How to Organize a Closet with a Slanted Ceiling?

Luxury is often defined by the use of light and space. This is one of the many things that makes vaulted or cathedral ceilings so popular. Though the slope of these ceilings and other architectural structures like you often find in Dutch Colonial homes can sometimes affect other areas of the home like bedroom closets and storage rooms.

If you have a closet with a slanted ceiling, there are a lot of things you can do to optimize your available storage space. One of more of the following options can help transform your closets by making the most out of every available square inch.

Creative Use Of Hanging Rods

Hanging rods can be your best friend in a closet with an angled or sloped ceiling. Many times, it’s possible, slant a rod along with your ceiling and hang your clothes from it. Though you might need to hang higher for longer clothing items like dresses, skirts, and pants.

It might also help to install multiple rods at different lengths. Placing a few higher on the ceiling and some lower also lets you hang garments by general length to optimize the available storage space.

Clear & Organize

A lot of times it’s hard to truly make the most out of a closet when it is still half full. Oftentimes, taking everything out helps give you a fresh perspective. This will also serve as a great excuse to reevaluate some garments that you could donate to charity or sell at a garage sale to make more room in the closet.

Install Custom Shelving

Custom shelves are an investment, and they take some planning. Depending on the steepness of the slope in the ceiling they can make a lot more room for storing boxes and special seasonal items that you need to keep out of the way.

The key with a lot of custom shelves in a closet with a sloped ceiling is to find the right attachment hardware. This often goes beyond what a simple drywall anchor can accommodate. Though angled joist holders and things like French cleats can come in handy for making sure that the custom shelves in your imagination can hold the real-world weight of the items you need to store.

Avoid Cabinet Doors

Cabinets are tempting things in a lot of closets. Though cabinet doors and closets with a sloped ceiling go together like pickles and ice cream. The corners of the doors often make contact with the ceiling, shelves, or other closet components, which makes it hard to easily put things in or take them out of the cabinet itself.

Cubbies & Totes

Just because you should avoid cabinets with doors, doesn’t mean you should forgo all the storage options offered by our dear friend the rectangular prism. Installing custom cubbies lets you make the most out of wall areas and vertical space. If you need to store loose items, you can slide a structured fabric tote bin or a tote bin with a lid. This lets you take everything out of the cubby at one time. You can then take out what you want and put it all back into the cubby en-mass.

Leave A Space For A Step Ladder

A lot of closets with a sloped ceiling have a lot of extra vertical space that goes to waste. Even if you do plan to use this space, you still need to be able to access it safely and easily. Its mother nature didn’t gift you with height, you should plan for a special storage space to keep a step ladder. This might also be handy if the closet you are renovating also houses the attic access hatch.

Strategically Use Hooks

Hooks are a great way to hang lightweight items like scarves and necklaces. You can attach them just about anywhere to make the most out of vertical areas and triangular wall spaces that would otherwise go to waste. You can usually attach them with drywall anchors. Though a less permanent solution is to use heavy-duty contact adhesive strips. This lets you move the hooks around at a moment’s notice to meet your needs as they change.

Make The Most Out Of The Closet Door

If your closet has a standard door, you can use the back of it as additional storage. This could be wire baskets, wire shelves, or even an over-the-door hanging pouch system. You can then use the back of the door to store shoes and other small, lightweight items.

Consider Custom Lighting

Sloped ceilings and costume storage features have a strange knack for creating a lot of abnormal shadows. This can make it hard to find what you want at a moment’s notice. Installing additional light fixtures will certainly go a long way to illuminate the closet and diffuse shadows.

Even if you can’t expand the existing wiring or there aren’t any nearby electric outlets there are still portable lighting options worth considering. Recent advancements in LED lighting technology have to make light-emitting diodes more energy-efficient and effective at casting a wide range of lights in just about any color in the spectrum.

Best of all, they can be battery-powered, which means you don’t have to worry about any complicated wiring or contracting out a professional electrician to handle the official install. Most of these battery-powered LED lights can be attached with simple screws or contact adhesive. You can place them just about anywhere including under shelves in cubbies or toward the back of a dark corner. Most can be turned on by touch, or the flick of a small switch to provide you with instant lighting when you need it.

Conclusion

A closet with a sloped ceiling can be a challenge when it comes to making the most out of the available space. Though with a little creativity, and the right hardware components, you can make the most out of the room you have. Just bear in mind that even though the sloped ceiling is a challenge, it also offers a lot of vertical potential. You just have to be creative about how you tap into that vertical potential.