We recently removed the closet in our daughter Faye’s bedroom and revealed that we don’t plan to build a new one. The amount of DMs I received informing me of bedrooms requiring closets was through the roof! So I figured we should clear the air once and for all by answering the tale old question, “Does a bedroom have to have a closet?”
Here’s a before and after of Faye’s room with and without the closet.
Before
After
Does a bedroom have to have a closet?
The short answer? No. While there are requirements that make a bedroom a bedroom, according to Realtor.com, having a closet isn’t one of them (at least in most states). This story we have all heard about a bedroom requiring a closet is simply lore, and I’m here to put an end to it! This article published by Rocket Mortgage also says that by national standards, “A room does not need a closet to be a bedroom.” So there you have it.
How did this rumor get out of hand?
This myth was spread through the Real Estate perspective of the ever-used term “resale value.” We’re all told to be concerned about resale value and design our homes from the perspective of what other people might like vs. how we want to live our lives! But unless you’re in the industry of flipping and selling houses, I recommend designing a home you love.
There were some issues with the symmetry in Faye’s room, and we played around with three different layouts, but ultimately removing the closet was the best decision. We thought about building a new one in a new location, but our favorite solution was to nix the closet altogether and use an armoire and dresser for storage instead.
Shop Faye’s Room
I’m so glad we did it because this armoire is darling (it comes in other colors and finishes), and it’s the perfect size for her little girl wardrobe. My favorite part is the mirrored front doors!–So practical and cute.
Another reason why we decided against the closet was that Faye was adamant about having a dresser in her room. With the closet, there was never enough room for a dresser, but the new one from our Pottery Barn Kids collection arrived just last week, and I can’t wait to show you! A lot of the contents in this armoire will get transferred to the dresser.
Medium White Baskets | Large White Baskets
So tell me, do you have a bedroom in your house you would ever remove the closet from?
Catch up with renovating Faye’s bedroom
Faye’s new bed
The Original Mood Board
Three Layout Options for Faye’s Room
Wallpaper Options for Faye’s Room
Revealing Faye’s New Wallpaper
I think having a closet in a bedroom is typical for US/Canada and this is not an issue in most of other countries. I’m in UK now, lived in France and Poland before that. Just do what you like. I adore this wardrobe and this wallpaper was in my top 3. Great job Faye 🥳
We’re moving into a mid-century split-level house, which means we have three living rooms, but not enough bedrooms for our big fam. The very bottom living room is going to be my young adult son’s new bedroom for now. There’s this old wet bar with a big old cabinet behind it; we don’t drink, so I was like, “Here’s your closet, sweetie!” Lol We’ll have to get him an armoire at some point.
We also turned two unused “formal” rooms into two bedrooms at our last house and it was great. It was a huge benefit to resale value to have two additional rooms and no one cared there were no closets.
That wallpaper is so pretty. Unfortunately, you should have kept the closet as it diminishes the value of the home. The armoire as beautiful as it is does not replace the value of a closet especially for a growing child. I understand that most if not all of the house is designed for the Gram and for swipes I honestly would have worked with the original floor plan.
I don’t think that anyone with three children *could* design exclusively for “the gram”. They’ve been candid about doing things that work for their family that might not be the ideal design. They’ve also inspired me to not lay out my house for “resale value”.
Resale value isn’t a priority for everyone, and I’m so thankful that that mentality was one of the things being a CLJ reader helped me shake as a homeowner. In my previous homes, I was so worried about designing for my personality and “bringing the value down”.
The mention in this blog post the reason why it doesn’t matter to them in their home. If you are concerned about that, then definitely keep your closets!
Julia, I am so inspired by this “thinking outside the box.” My daughter moved out about two years ago, and I have been slowly refreshing her old room to be a guest room. It is a very small room with a queen bed. Removing the closet (which is currently empty) would create more space for a cozy sitting area. I am seriously considering removing it now. 🤗
No. We designed the four bedrooms in our house to each have large, walk-in closets, all of which are set back so they don’t impact the room shape. And while we only use two of the bedrooms, I love having all the storage in the other two closets and cannot imagine not having them!
Well Amanda, not everybody is rich and wasteful!