Pamela Taylor, senior design consultant at Capitol Closet Design located in Alexandria, Virginia, won the 2021 Top Shelf Design Awards Closet Reach-in category for “Color Clout.”

This award-winning project emphasizes the benefits of adding color even to small spaces.

Here’s how Taylor explains the process behind her design: 

Project Description: 
In designing secondary reach-in closets in American homes, the focus is often on the practical use with less attention paid to color or style.  

This design of this project, however, reveals how a few simple techniques can give even the smallest of spaces a little charm that goes hand in hand with their functionality.   

Project Construction: 
To complement the décor and color pallet of this guest bedroom in Bethesda, Maryland, the closet walls were painted before the installation. The soft green shade created a backdrop that was perfectly matched to the matte aloe finish of the drawer faces. To create contrast, a misty light grey was used for the shelving while matte gold accents in the hardware and accessories served to warm the cool color scheme. 

Form followed function in both layout and design. By running the poles from front to back on the right side, the blind access to the deep corner was eliminated. This allowed for hanging clothes to be fully visible and easy to reach. 

Another important design tool employed the use of full-overlay drawer faces to further echo the modern style and construction details of the on-suite bathroom vanity and furnishings. 

The closet was transformed and provided a welcome place for guests to settle in for an extended and comfortable stay.      

Materials: 
¾ inch melamine, thermofoil drawer faces, soft-close drawer glides, valet rod, belt rack, matte gold pulls, matte gold poles     

Equipment/Software used: 
KDCW Software, Router for Lighting SCMI Panel Saw, edgebander system, drill press, RTF Fitting Insertion Machine Line Boring Machine, Talented Production Team

Winners of the 2022 Top Shelf Design Awards will be announced on April 28 during the Closets Conference & Expo in San Diego California.