How To Turn A Small Bedroom Into A Walk-In Closet (before and after)

Our DIY walk in closet was easy to install and took a full weekend.

Jim is a general contractor so this project went a little faster than it normally would have but this is a very DIY friendly project and the installation instructions are super easy to follow.

DIY Walk In Closet 

Let’s take a look at how to turn an extra room into a closet step by step.

Step 1: Assess The Space

• Measure the space
• Determine ease of access, meaning is it close to your bathroom or bedroom
• Determine flooring
• Do the walls need to be painted?
• Plan on paper the layout of new closet system and what you will need for storage

Below, is our spare bedroom that we converted to a closet.

The bedroom was used as a guest room and it connects to our Jack and Jill bathroom which is shared with our master bedroom.

The room has great natural light light and was the perfect place to build a dream walk-in closet.

I continually found myself getting dressed in this bedroom and my clothes were constantly all over the place! -ha.

Finally one day I said, “lets turn this room into a closet!”

Once we decided to convert this bedroom into a closet, there was no turning back!

Step 2: Remove everything from the room

The next step is to remove everything from the room. Once we removed all of the furniture, we decided to remove the carpet and install new flooring.

Here is the closet after we ripped out the carpet and installed engineered hardwood with staples.

Once the hardwood was installed, we installed the Easyclosets white closet system with center island.

Step 3: Walk In Closet Installation

Whether you are building the shelves yourself or you purchase a closet system kit like we did, the installation component will require pre-planning.

Click through this post, the installation process of our walk in closet to see exactly how we installed the this closet system step by step.

Looking like a pretty dreamy custom walk in closet right? 

It’s by far the nicest and biggest closet I have ever had!

Making a room into a closet, even if it’s a small bedroom, will create more storage and provide an organized space or dressing room. 

An L shaped wall closet system can really pack in a ton of storage, hanging space and organization if you utilize every square inch of the space.

Questions To Consider Before Building A Walk In Closet

A few questions to ask yourself before you turn a room into a walk in closet:

• What type of storage space do I need? Will you be storing sweaters, jeans or both.
• Do I have long dresses or jackets that will need a long space to hang?
• How many pairs of shoes do I have?
• Do I need space to store jewelry?
• How many hanging items do I have?
• Do I need drawers to store socks, underwear and personal items?
• Do I want a built in ironing board, valet rods and belt holder?

Depending on how you answered those questions will depend on what type of closet system you install.

Map out your room on paper or work with a designer to prepare a 3D rendering of your space.

It’s important to pre plan so that you design a space that will not only be pretty but functional.

Once we figured out what our storage needs were, we built the closet system around those needs.

Walk In Closet Must Haves:

Jewelry Storage In A Drawer

The built-in drawer unit has storage for jewelry, a pull out ironing board and folded clothes.

I actually have the iron and steamer stored in the bottom drawer as the center island drawers provide a ton of storage for folded clothes. 

Easyclosets has so many fun closet accessories and I was so happy when Patty suggested the top drawer have a jewelry storage insert.

If you already have drawers that you use for your jewelry,  this jewelry drawer organizer is a perfect addition to any closet. 

Built In Ironing Board In a Drawer

The drop down door below hides a pull out ironing board!

The pull out ironing board is so cool and very functional.

Pull Out Valet Rod

We decided to have two valet rods installed as well. 

As you can see, the one below is perfect for hanging outfits. 

I have always been envious of walk in closets that I would see online with valet rods showcasing cute outfits and I can’t believe I now have one!😀 

If you missed our January organization ideas post, check it out because I share the best velvet hangers and how something as simple as hangers, can be a game changer when organizing your closet.

Island With Drawers

We do not have a lot of bureau space for storing smaller items like socks, undies and pajama’s so we decided to build an island in the middle of the closet to store smaller items.

Jim has one side of the island and I have the other!

Here is the view into Jim’s work clothes closet (the old walk in closet) and entrance to the bathroom. 

The bathroom is on the list to renovate this year and I am looking forward to designing that space.

If you look closely, you can see Bentley laying on our bedroom floor :). 

We are planning to remove the hanging door above and install a sliding barn door track.

The large mirror will be fastened to the barn door which will slide the entire length of the wall space. 

Here is the view from standing inside Jim’s closet.

How much space do you need for a walk in closet?

In a perfect world you would have around 8′ x 5-6′ so that you can walk inside and have room to move but don’t let that deter you if you have a small space.

It’s amazing what you can fit in a small room if you plan accordingly and utilize the space effectively.

When Patty (my designer at Easyclosets) and I were designing this space, my goal was to have enough shelving storage for shoes and jeans folded in half. 

I know many people hang jeans and fold sweaters but I am the complete opposite.

Hanger marks on my pants and ironing (even though I have an amazing pull out ironing board – keep reading …it’s fabulous!) isn’t my thing. 

Jim and I share this closet and he also has the original walk in closet (seen below) for his everyday work clothes. 

Click here to see Jim’s “before and after”small  walk in closet once we replaced the old wire shelving with this gorgeous white wood closet system. 

I love how we have space for a full-length mirror, a series of open storage shelving for sweaters and sweatshirts.

To create a cohesive look in the closet, we picked a white paint color called Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace for the walls.

Is it a good idea to turn a bedroom into a closet?

Yes, it’s a good idea (if you have the extra space) to turn a bedroom into a closet. I personally believe that a walk-in closet adds value to your home.

For us, we opted to lose a bedroom as we desperately needed more closet space and honestly, when we sell this house if the new buyer does not want the closet and prefers the bedroom, we will remove the walk in closet system, repaint the walls and convert it back to a bedroom. 

Looking to install your own dream walk in closet in a spare room or simply update an existing closet, be sure to check out Easyclosets or the links I shared above and consider a DIY install. You can save a lot of money by doing it yourself!