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Prettyscapes: Meet Loren Taylor
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“Culling Your Closet in the New Year!”
By Loren Taylor, Contributing Writer
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A closet can be a beautiful work of art that reflects who you are and what you love. So often, we hang onto articles of clothing that are not well-made or illfitted, whether too large or small, paying homage to a bygone season in our lives. Clear away the items that no longer serve you well, and acquire quality pieces that are foundational or special to craft a narrative of who you are becoming.
Here’s the anatomy of a well-designed closet as a space for storing and organizing clothing, shoes, and other wares:
Adequate space for hanging garments Sufficient room to fold clothing and store shoes Shelves for purses, luggage, and hat storage Free-rolling rack for hung garments
Photo Credit: Christina Wedge christinaweb.com
Anatomy of a well-designed closet
Beautiful hanger program with the same style throughout (no wire hangers…seriously… NEVER). I love adopting a wonderful hanger program like the Kirby Allison Hanger Project in order to make my clients’ closets feel like a wonderful boutique or haberdashery at home.
Be careful about light temperature in artificial light, particularly when using light emitting diode (LED) technology and applications. Aim for between 3000 to 4000 Kelvins (K) to produce a clean, bright white light well-suited for closets and utilitarian spaces. Anything that exceeds
4000 K will be harsh and unflattering.
Photo Credit: Christina Wedge christinaweb.com
Photo Credit: Christina Wedge christinaweb.com
Anatomy of a well-designed closet
Provide a place to sit in the closet (if it is a walk-in) or adjacent to the closet so that you can sit to put on shoes or bottoms.
Though it is tempting, skip painting the interior of your closet a color, as it can throw off the actual color of your wardrobe and make it difficult to coordinate outfits.
Speaking of clothes, here are a few tips for reactivating your wardrobe:
Get rid of faded, frayed, and ill-made clothing by donating to a charity to be repurposed and/or recycled.
Fund your future! Sell well-made clothing that no longer fits. Consider sites like Facebook Marketplace (Meta), eBay, ThredUp, or a local consignment shop.
Organize clothing by color or style to aid in getting dressed more efficiently.
Photo Credit: Christina Wedge christinaweb.com
Reactivating Your Wardrobe
Organize clothing by formality; it functions well when you begin with sleeveless tops to long-sleeves, then bottoms from skirts to pants and dresses in a separate area.
Stowe shoes and accessories are stowed in their own special area.
Finally, getting dressed can feel like drudgery, so I like to coordinate visually by colorizing and creating a rainbow in a closet; it’s not only good for the eyes, but colors do wonders to lift our spirits, too!
Photo Credit: Christina Wedge christinaweb.com
Loren Audrey Taylor is the Founder and Principal Designer of Loren Taylor Interior Design, a luxury boutique interior design and tastemaker practice. As an American interior designer who happens to be of African descent, her goal is to feature the unknown and familiar contributions of sub- Saharan people who bore the burden of having been disembarked from trans-Atlantic slave ships as cargo when they were forcibly brought to American shorelines.
Photo Credit: Christina Wedge christinaweb.com
