Ways to Repurpose a Closet

As you may know, our upstairs has been undergoing a large renovation (slowed down by the lockdowns!). One of my goals was to open up some of our spaces to help them feel larger. In the process, we removed and repurposed three closets. In this new post, I am sharing the first one and then more clever ways to repurpose a closet.

I have been so eager to show you this new space! Our 1972 2-story (with a basement), has 8-foot ceilings so our spaces feel small. I started in our hallway to open things up. It is basically a hallway full of doors…eight to be exact. Can I tell how excited I was to see this stair railing go bye-bye?!?!

We have two linen closets in the hall, so I decided I could easily let one go, especially since both of our kids will be away in college in the fall. I chose to tear out the closet at the top of our stairs that is right outside of our bedroom (please forgive the quality of the photos…I took them on my phone).

Part of the remodel included removing and replacing all of our doors, trim, texture. We transitioned from six-panel doors to single-panel shaker doors.

THE ORIGINAL DOORS….

THE NEW DOORS…YAY!

Closet Remodel…BEFORE…

Once the closet was removed, we added can lighting to the ceiling to add some extra light to this dark hallway. My plans were to furnish this area for added style and interest and to “gussy up” the area.

The Big Reveal…

This antique is a very special piece of furniture in our family. It belonged to my great grandmother and survived a fire in their home, so it is especially cherished. My mother had it for decades and now we are enjoying it. I never really had a perfect place to feature it but now I do!

In a modern home, it can be a challenge to decorate with antiques, but I love doing it! My advice is to just make sure that you thoughtfully accessorize it with clean modern pieces. These are some of my favorite canvas art pieces that are similar to mine. A few of these will be making their way into our home soon!

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Everything in this space, I repurposed from other areas of our home and I am thrilled with how it came together! All of the tones in this vignette also coordinate with our new master bedroom finishes (which I will be revealing as soon as all of the new pieces come in). This magnolia bowl is my absolutely one of my favorite accessories for this spring season!

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I was so excited to feature this incredible hand-carved Haitian urn given to me by my parents.  It was gifted to them by some missionary friends from the U.S. to Haiti on the island of La Gonave.  The lovely ladies spent decades on the island with no electricity or running water helping and ministering the local people of that island. 

I remember many visits from them as they would stay in our house during all of their visits back to the states.  My fond memories of them are part of what makes this piece so special.

It is likely that you won’t have a piece just like this, but you could easily use a ginger jar, urn, or any other decorative accessory.  Here are a few more modern options for you…

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PRO TIP: Drama does not have to be expensive! I have had this vase for years and I simply filled it with sticks from my yard. So easy, yet dramatic.

My cylinder vase is 12″ tall by 7″ wide. I have sourced a few for you below as well as some tree branch options that would work if you can’t forage branches from you own yard.

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More Ways to Repurpose a Closet

1. Expand your kitchen

Better Homes and Gardens

2. Create a home office space

Dwell

Tidy Little Tribe

3. Create a mudroom/sitting area

Hometalk

Nalles House

4. Create a craft closet

Beneath my Hearth

Pretty Healthy House

5. Remove it and decorate it with furniture!

Hopefully, you enjoyed seeing these creative and thoughtful ways to repurpose a closet. I am looking forward to showing you my other closet demos! Stay tuned for that!!