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by Angela on May 11, 2012
From In Style Magazine, 2011.
Straight up I’ll tell you The Good, The Bad, and The Realistic about Paula Abdul’s closet!
The Good
The first thing that I noticed in Paula’s closet was the fun way that she is displaying her sunglasses. How fun is that? Paula’s sunglasses are displayed as if you were shopping in a retail store. They are super easy to browse through and pick out the perfect pair of shades in a few short seconds.
I also really like how Paula has her belts hanging at the end of the island. This is an excellent choice as it is easy to see, easy to access, and is putting a space that is highly underutilized to work! Bravo to that!
You can also see on Paula’s shoe shelves that there is either a thin bar or an acrylic piece that is keeping the shoes from sliding off the shelves. This is a must when you have shelves that are tilted like Paula does! The last thing you want is a pile of shoes on the floor!
The Bad
Although things are grouped together in their own spaces there is still a feeling of untidiness in this closet- for a dream closet that is. Handbags are sticking out of cubby’s, straps from bags are hanging out, and the shoes are so crammed in that some have been tilted a little sideways. As they would say on Paula’s former show American Idol, I am just offering minor areas where Paula could improve her closet. Overall her closet is great, but adjusting these little things would truly take her closet to dream closet status.
The Reality
Paula has a lot of stuff! In the photo you can see she has tons of belts, sunglasses, shoes, and handbags. Like most people Paula would probably benefit from going through and purging some items from her closet. Her closet still appears to be highly functional, but it is on the edge of heading downhill. In situations like this I recommend going through the closet quickly and reassessing with these questions: What still fits? What do I love? What would I actually wear? Bag up what you don’t want, love, or need and take it to a charity that makes you feel good about donating.
Overall, Paula’s closet is pretty nice and dreamy, there’s just a few things she could tweak to make it amazing just like she is!
by Angela on April 27, 2012
{Photo above Fergie’s closet from In Style Magazine 2011}
Hands down it looks like Fergie is the Queen of the color-coded closet! Let’s break down Fergie’s closet this week with The Good, The Bad, and The Reality.
The Good
Fergie is really working the organizing by color of the rainbow with her clothes as you can see in the photo above to the right hand side of the screen (see my previous post on Organizing by Color of the Rainbow here). On the left hand side of the screen you can see how she has her white, cream, and black separated. Nice! This can make things much easier as you are trying to get ready in the morning. If you are looking for a black top, you know exactly where to go to find one.
In the photo above I like how the space for the tiny handbags is maximized by adjusting the shelf height to fit. She has a TON of small clutches or billfolds and you can easily see EVERY one of them. Fergie’s belts, scarves, and accessories are also organized in their own long compartments much like you would see in a kitchen for baking sheets. What a unique idea! You could also use the glide out hooks to make retrieving the items in the back easy. Like the one shown below from Rev-A-Shelf.
The Bad
As you can see in all the pictures Fergie clearly does not have enough space for her extensive shoe collection. It looks like she has about 72 pairs on her shoe shelves, several tucked under her hanging pants, and several pairs lining the closet floor near her accessories. Fergie could gain a little extra room by adjusting the height on some of the shoe shelves. She could gain 1-2 shelves on the right hand side of her closet by making a few adjustments to the shelves.
{From the September 29, 2008 issue of People Magazine.}
The Reality
Above you can see another picture of Fergie’s closet back in 2008. Interestingly, much of the closet has remained very much the same. But one thing that really jumped out to me was that Fergie changed how she hangs her pants! Am I crazy for noticing that? Probably! But who cares, everything I do is for you!!! Here’s why. So what’s the big deal about how Fergie hangs her pants? A big part of staying organized is being able to easily put things away. If it is not easy to put things away, you simple won’t do it. So if putting your pants back on clamp style hangers is too difficult then you may want to switch to something else. In the 2011 picture of Fergie’s closet it’s difficult to tell if they changed hangers or simply just folded the pants and are using the same hanger. Regardless, the point is if something is not working well in your closet- change it!
So what do you think about Fergie’s closet? I would guess she has some natural tendencies towards being organized! What was my favorite part of Fergie’s closet? Well besides the obvious of the clothes beautifully organized by color, I would have to say the big giant fluffy ottoman! I think a place to sit in or near the closet is a must, and this oversize fluffy ottoman is amazing! What about you?
by Angela on April 13, 2012
{Photo from In Style Magazine, 2011}
Pull out all the stops because this is a very different closet than any other Dream Closet I have posted! What’s so different, you ask? Look at the picture. Now back at me, now back at the picture, now back at me… Ha, ha! Old Spice commercial I digress. In all seriousness can you see anything different by looking at the picture above from In Style Magazine?
I will divulge in this Friday’s The Good, The Bad, and The Reality.
The Good
Like all good dream closets Nicky’s closet is just stunning with the contrasting black and white accents. At a glance we can also tell that Nicky appears to have ample hanging space. Just like in Khloe and Kim Kardashian’s and Oprah’s closet you can also see that she has the oh-so coveted center island with tons of drawers.
So here is the good part, here is what sets Nicky’s closet apart from all the other closets you have seen in our Dream Closet series. It is the closet directly behind Nicky that is enclosed in glass doors. That’s it! So technically, this entire room could be considered more of a “dressing room” than a closet. Unlike the average person many celebrities have dressing rooms with a series of small closets within the dressing room. Nicky’s is well done because of one simple yet brilliant detail; the glass doors. Her clothes are still visible but they are free from dust! How beautiful is that! These mini-closets in her dressing room can also be used to group different types of clothing. You could put winter items in one, summer in another, etc. She even has handbags at the top, which again could be coordinated with the season. L-O-V-E this!
