Home Improvement: Laundry Closet

Our laundry closet, without shelving: 

It's your standard second floor laundry closet, with the exception of it being 8 feet wide! The 18" on either side of our appliances is wasted floor space. But on the flip side, it makes for 36" of additional shelving space along the wall.

I'm not sure if our builder never planned to put shelving in this space or if he got my note to skip the builder grade shelving (aka crap wire shit). Either way, I'm glad we got to work with a blank slate. I had very specific requirements, namely a closet rod for hanging my laundry (I like to air fluff and then hang dry the delicate pieces of my wardrobe). 

Now check it out:

BOOM, Elfa shelving! If you are eyeing anything Elfa, RUN to The Container Store, like NOW! The annual Elfa sale is currently underway. Um, hello 30% off!! I was a little hesitant about the shelving at first. I didn't like the idea of being able to see the vertical hanging bars. But know that it's in my home, I freaken LOVE it. Just seeing the completed laundry closet as I come up the stairs makes me giddy. Seriously, I clap and giggle every time, granted we've only had it for less than 48 hours. 

We chose to hire installers. It was installed in like 45 minutes. I'm sure I could have done it, but it would have taken me WAAAAAAAAAY longer. And I would have had to purchase/borrow a drill, get a taller ladder, and needed an extra set of hands. Our installer looked like Nicholas Cage; he was a really nice guy. It was interesting to see that he cut a couple of pieces on site. If you install yourself, they will cut pieces in the store for you.

Our setup:

36" easy hang standards (vertical pieces)
16" x 93" vented shelving (top shelf), 2 pieces - 48" and custom cut 45"

45" closet rod, custom cut

16" x 48" vented shelving, 2 pieces - 24" each

16" x 50" solid melamine shelving, 2 pieces - 25" each

24" mesh drawer 

Not sure if we really need the drawer or the solid shelves, but they could be useful. We'll give it a go for a few weeks and see what happens. We are excited to upgrade the bedroom closets, but we will probably wait until next year. You know, spread out the hit to the bank account.