metal Base Adjustable Double Rod Garment Rack
Single Rod Garment Rack (I think this was also from Target, but it's 10 years old)
And here are some more before/during photos I took while rearranging the closet.
