Closet Question

[flowergirl45]

Good morning. My husband and I are building a home, and we are less than a month away from closing. Overall we are very pleased with the floorplan layout. However, we discovered that we are less than pleased with the walk in master bedroom closet. A more accurate term might be 'walk through' closet. The closet is 10' by 15' and is located between the master bath and the mud room adjacent to the garage. There are 2 doors, opposite each other in the 15' walls. The doors open into the closet. We will have a closet organization system installed to maximize the space. We now realize how much wall space we are losing due to that second door leading to the mud room. So we are considering having the second door removed and walled over.

So, I'm trying to determine pros and cons of doing so, and would appreciate any feedback. The walk through provides an additional exit from the master bedroom, which could be handy in the event of a fire. However, the closet space is used on a daily basis, and I can envision it being an irritant if poorly utilized. But the doors have already been installed, trimmed around, and walls painted. The trouble to wall it over doesn't make us real happy either lol. We sure wish we would have figured this out sooner in the process! Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[mommysaurus]

I'm really poor at visualizing things like this. Its a 15' wall with a door on it, right? Is there a way to utilize shelving on either side of the door and a shoe rack on the back of the door so that you are using the space the best you can?

Honestly, if it were me I'd leave it. Multiple exits are not a bad thing in case of fire, home invasion, etc. plus you already have the doors, trim, and paint like you said. This is a really personal decision so you'll have to weigh it out yourself.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I agree with mommysaurus that it's a personal decision. The second exit is handy and the closet is already room sized so it seems there will be a ton of room already for clothes and things. But if it will bother you guys, remove the door and it's better to do it now than after you move in.

 

[poohfriend77]

Are your washer and dryer in the mud room? If so, that door would make it more convenient for laundry!

If not, well, only you know how much it matters. If it's an easy $200 fix now, and you know it will bug you every time you go into the closet (or mud room! I guess you're losing wall space there too) just do it now.

 

[barkley]

I'm confused-is the only entry from the mudroom into the interior of your home the one that walks through your master closet or does the mudroom have 3 doors (one to/from the garage or exterior of the home, one that walks through your master closet and bathroom, and one to/from another part of the interior of your new home)?

mudrooms aren't common where we live, but aren't they used for a secondary entrance to a home/some storage/possibly to house laundry machines? if it's a secondary entrance and there's only 2 doors in IT then removing the one through your master closet sounds like it would cut off access to the rest of the home which seems like eliminating it's desired purpose. if the mudroom has 3 doors-with the one through your master closet as an extra door then I'm guessing whoever designed the home just figured it might be a nice 'convenience' that would let you opt to go straight from the mudroom into your closet (?maybe to change clothes when you get home or if the mudroom houses the laundry machines to provide direct access to/from laundry and master closet/master bath?).

if it's an extra door to/from the mudroom, and there's no code that requires it (for ingress/egress) then I might opt to eliminate the extra door just because I (1) wouldn't want to lose the wall space in the master closet AND in the mudroom (they make all those cool cubbies and hook and rack systems for mudrooms which I would want for storage), and (2) wouldn't want us/our 'kids' to get into the habit of using my master closet/master bathroom as the walking path into the house.

 

[flowergirl45]

Thank you for the responses. To address some of the comments and questions, the mud room does indeed have 3 doors. One to the closet, one to the garage, and the other to the main hallway. And yes, if we wall up the door to the closet, that also presents additional wall space in the mud room. There are cubbies and hooks present even with the door, however (which I love). But I could add drawers or shelving as needed, in the extra wall space. The washer and dryer are in the mud room. Although right now I wouldn't mind additional steps to do laundry, since this is our retirement home it's very conceivable that someday I/we may not be as mobile and may really appreciate the door from the closet to the mud room.

I'm disappointed in myself, that all of this didn't occur to me sooner. The builder would have eliminated the door at no charge. But...I also believe that everything happens for a reason. Since I have the organizer people coming in next week, perhaps the thing to do is to see what designs they can come up with.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[barkley]

The washer and dryer are in the mud room. Although right now I wouldn't mind additional steps to do laundry, since this is our retirement home it's very conceivable that someday I/we may not be as mobile and may really appreciate the door from the closet to the mud room.

good consideration.

instead of totally removing the door would it be possible to remove the door knobs and then have both the mudroom side and the closet side doorway walls lightly framed so they could be sheet rocked OVER the doorway. you might lose a few inches of square footage in each room but that that way if you ever wanted the doorway back it seems like a much smaller project to have that sheetrock and framing removed.

I only suggest this b/c my first apartment was in a Victorian that had been converted-and the owner had used this technique to eliminate doorways between rooms for individual apartments, but he didn't want to entirely remove the ability to convert single bedroom units to multi bedroom units down the line.

 

[ariel71]

If it opens to the mudroom, wouldn't that mean you're on the ground level and could use the windows as a second means of escape during a fire?

If you're really hemming and hawing, you could always remove the knob, add a cover plate (if it's in the way), and put a freestanding shelving unit in front of the door instead of built-ins. That way the space is usable for now but gives you the option to revert back.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

I would probably mount some sort of organizer on both sides of the door. You'd have more storage, but the door will still be functional in case of emergency.

