32 
House & Garden 
A CLOSET FOR EVERYTHING 
An Exposition of the Practical Application of 
the Gospel of Orderliness 
WINNIFRED FALES and MARY H. NORTHEND 
self—though she may term it 
“cooperating with the architect” 
in order to mitigate the shock. It 
probably will prove a difficult 
task to convince him of her 
divine right to a sufficiency of 
closets, but with tact and pa¬ 
tience even this may be accom¬ 
plished. And the end justifies 
the effort; since, as every woman 
knows, an extra cupboard or two, 
or even a variation of a few 
inches in depth, or in the spacing 
of shelves, often makes all the 
difference between permanent sat¬ 
isfaction and continual inconveni¬ 
ence and annoyance. 
One end of this double closet hold* 
laundry hamper and bathroom supplies, 
while the other is fitted with shelves for 
linen and blankets 
T HERE is one thing which no prospective 
home builder can afford to leave uncon¬ 
ditionally to an architect, and that is—the 
closets. Inspect any man-planned house you 
please, and though it have a facade worthy of 
Palladio, rooms of faultless proportions, and 
the most scientific heating, lighting and ven¬ 
tilating equipment that modern invention has 
devised, yet will its closets be inadequate both 
as to number and capacity, and inevitably of 
the wrong dimensions. 
Of course, the architect is not to blame. 
Like the well meaning 
but handicapped music 
mangier in a western 
mining camp, above 
whose head was chalked 
the entreaty, 
“Please don’t shoot 
the pianist. He is do¬ 
ing the best he can,” 
the designer of houses is 
deserving of sympathy 
rather than censure; for 
only an experienced 
housewife can possibly 
realize how much closet 
space is required for the 
disposal of personal be¬ 
longings and household 
supplies in the average 
family, or how the in- 
terior arrangement 
should be varied to meet 
specific needs. As the 
only solution, therefore, 
the presiding genius of 
the new home should 
politely but firmly insist 
upon furnishing the 
closet specifications her- 
A guest room closet lined with 
the same cretonne as the curtains 
The built-in wardrobe should be supplied with 
which hangers can be suspended. One closet 
clothes poles from 
ran hold lueeaee 
If not used, a small hall can be blocked 
up with book shelves, making a cosy 
reading corner. On the other side can 
be a clothes closet 
One woman of our acquaintance did pre¬ 
cisely this thing, and her home, recently com¬ 
pleted, contains in consequence an amazing 
number and variety of what may be termed 
“special purpose” closets, many of which turn 
to practical account the waste spaces of the 
original plan. 
The first problem attacked was that of util¬ 
izing to the best advantage the space appro¬ 
priated in the plans for a long and rather nar¬ 
row hall extending from the side entrance of 
the house to the main hall, which it met at 
right angles. The lady 
in question sagaciously 
vetoed the proposed ar¬ 
rangement as wasteful, 
with the result that the 
side hall was reduced to 
a modest entry, and the 
space thus retrieved was 
divided into two large 
closets, one opening 
from the entry and the 
other from the main hall, 
with a deep book alcove 
between them, forming 
an extension of the li¬ 
brary. One of the accom¬ 
panying illustrations 
gives a view of the al¬ 
cove, with a glimpse of 
the entry and its com¬ 
modious closet in which 
are hung raincoats and 
motor togs. In another, 
the interior arrangement 
of the corresponding 
closet in the main hall is 
shown. One side holds 
hats, children’s wraps 
(Continued on paee 68) 
