Bigger Life, Smaller Wardrobe – How to organise your everyday wardrobe

So you all know we lived in Sevenoaks briefly, shortly before our first son was born until he was a bit older than one. To be honest, the biggest selling point for me at that point was space (as we were welcoming a new tiny family member). With the home in Sevenoaks, we had our very OWN His and Her walk-in wardrobes. I turned a double bedroom into a walk-in closet and Viet has an area in our master bedroom for his very own walk-in too (yes, with space for his shoes, ties and all!!). That was a dream come true!! Sadly we decided (very quickly) that Sevenoaks was not right for us and London has always been our true calling, so we searched for a new home and moved back  to London after 16 months. Time really flies as we have now been in South West London for nearly 2 years, and have also welcomed an additional family member!

As  you would expect, we don’t have the luxury of having a spare bedroom anymore, and, instead, have two walls in two separate double bedrooms (master bedroom and guest bedroom) for the wardrobes. The wall in our master bedroom is, amusingly, narrower than the guest bedroom (meaning even less space for our everyday use). It was a real headache for me how to optimise the space, but I guess, to me, it is always fun to organise the things in my life. In this post, I will show you how I went about it…

from here….

….. to Here! 

This wardrobe is organised for daily life only – work clothes and staple pieces that we can grasp in a rush while still guaranteeing the look. I have created a separate, bigger closet for other outfits in a different bedroom, a hallway family closet for coats / everyday shoes, a separate bag closet / shelf and another understairs storage for my treasured heels (I will post about them later if you are interested!). After all, it turned out I am not a space warper, still need the space, but much less than before given, well, we are in London and space is a luxury!

This wardrobe was made bespoke based on my measurements and specifications, from an Italian brand called Sangiacomo (I love them for sleek design and beautiful finish). I have been a client of Irina (who helped me with the installation of this wardrobe) from FCI London for more than 3 years now, and I must say she always try to understand my ideas, select the perfect colour and always recommend good design. I am one happy client!

In no way am I an expert in organising but I found a system that works for me and my husband, especially when I hardly have time in the morning to get ready for work with a toddler around my leg all the time!

My everyday’s section

Tip: measure the length of all your clothes and divide the section accordingly

Hanger section (left to right, top to bottom)

1. Dresses
2. Jackets/ Blazer
3. Trousers/ Jeans
4. Shirt/ Blouses.

For the drawers (left to right, top to bottom)

1. Silk pyjamas
2. Knitwear
3. Bras
4. Tank tops in various colour
5. Hosiery and underwear…

And, seriously, for the whole 18 months working before maternity leave, this is all I needed for weekdays, and sometimes even weekends!

Viet’s section is super easy, the most important thing is to get the height of each section right for his clothes. He’s in uniform during the week (suits) so those have to be easily seen and accessed. The coolest piece in his wardrobe is the electronic tie rack. It is extremely space efficient! Unfortunately the professional version (that holds 70 ties) is no longer available on Amazon but I put the link in “shop the post” for another version.

HIS’s section:

Hanging area:

1. Suit
2. Shirts
3. Trousers / Jeans
4. Rolling Tie Hangers / T-shirt

Drawers:

1. Perfumes
2. Socks / Underwear
3. Silk PJs
4. Underwear Tank Top
5. Knitwears

The last section (left to right, top to bottom):

1. HIS Jackets / Jumpers
2. Coats: this section is to store some of our big/occasional worn coats, other daily coats are hung in the hallway closet
3. HER Jackets / Jumpers
4. HER going out tops

The last two drawers are for cotton PJs for both of us.

So there we go, our daily wardrobe for weekdays aka work days! Hope you found it useful and interesting!

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