Custom closets in Las Vegas

Most requests for custom closets in Las Vegas come from the same complaint: the closet is full, but half of it is wasted. Before we draw anything, we count what has to fit: how many feet of shirts and jackets, how many long dresses or coats, how many pairs of shoes, how much folded clothing. Those numbers decide the layout better than any catalog photo.

Short hanging stacks two rods in the height one long rod uses. Long hanging gets one section, sized to your longest piece. Shelves above eye level hold things you reach for a few times a year, and drawers go where they can open fully without hitting a door or a wall.

A loaded closet carries more weight than it looks. A full rod of coats or a shelf of books puts steady load on the wall, so rails and cleats go into studs, and long runs get a support in the middle. Melamine shelves sag when the span is too long, so spans stay short or the front edge is stiffened.

If the closet has wire shelving, it comes out first. Its clips leave a row of holes and sometimes torn drywall paper, which get patched and painted before the new system goes up. Closet walls are rarely perfectly square, so floor-standing towers are scribed to the wall and leveled at the base instead of forced into place.

Closets on an outside wall or below the attic can run warmer than the rest of the house through a long Las Vegas summer. Candles, aerosol cans and anything with a storage temperature warning belong on a shelf in a cooler interior closet. Open shelving near the floor also collects the fine dust that slips in under doors, so shoes often do better on slanted shelves set a little higher.

Many closets have a single bulb or none at all. A wired LED fixture or a strip on a door switch counts as electrical work, while battery lights need only a few screws. If you want wired light, it can be handled along with any other lighting installation you have planned.

The same thinking works in smaller spaces. A deep pantry works better with pull-out baskets near the floor and adjustable shelves above, so nothing hides behind the cereal. A linen closet gets shelves spaced for stacks of towels instead of one tall gap. Over a washer and dryer, a shelf set high enough to clear the lid and hoses keeps detergent within reach.