At some point in the last decade, closets stopped being just storage spaces and started to reflect homeowners’ personalities.
From transforming desks and beds to LED-lit, leatherbound shelves to minibars complete with wine fridges hidden behind drawers, the range of customizations available on the market today is vast. As people have come to expect more from this oft-forgotten space, savvy developers have caught on, partnering with industry-leading California Closets to provide bespoke storage solutions to condo buyers. The Real Deal sat down with three of California Closets’ top New York designers for a look at the trends that make customers’ storage spaces pop.
Out With The Gray
The big difference between the previous generation of closets and those being installed today is intentionality. Simply put, people are thinking about their closets as an extension of their interior design sensibilities as opposed to pure storage space.
California Closets customers are leaning into the company’s wide range of materials and hues, which include everything from traditional wood grains to supple linens and leathers. Design Consultant Kelly Parham, who comes from a fashion design background, is able to flex her aesthetic muscles with today’s buyers, who, she says, are having more fun with their closets.
“Everything was gray for a really long time, and it gets boring after a while,” she says. “I think because people were home during COVID, they started to want to have their closet painted a fun, bold color.”
Party In The Closet
In addition to making bolder aesthetic choices, customers are also finding creative ways to use their closets at more than mere storage spaces. One trend that came up over and over during our conversation with the California Closets designers was customers combining storage and seating to create convertible areas that made the most of limited square footage.
The pandemic was the major turning point for a lot of customers, who had to make the most of every inch of space while working from home.
“It’s called a cloffice, a ‘closet-office,’” explains Design Consultant Debra Russo, who designed these efficient work-from-home solutions for many clients.
In addition to literally turning closets into offices, customers also built combination office and bed setups. As Russo describes, “We have these amazing new wall beds where, when the bed is up, there’s a ledge for a desk, and you can leave your stuff there when you pull the bed down.”
But it’s not all about work; many customers are turning their closets into spaces for relaxing and socializing.
“These are spaces where people are hanging out,” says Russo, who has designed everything from “bars to coffee stations” inside customers’ closets. “It’s called ‘dressing drinks.’ Some people want to have a martini while they’re getting ready for a party.”
These spaces take the concept of a “walk-in closet” to the next level, often including ottomans and benches where homeowners and their guests can relax. Parham even designed a wine fridge for a customer that was hidden behind an unassuming drawer.
“It looked like a dresser lined up with the other drawers,” she says, “and then you opened it and there was her champagne.”
Million Dollar Closet
Some of California Closets’ finest work got a prime time slot when Million Dollar Listing star Ryan Serhant showed off his custom closet, which Russo designed as part of a complete renovation that Serhant oversaw on his new home.
“He loves his suits,” says Russo, who created the custom layout for Serhant and his wife Emilia Bechrakis based on their clothing collections and personal habits. She interviewed the couple about their current storage system, determining what was working and what wasn’t, and made sure that every detail was accounted for, down to tailoring the storage for Serhant’s gym clothing to match his morning workout routine.
Serhant loved Russo’s initial design, and only had to make small decisions regarding finishes before approving the entire closet. “He’s not a micromanager,” she says, recalling that “It was one of the biggest jobs I’ve done, and one of the easiest.”
Serhant describes the resulting space as “the greatest closet in the history of New York City,” and has joked that his entire home renovation was based around the closet.
Added Value for Developers
Beyond keeping up with the latest trends and satisfying celebrities, California Closets partners with developers who are looking to give condo buyers the perfect experience on move-in day.
“It’s a big selling point,” says Design Consultant Keith Johnson, who has partnered with leading developers including Related Companies. He’s the exclusive closet consultant at numerous luxury buildings around the city including 15 Hudson Yards, 35 Hudson yards, The Cortland and 450 Washington
The process works like this: Johnson will design a model closet in a building’s model unit to display the possibilities of a custom closet. Then, the sales agent will put buyers in touch with him for a consultation before they move in, allowing him to have their unique California Closet waiting for them on day one.
Not only does the partnership add value for buyers, it saves developers money on the labor and materials that go into closets which are ultimately demoed to make way for a buyer’s custom solution.
“They’re spending money that didn’t have to be spent in 800 units,” explains Johnson. “Now they’re starting to just put in a white box, and then California Closets can come in and say, ‘Look, this is what we can do for your client.’”
To see the wide variety of storage solutions available from California Closets, visit their website or stop by one of their showrooms.