Natalie’s dream wardrobe in a small space

“Everyone can have the home of their dreams and often already live in it. But sometimes a bit of inspiration and a few smart ideas are needed to pull it together.”

Natalie felt there was a need in her home for more and smarter storage as her family grew. She created a small, but very practical and beautiful walk-in wardrobe by clearing out unnecessary items and optimising an existing storage space.

Natalie – photographer and influencer

Natalie (45) works as a communicator and photographer for various companies. To achieve balance in her otherwise hectic daily schedule, Natalie spends a fair amount of time styling and decorating her home and finding solutions to various interior design dilemmas. She and her husband Jussi have two sons, Vilho (10) and Niilo (7). They live in a 110 sqm. terraced house by the sea in Rauma on the west coast of Finland. You can follow Natalie’s interior design ideas here: @byellanatalie

Before and after the transformation

The forgotten wardrobe

When Natalie and Jussi bought their house in 2012, they planned the interior design and use of its spaces. But the family’s walk-in wardrobe was overlooked in the chaos of the move. “I just didn’t get round to thinking about that space. Most of the time was spent planning everything else. The wardrobe had been originally fitted with impractical, narrow shelves and a clothes rail. I later realised that the space could have been planned much more efficiently to maximise its use.”

Optimised storage in a small space

Eventually Natalie got fed up with the impractical fittings in the wardrobe and decided to act. It’s not a large space. It is 2.3 metres high with about 2 square metres of floor space. And there’s an air vent on the rear wall. Because of its size, Natalie needed a storage system that would make optimal use of every centimetre. After measuring up the space, Natalie used the online planning tool to plan the wardrobe with three wall-mounted, click-in units to suit her needs.

Go to the planning tool

I’m still left wondering why Elfa and I didn’t meet sooner!

Natalie

What was important for you when designing the wardrobe? “Practical storage systems with smart features was a key requirement. We needed plenty of room for drawers of folded clothes, shelves for shoe boxes and bags, and rails for clothes of varying lengths. It was also essential to be able to easily rearrange the wardrobe interior.” “A layout that allows for easy cleaning is important too. The way to ensure that is to keep things off the floor. All we have on the floor in our wardrobe is the lovely soft mat!”

See inspiration for walk-in wardrobe

“I found the perfect storage system from Elfa that can be adapted to suit the space and my needs. It is also aesthetically pleasing and that’s important to me as an interior designer. With Elfa’s classic white system with its mesh drawers, we now have a beautiful and practical storage solution.”

View the Click-in system classic

Keep accessories in gliding mesh drawers.

The flexible system lets you maximise the height of a room.

Front hangers are perfect in spaces with limited depth.

Natalie’s tips for clothes storage in small spaces

Allow space for hanging clothes of different lengths
Plan drawer space for clothes like knitted sweaters, which should not be hung up
Optimise the space by letting the type and amount of clothes determine the quantity and depth of the mesh drawers
Use the top section of the wardrobe for storing out-of-season clothes
Use dividers on shelves as support. The dividers also make it easy to keep things tidy
Hook racks are useful and simply click into place on the edge of a shelf

The door became part of the wardrobe

Natalie created even more space by using the door as a storage area. Elfa’s door system proved to be exactly what she was hoping for: “Using the door as a storage area was a game changer for me. It means I have more storage space and makes my daily routines smoother. It’s not only a practical solution, it adds a certain touch of luxury to everyday life. I can gather all the small items and accessories I need the evening before a work day. I didn’t know such a solution existed, so that came as a really positive surprise.”

View door storage

What do you like best about your new walk-in wardrobe?

“The best thing is that our storage is so practical now, and it’s easy to keep things in the right place. The system is flexible too, which means we’ll easily be able to reconfigure it as our needs change. But right now it is exactly as we want it - airy, beautiful and everything immediately to hand. It’s a huge difference compared with how the wardrobe used to look. I’m still left wondering why Elfa and I didn’t meet sooner!”