Where the thickness of the partitions allows it, 
such a handy closet can be built in 
The space at the end of the fireplace permits of 
various arrangements such as the two shown here 
A clothes closet made over to hold china—an example of 
thoughtfulness exercised in shelf arrangement 
Useful Closets in Unusual Places 
GETTING EFFICIENCY OUT OF THE WASTE SPACES OF THE HOUSE—INGENIOUS 
CLOSETS AND THEIR USES—PLACING CLOSETS TO SAVE STEPS 
Phil M. Riley 
Photographs by Mary H. Northend 
C ASUALLY treated, the subject of closets sounds prosaic in¬ 
deed, but it becomes more absorbing upon further scrutiny. 
In building a house 
there is no more vital 
issue. Did you ever 
live in a house that 
had enough storage 
space ? Probably not. 
Relativelv few exist. 
One needs to have 
lived in a city apart¬ 
ment in order to ap¬ 
preciate its worth. 
Too frequently clos¬ 
ets are merely the 
left-over spaces after 
the room divisions of 
a floor plan have been 
made, with the result 
that they are either 
too small or incor¬ 
rect in shape. Of 
what use is a closet 
one foot deep and 
seven feet wide, with 
a door toward one 
end? It is 
and right to utilize In 
the so-called 
spaces throughout a house 
gent architect now plans the 
logical 
utilize 
waste 
an old house thai allows idiosyncrasies, these passage closets are permissible. Their shape detracts 
little from the width of the passage and makes no dangerous obtrusion 
for storage purposes, but an intelli- 
storage problem just as carefully as 
he does his principal 
rooms, so proportion¬ 
ing the whole house 
and dividing the floor 
area that virtually 
there are no waste 
spaces. 
This is as it should 
be, and a general 
movement tending to¬ 
ward greater effi¬ 
ciency in the house is 
responsible for it. as 
well as many other 
good things. True, 
there are in many 
houses spaces, par¬ 
ticularly in partition 
walls, under stair¬ 
ways and low eaves, 
and in the jogs of 
rooms, that could be 
used for no other 
purpose than storage, 
and which are neg¬ 
lected thoughtlessly 
or for the lack of a 
24 