The Bad
I’m not really sure what is going on with those hangers. It appears that Nicky has a mishmash of mismatched hangers. There are red, black, white, and maybe a few other hangers in there. That is a huge distraction to the eye especially with how fabulous this closet is. If you like color and want to have color you should either pick one color and stick to it or match the hanger color to the color of the clothing for each item. When I look at Nicky’s closet my eye first goes to the bright hanger and then moves down to the clothing. That IS NOT how it should be. The hanger is NOT more important than the clothing. Your eye should first go to the gorgeous garment.
Although a window in the closet can be lovely and the natural light is great for dressing, the sunlight can also fad clothing. So be careful if you have windows in your closet especially if the window gets direct sunlight.
The Reality
You may think this is crazy, but a closet like this is achievable for many people! I had a client who recently remodeled her home and she had the closet made into a very small master sleeping room. All that was in there was the bed and the two side tables but it was still warm and cozy. The room that would be the traditional Master was turned into a dressing room where the walls were lined with closets similar to Nicky’s above. There were probably about 5-6 of the small closets total. Each had hanging space and some had drawers in the bottom. In the middle of the room there was a lovely and inviting sitting area.
So many people say that they don’t have enough storage space and end up using their bedroom as additional storage space. So why not flip the closet with the master? Think of all the storage space you would gain! I think it’s a great idea!
What do you think? Could you switch your closet and bedroom?
by Angela on April 6, 2012
OMG! I’m in closet bliss! This picture of Jessica Alba’s closet may not be showing much, but the delight is in the details! Here are my thoughts on this tiny tiny section of Jessica Alba’s closet.
The Good
Everything! Ha, ha! Let’s start with the hats. I have seen those hat racks before but was never 
impressed with them aesthetically, but in this closet the way the hats are displayed looks more artistic than utilitarian. You can see just below Jessica’s lifted foot where the system attaches or clips to the door. Organizing things behind the door “doorganizing” is a great way to get more out of a small space. I love it! I’m not sure which rack is being used in this picture, but you can find a variety of this system at Bed Bath & Beyond as seen to the right. I also found another variety on Organize It.
Let’s get to the shoes! Just like in Khloe Kardashian’s closet Jessica’s shoes are being displayed with one facing forward and one facing back (toe & heel). This is a fabulous space saving tip! So BIG kudos for that!
Now here is the Pièce de résistance for me. If you look closely at the spacing between the shelves that the shoes are on you can see that they adjusted the shelf height based on the height of the shoes. So all the heels are on the same shelf that probably has about 6-8 inches between each shelf. The flats are probably on a shelf that has about 3-4 inches between the two shelves. This is brilliant! Adjustable shelves are worth every penny! She is saving TONS of space simply by adjusting those shelves.
The Bad
As is the case with most of these Dream Closets the only bad thing is that I can’t see any more of it. Especially since she is using SO many great organizing ideas in 6-8 feet that we can see. I would guess Jessica is either a very organized person by nature or has an AMAZING Professional Organizer!
The Reality
There is nothing about this closet that you could not do! Woo!
Oh me! That was so exciting! I hope you got some dream closet inspiration. What did you think about Jessica Alba’s closet? Leave me a comment and let me know.
P.s. those shoes she’s wearing are awesome!
by Angela on March 30, 2012
{Photo above from Apartment Therapy}
Well color me pink Christina Aguilera's closet is a shoe lovers paradise! Let's dig a little deeper into Christina's closet with The Good, The Bad, and The Reality.
The Good
If you can read the note on the side of the photo above Christina, it says she groups her shoes by designer! Honestly I never would have thought about that, but what I like about that statement is that you do NOT have to group your shoes by color if that is not how you think about them. Group them in a way that makes sense to you. So when you need to find the exact pair it will be easy. Way to go Christina!
The ladder. Goodness what a smart idea. There are few people out there who can actually reach the tip top of their closet so big kudos for Christina for owning this and adding a fun and functional ladder so she can reach each and every pair of shoes she owns. We should all have a ladder or step stool in or near our closet.
The Bad
Besides that crazy mannequin in the corner there is not much I can say that is bad from an organizers perspective. Okay, maybe just one thing. I would guess that the vintage suitcase filled with handbags on the floor next to the crazy mannequin is probably a prop for the photo. But I wouldn't recommend tossing my handbags randomly into a suitcase or any other container that size. It's simply not large enough and you will end up with a handbag with dented or folded ends and that is the last thing you want when you are getting ready to head out.
The Reality
I am estimating that there are about 300 pairs of shoes and boots in that photo. I don't know about you, but that is way out of my reality and most of my client's reality. As usual with celebrity closets they typically have much more closet "real estate" than the normal person. Most people simply could not dedicate that much space to shoes. But we can dream!!!
by Angela on March 23, 2012
{ Brooke Shields’s closet, from the March 2012 issue of Architectural Digest.}
It’s Friday and that means another Dream Closet feature. Today we will be looking at the closet of Brooke Shields.
Looking at Brook’s closet I would have to say “nothing comes between Brook and her shoes, nothing”. (Okay, if you are a child of the 80′s you get that). Brook’s closet is surprisingly simple with a rustic Americana charm. This closet has two rows of shoes on the left hand side of the picture and several shoe drawers at the bottom of the closet. The shoes on the left look like they are sitting on a shoe ladder, it reminds me of what we saw in Miley Cyress’ closet in a previous Dream Closet post.
In Brook’s closet I like how there is an actual ladder in this closet. Remember when things are too difficult to get or put away the less likely you will get them or put them away. But the ladder makes getting things and putting them away much easier.
My big question regarding this picture of this closet is where are the rest of her clothes? This must not be her entire closet because surely she has more cloths than what is pictured above.
Simple and sweet. What do you think about Brooke Shields closet?
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