What are they and why you shouldn’t build without one?
Do you have a “Christmas” closet or a seasonal décor closet where all your seasonal items are stored? If not, don’t you always say to yourself I wish I had a closet where I could store it all together? If you’re like me and live in a smaller home, you may even have to store your décor or items at a relative’s house or a nearby storage unit.
You may be asking what is a special purpose closet? Why do I “need” one? I don’t have “that much stuff.” Trust me you need one, and we all know if we are honest with ourselves, we have way to much stuff.
So, what is a special purpose closet? Typically, they are used for seasonal décor, i.e.. Christmas closet. A specific home for all your holiday decorations. Everything from winter, snowy décor to Easter, the 4th of July and Christmas, it is great to have all the seasons centrally located and organized into one specific place in your home.
Now a special purpose closet can mean many things though, like if you live near or at the beach, your closet may consist of beach chairs, towels and sand toys, or if you live in the mountains, yours may house hiking boots and walking sticks. You get the idea. They can store many different things.
Why do you need one? First and foremost, to simply keep your home free of extra things you may not use daily, or if you do, it is continually organized and helps keep you and your family on the move and out the door instead of arguing about where Johnny lost his pool goggles? I mean who wouldn’t want to avoid all that? It is great for everything to have a home and keeping like items all together is such a better way to store your stuff.
A client’s home that I have had an opportunity to work on the design and layout wanted a specific place for her collection of Christmas Village pieces where she could pull it out and it be in the same room that she will display them during the holiday season.
Another client wanted a room specifically for her cheese-making tools and gadgets, pots and pans. It just makes since to have them stored in one place instead of looking in seven different places for them.
Whichever the case may be, make sure to incorporate a special purpose closet into the design and put it on the must-have list for your next build or remodel. You can never have enough storage, and creating a space for specific items will set you in organizational heaven.
– advice from Molly Cooper, interior designer with Cooper & Co. Design
