A Mini Closet Makeover That’s Toddler-Tested, Mother-Approved

I know, I know. The premise of giving your kiddo’s closet a makeover seems far-fetched at first — except when you realize how much easier and more organized it makes *your* life ;) Until you have a kid, it’s hard to understand how many little compartments you need for your little bean, just to make mornings go smoother. That’s why I teamed up with California Closets yet again (see our guest room makeover!) to give my mini’s new closet a major makeover.

The key to the closet component of this room is flexibility. While right now it is Anokhi's room, we can easily see it changing over the years. In August, we're expecting another baby girl so this room will transform into a room for two! And a few years later, we may move the girls into a larger room and change this room into a guest room or office. So we wanted to make sure this felt custom to Anokhi without being limited to being a closet and storage area only fit for a toddler.

More specifically about the closet, I wanted a little bit of everything! Storage cubbies for fabric bins that can hold a mix of linens, shoes, seasonal pieces (swimwear, winter coats) and so on.

The drawers are what we use on an everyday basis for pants and tops. And, of course, the closet side of it is all Anokhi's party dresses :)

Now, about the original closet. It was basically an empty shell with two bulky doors. I knew right away I wanted to remove the doors from the original closet and keep it open, but was definitely worried about an open closet feeling cluttered. As I worked with designer Corinne Cronin on different permutations of the closet, we finally landed on a design that had maximum storage and minimal clutter.

Of course, I couldn’t resist a little DIY action. On the hanging side of the closet, I adorned the walls with Anokhi’s favorite animals from her extensive collection of Eric Carle books. I scanned the characters, printed them out on card stock, cut them out, and taped them up in the closet.

Originally I had thought I'd use readymade wallpaper or decals to add color here, but this felt much more personal and she loves pointing to each animal and making the appropriate meow, moo, or roar. Instead of using the shoe racks for shoes, we decided to use them to display Anokhi’s favorite bedtime stories. She loves that she can walk over and pick her favorite book before snuggling into the rocking chair with me and reading.

And there you have it. Now, time to make room in that closet for baby girl #2’s threads (aka Anokhi’s hand-me-downs)!

(Closet Design: Corinne Cronin, California Closets; Photography: Brittany Griffin)