Hey everyone,
We framed our new house with 9 foot cielings and now I’m wondering how to do a functional closet system for the smaller bedrooms. The master has a walk-in, so that one will be a little easier to deal with.
The closets are framed 24″ deep with standard 6′-8″ door openings that could accomodate a pair of standard door, or bi-folds. Granted, there’s plenty of room for two rows of rod, but what about all the space above the top rod? With a 6-8 door opening I think this top shelf will be difficult to access.
I also though about 8 foot high doors (it’s easy to change the header height now), but what kind of storage options do I have for the area way high?
Thanks!
Replies
Great and or interesting question. Many people have 9 foot ceilings so there must be plenty of answers out there. My bet is that the space up there is dead space. There just is no good way to access that space.
I am interested to know what you will do with the space in teh walk-in-closet, as you seem to imply you have a plan for that space. A second shelf would be pretty high up in walk-in-closet as well. Accessible with a stool, but still pretty high. And it would seem to me that you would end up with a messy looking closet. ????????????
Ahh! The old dilemma of ceilings too tall for small rooms. And I include closets in that category.
To be scaled correctly, rooms with ceilings in the 9/0 range should have the tops of all windows and doors up close to 8/0. For the windows, this is often done with fixed transoms mulled atop, and doors either get the same or are tall so heads match those of the transom tops. This is done to get scale done well for both interiors and exteriors.
Closets can be outfitted with tall paneled doors, and when opened, will display seldom-accessed storage shelves way above their everyday-usage array of shelves and rods below.
One thing I would consider, is doing the closets with 6/8 doors, and a frontside built-in cabinet above, with either a pull-up hatch door or paired swingers. This storage cubbie would be useful for stuff like holiday ornaments or other things that don't require everyday access. Casing and trim for the whole array of door plus cubby above would have top lines matching that above the window transoms.
I am a big fan of ceiling height variation, and scaling ceiling heights appropriately for their room sizes below. It makes me gag to go into a small space, such as a tight passageway or a powder room, and look up to see a 9/0 or taller ceiling. Rooms and spaces like that should have their tops boxed down to 8/0 and even shorter.
I vote for the "cubby" space above the 6'8" opening, I have done it several times and it gives a lot of usable space for little cost.
You can put matching doors on or leave the upper openings as they are, just open usable shelf space.
I think the cubby door thing above closet doors looks tacky. Make the grand statement of high ceilings look cheap. A bedroom is not a pantry. The cubbies make the house look desperate for storage. Just my opinion, of course.
Here is what it might look like. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Wall height shown is 9/0. The door is a 2868, and the top of the cubby door is at 8/0, where the window tops should be in the room. The cubby door is hinged at top, with a hold-open fixture on each side.
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Very close, we had french doors and went up to 8'6" with the matching "cubby' doors.
Sometimes beauty ain't even in the running, what the owner wants and pays for is.
Hinged on top? So does Golitha live in the house?
I don't understand your remarks, DoRight. Take a look at this pic. The cubbies up high in this pantry are even less accessible than the one in my little halucination for a closet in a tall room.
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LOL! EOM
Here's what we did with just standard 1by12 pine boards. We have ten foot ceilings though.
http://www.madmadscientist.com/galleries/house/pages/closet.htm
There is two shelves above the ones you can see.
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner