Carey Ekstrom
Closet Organizing Systems, East Dundee, IL
Category: Garage — 1,000 Square Feet or Less
Project: This family leads an active, sports-centered lifestyle. After adding a new 3-car garage to their home, the parents wanted to devote the original single-car garage area to a family activities center.
The area had no vertical storage and had become a “catch-all” for various sports equipment, bikes, household decorations and other miscellaneous “homeless” items, in addition to an extra refrigerator that was also kept in this area. The family was extremely frustrated with the disorganization and was unable to find anything.
Entrant’s Goals: The goal was to create “grab-and-go” locker areas so each person had an organized and efficient place to keep individual items. Various community/shared items also required a dedicated place where they were visible and could be easily found. One of the wife’s hobbies is making floral arrangements, and she requested an area where she could work on projects and store her collection of vases and containers. She also requested space to store gift wrapping supplies and other craft-related items.
Slate gray cabinets were selected to complement the finished floor, and Wilsonart Deep Star Jade was used for the countertop and benchtop. An outside contractor was brought in to fit out the existing brick walls, add some additional outlets and install the new sink and faucet.
Separate, compartmentalized, open lockers were created for the children. The parent’s lockers were placed behind full doors. Cubbies were located above the bench for shared items, and slatwall with accessories was used to store bulkier items. To keep the oversized soccer bag off the floor, a large pullout was placed under the wife’s work area. An additional pullout was placed under the bench for easy-access to roller blades.
The hobby area includes drawers, chrome baskets, slatwall and accessories to organize gift wrap, ribbons, bows and tissue paper. Gift bags are organized by size/shape and hung on various slatwall hooks.
