Before and After: A Super Functional Closet Redo with a Tropical Twist

Like the closets in a lot of homes, the one in Heather Benazzi’s house hadn’t received a lot of love over the years. “The closet had not been a source of any excitement in my home,” Heather says. “It was painted a green in the 1960s when the house was built, and never thought about again.”

But once Heather completed renovations in other parts of her home, she started to see the closet in a new light. It lacked a designated spot for shoes, and Heather needed to make a spot for her three kids to access their coats, hats, shoes, and gloves, too. And then, once she decided to pursue more function, Heather figured she shouldn’t stop there: “I just looked in the closet when I decided to make a change, and thought to myself I need this to be more fun if we’re using it everyday!”

She started by adding removable wallpaper by Carter + Main to the back for a tropical touch. (The only challenging part was piecing together the top parts, Heather says.) For storage, Heather decided to add a bottom shelf with baskets underneath to hold shoes and shallow baskets on top for accessories. She found a white laminated wood one in the perfect width at Home Depot, then screwed it into wood pieces that she had mounted at the right height. After searching for baskets that fit her closet’s measurements, Heather found a perfect match at Michaels. She used a smart tip to save on the seagrass baskets: “To get the best price on so many baskets, I ordered them through the Michaels website with a pickup in store option for 40% off my whole bill,” Heather says.

For hooks, Heather looked to TJ Maxx, where she found two matching cedar sets for just $14.99 each. To help them match the blue of the palm leaves, Heather painted both of them navy, then screwed them into the door at two different heights to accommodate both kids and adults.

In total, the project took just one day of labor—and was totally worth it, she says. “I love that when I have guests over, I can take their coat and not quickly have to shut my coat closet door. It’s now a conversation piece and lovely to look at,” Heather says. “All in all if your project makes you smile every day, and quite possibly also makes your life a little bit easier, it’s a win!”

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