 

[srferson]

Since I have the organizer people coming in next week, perhaps the thing to do is to see what designs they can come up with.

That is what I was going to suggest.

I agree with those who are thinking you shouldn't eliminate it altogether. Even if you decide to somehow cover it for now, you may find you want it later.

I'd tell the closet pro everything you told us and then see what s/he has to say. You might be presented with some interesting ideas that hadn't occurred to you yet.

 

[flowergirl45]

Your suggestions have been wonderful in helping me think this through. Thanks everyone! I will listen to suggestions from the closet organizer before making a final decision, but I am leaning toward leaving the door intact.

Good observation about the mud room being on the ground level. It is indeed, but the ground slopes away toward the back of the house, where the master bedroom is, so the windows are at a second story level. we have a flexible ladder to use in case of emergency (right now we live in a townhome), but the thought of using it scares me a little.

 

[tvguy]

I would try it, and if you don't like the door there, don't use it. Put shelving in front of it inside the closet, you don't have to take out the door.
A 10 by 15 walkin closet is HUGE....150 square feet. Universal building code sets the minimum size of a BEDROOM at 75 square feet, so you have what amounts to two bedrooms space in a closet. I'd start thinking about throwing stuff out if you need more space! We added a bedroom onto our house, and the walk in closet in there is 10 by 7, and yes, it gets full, and when it gets full, we discover a ton of stuff that just got shoved in their instead of in the trash.

 

[Wendy31]

I would probably mount some sort of organizer on both sides of the door. You'd have more storage, but the door will still be functional in case of emergency.

This is exactly what I'd do! Or, on the closet side, you could hang a retractable valet rod. On the mudroom side, you could hang a ironing board (if an ironing board is not already built into the mudroom.)

When you think about it, it's a nice feature to have an entrance from your mudroom straight into your master bedroom.

At any rate, before you close off the entrance, I'd consider how far away the mudroom is from the master bedroom w/o it - what kind of route (circular around lots different corners, for example) would you be walking w/ your laundry baskets to get from your bedroom to the mudroom?

 

[DisneyOma]

I'd worry about car fumes coming in the mudroom from the garage then getting into my closet if there was a door there.

I'd also be spooked about someone breaking in, and coming into my room through the closet! But I have a really overactive imagination, so I'd think of that Not sure if it would be any worse than them coming in through the bedroom door, LOL! But I'd still hate the extra door into the room.

 

[NewRVLady]

here's what I would do
LEAVE the door but keep it permanently locked ( for emergency only
put closet clothes hanging rail across it-store clothes-long clothes like dresses coats even if rail high
then , when you are older and WANT that door its there

 

[cedricandsophie]

I don't have anything that others haven't noted except...we have a second washer and dryer down the hall from the bedroom. It is so convenient. So having the washer and dryer just stps away from a closet is a great idea and you will love it. Thst said if it's not too many steps to go out of the bedroom and around to the mud room and laundry room then it's probsbly not a big deal. But I would keep the door just in case.

As some one else has noted though, I would keep it locked for now and use the space in front of it for organizational shelving,etc.

Also since the garage has direct access to the house and you apparently are very close to the garage, I would definitely make sure the garage door to the house has significant insulation and weather proofing so that fumes don't enter the house. We have a detached garage and I accidently hit the remote start on one of our cars and left it running all night. When I opened the garage door the next day, the fumes in thst couple of seconds before I got the door up and clean air Into the garage was overwhelming. If the garage had been attached to the house, it could have been a real safety hazard.

Finally...just totally jealous of a closet that size. Our neighbors just took an extra small bedroom and turned it into Her closet with a big window, a chandelier as well as secondary lighting, a moveable ladder like you see in libraries for the top shelves and an island for underwear and jewelry. Right now I have two closets for my stuff..and drawers all around the house!

 

[nkereina]

We built our home back in 2012 and are in the process of assisting my parents while they have their retirement home built! Congrats on the new home - this is a fun and exciting time!

Considering your washer and dryer is in the mud room, I think it makes sense to leave the door in the closet. We have second floor laundry and the laundry room is adjacent to our master bedroom and I can't even tell you how convenient it is. You'd be able to keep a hamper in the master closet, out of site from the bedroom, and just pull it into the laundry room when you need to do a load. Whenever I finish a load of laundry, I don't even use a laundry basket - I fold everything in the laundry room and just walk it into the bedroom. You'd be able to walk it right into the closet! I know one thing we are keeping in the back of our minds for my parents' home is these kind of conveniences as they get older and may have new struggles that they don't face now.

Another minor benefit is when you move in. I'm thinking it would be very easy to move your bedroom furniture in through this door, straight from the garage.

If your laundry was NOT in the mud room, I may have a differing opinion on this. We have a mud room on our first floor and one thing we notice is that the temperature really fluctuates in it because of the exterior door to our garage. We live in the North so during the winter, it's noticeably cooler in the mud room. I doubt this would translate to your bedroom with the closet being in between, but something to think about if you live in a cooler climate. I also would think it's a bit odd to have the mudroom connected to the closet without laundry, but that's not the case here obviously.

Good luck!