Drawers, colorful boxes dress up dressing room

DEAR DEBBIE: We have a deep, almost walk-in closet in our bedroom with sliding glass doors. I’m always fighting with these doors; they come off the rails and generally get in my way. I want to get rid of them, but my wife says it will look too messy. Can you settle this for us? — Andrew.

DEAR ANDREW: I’m with you on this one. Go for it; remove the doors and fix up the closet so it’s gorgeous to look at and also stores your clothes properly and neatly.

In Victorian times the gentleman’s closet was very de rigueur. Men’s clothing was as precious as women’s — frills, velvets and layers of finery overflowed their closet space. Today, men’s clothes are often delegated to a back cupboard somewhere or a bottom drawer, which hardly seems fair.

There’s a huge variety of organization systems available to help you sort out your belongings. Not only is this practical, but you can choose materials and colors that will enhance the style of your bedroom. A fresh coat of paint on the cupboard walls and a proper floor covering is a good start. You can build in storage as shown in the accompanying photograph and paint the wood. Add handsome hardware for the drawers and hangers. Think of it as a mini-room. Lighting is important, so if you don’t have a closet light, then get an electrician to do the wiring. It’s worth a little extra time and cost to get it right.

It’s a good idea to angle your bed beside the closet so that you are not looking straight into the newly appointed closet. This way, it won’t be the first thing you see when you wake up. But with smaller homes and condos, the idea of a bedroom dressing room all in one is smart, and there’s lots of choices out there to suit any style.

DEAR DEBBIE: I love my children dearly (they are 4, 6 and 9), but their toys and clutter seem to be everywhere. Have you any suggestions for making our family room just the tiniest bit adult-friendly? — Deanna.

DEAR DEANNA: I know from experience that life with children is messy. Every stage has its attendant clutter: LEGOs, trucks, games and puzzles, sports equipment and even the odd school project seem to be an ever-present part of the landscape. Like you, I wouldn’t trade my kids for the world, but you can take advantage of today’s multipurpose furniture to bring some order to the chaos.

Here are some ideas that will not only clear up the floor space in your family room, but in their bedrooms as well.

Invest in furniture that is not only comfortable, but also practical. Today, large ottomans, chairs, sofas and tables are all available with hidden storage. And why not buy an inexpensive armoire and divide it into sections for each child? Paint the drawers and shelves different colors; for young children it’s fun to hang a sign with their name on their shelf or cubby hole, and make labels for different categories or toys. For the youngest children, painted baskets or garbage cans make excellent containers and are easy to empty and fill up.

Bring it out, play with it, put it away. If your children learn to do this with stuffed teddies, blocks and coloring books, hopefully the habit will stick with them throughout the teen years. Well, perhaps that’s too much to hope for.

Debbie Travis is a columnist for King Features Syndicate. E-mail questions to her at house2home@debbietravis.com.