We’ve all been there: An important work meeting is scheduled in the morning, but first we have to get the kids ready for school, feed the pets and get ourselves dressed before heading out the door. Unfortunately, the closet is once again a chaotic mess, it’s impossible to find the right outfit and suddenly the day is starting off on the wrong foot.
Try as we might, sometimes keeping an organized closet is beyond our capability, but that’s where the experts at California Closets can help. With their design expertise, they see potential and opportunity to transform spaces with solutions that are highly functional and beautiful.
“You start every single day off in your closet,” says Michelle McBride, a design consultant at the Mount Laurel location of California Closets. “If you go in your closet and it’s a mess or you can’t find something, it’s going to affect your mood and make your day less efficient. For me, my work is about making clients’ lives easier by giving them a customized design that accommodates their specific needs and style, and also gives them a feeling of calm they can appreciate every day.”
The industry leader, California Closets provides a complimentary design consultation that can be done virtually or in person. It’s a true collaborative process during which the designer really takes the time to listen to your personal needs and assess the inventory you have.
“We find out what’s important for you. We want to understand what’s not working for you and what you need help with so that together we can custom design the best solution for you,” McBride says.
The goal is to maximize the space and find a use for every square inch. “We all want a massive walk-in closet or a spare bedroom that’s now a closet, but if we don’t have that space then we have to figure out how to best utilize the space available,” says Michael Chase, a sales manager at California Closets in Mount Laurel.
Chase adds that the company uses proprietary CAD software to present the client with a 3D rendering right onsite, showing a design that may include multiple shelves, a space for shoe storage, valet rods, baskets for sweaters and more. It’s all tailored specifically to the needs of each client, with measurements made to the eighth of an inch to provide customized solutions rather than pre-fabricated pieces.
“We don’t have templates,” Chase says. “If you have a small coat closet near the entry of your home, we’re going to design a solution to fit your needs and your space. We’re not going to offer you a template A, B or C design—every design is unique to that customer because we all use our space differently. One of the better examples is that I’m 6-foot-2, so I’m going to have a different closet than someone who is 5-6 because I have longer shirts or longer coats.”
Although closets is in the company name, it is far from the only area its experts specialize in, with a wide range of whole-home solutions available. With more people working remotely these days, home offices have been in huge demand, and California Closets can also assist with garages, pantries, mudrooms, media centers, wardrobes, playrooms and more.
“I tell everybody that any place in your home where you need organization, we can offer a custom-designed solution,” McBride says. “We certainly have done a ton of home offices. California Closets made a lot of headway by realizing and recognizing a need for custom home offices, and we doubled our offerings during the pandemic.”
There has also been an uptick in combination rooms, Chase says, and how the incorporation of a wall bed, for example, can allow a space to double as an office and a guest room.
No matter what area customers are using California Closets for, they can count on a professional installation by in-house crews that respect the home as if it were their own and do their best to schedule the project at a convenient time. The entire process is sure to run smoothly from start to finish, which is why so many homeowners end up calling for another project after having such a pleasant experience the first time.
“That’s obviously what we strive to do for every customer,” Chase says. “We want to make a customer for life and have them tell their families and friends about us. It happens often that they call us back for another project—I think the most I’ve seen was 13 spaces in one customer’s home over the course of about 10 years. When you find that you want to reorganize or reutilize a space, we’d like to be your partner with that.”
For McBride, who has been with California Closets for almost 12 years, the reward of delivering a custom-designed solution for a customer never gets old.
“The design world is changing all the time,” she says. “I’m constantly able to seek out new inspiration or trends and bring them to clients. I love when clients get really excited about our work together and know that their project is going to make their lives easier and happier.”
California Closets
1211 Route 73 | Mount Laurel
(856) 638-5396
CaliforniaClosets.com
©2022 California Closets Company, Inc. Each California Closets® franchised location is independently owned and operated.
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Family Magazine, Volume 13, Issue 2.
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