The top shelf in most 8-ft.-tall closets is reserved for items that are in a kind of suspended state of storage, somewhere between the attic and the Goodwill bin. This is not true at Michael Singer’s house. Singer, a professional woodworker near Santa Cruz, Calif., applied his design sense and finesse in the woodshop to craft a closet that takes advantage of every cubic foot in the 9-ft.-long space.
The lower half of the installation is pretty much all drawers, including the cubby in the lower left corner where pants hang from a closet rod spanning a pair of drawer slides. Above it, a retractable ironing board is at the ready. In the top tier, closet rods on telescoping arms (“wardrobe lifts” from Häfele) fold down by way of a hand grip, putting the garments at a convenient height. The door and drawer fronts are veneered with vertical-grain Douglas fir and ribbon-stripe khaya.
Designed and built by Michael Singer,Felton, California
Photos: Charles Miller
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In the article “No-Wasted-Space Closet” from Issue 219, the pull-out ironing board is cool, but where do you keep the iron, where do you plug it in, and where do you have to go to put water in it for steam? I’d put a flip-down board on the wall in the laundry area. Keep a steam wand in the bathroom for touch-ups.
Helene Kommel, Owner
Komelot Land and Homes, Ltd.
Kingston, Ontario