House of Many Closets

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What would you expect if a closets company designed an entire house? Well, it might have a lot of closets. That was true when Closet Factory-Hampton Road built the Organizational Home and entered it in the Suffolk, VA, Homearama new home sales promotion last fall. (It's one of the biggest and oldest home marketing events in the country.) With 27 home storage elements from mudrooms, pantries, crafts areas and dens to closets, it won gold as the Tidewater Builders Assn.’s Fall Homearama Critics’ Choice Best Home. In a Q&A with CLOSETS magazine, Closet Factory owner Jeff Bruzzesi explained his goals in the ambitious project, and its impact on his business.

Q. Where did the Organizational House custom home concept originate?

We've participated in the Tidewater Builders Association’s Homearama for nine years, building closets in homes. The challenge has been to find builder partners who allow us to display work beyond what they consider to be our expertise: closets or sometimes pantries. I wanted to change the perception of our brand.

Q. What type of lifestyle was the home modeled for?

The vision for the home was a very busy family. Every member has their individual needs for the space. So we addressed each person’s lifestyle. If everyone is more organized the house is sure to be calmer ­— by maximizing the home's storage space, and by thoughtful, smart placement of organizational systems. We knew no matter who lived there they would benefit from the home’s intelligence.

Q. How did you get involved with the project?

I approached Sam Cohen of Joey Corp., a very respected custom builder in this area, with my idea. He agreed to partner with me, and we were underway.

Q. How does this house make its owner’s life easier and more peaceful?

The concept for the house was to simplify everyday tasks. My team walked through the house at each stage of construction, envisioning how the family would use it. We thought through each design considering daily usages. For example:

Because the house has a two-car garage with an outside entry door, we pictured the family typically entering the house from the garage. Using this starting point we outfitted the garage with deep, tall and varied storage components for the most common utilities. This provides ample room to use the garage and to access the house from the car. The first room in the house is a triple purpose mud room, with an unloading station. Here, a beautiful divided locker and bench unit provide a place to hang jackets, sit and change and store shoes, and open shelving for any items that don’t need to go into the house. It has a household message center, a flat surface to unload anything in your hands… all before you get to the kitchen.

Q. Do you have plans on doing more homes?

Possibly. There are many variables to consider, timing is always important along with market conditions and location of the show. We are thrilled by the feedback this home has received. This venture has truly transformed the way people perceive and understand the depth of what Closet Factory can do.

Q. Of the 27 organizational systems in the home, which are most essential?

The top five organizational systems would be: 1) The garage: We started with a custom floor for durability and easy maintenance. Knowing that the garage is often a catch-all for anything that doesn’t have a place in the house, we needed this space to be ultra functional. Also, the items that do belong in the garage range in shape and size dramatically from big awkward yard tools and machinery, to tiny nuts and bolts. Without custom storage it can become a big useless room.

2) Mud room: Described above.

3) Kitchen: The Organizational Home’s kitchen won the Bronze award for best kitchen, competing against eight other homes in the show that had kitchen cabinetry specialists design and build their kitchens. Closet Factory’s first residential kitchen won an award over kitchen companies!

It was a very creative layout and design. We decided to make the center island and the range wall the primary every day use cabinetry. Every other kitchen storage unit was out of the way but easily accessible, making the entire four areas adjoining the “kitchen hub” true living space.

The keeping room with its kitchen cupboard unit offers not only an enormous amount of storage and display but also doubles as a coffee bar. The second area serving the kitchen is the Butler’s pantry, the third is the eight-foot-tall food pantry, and lastly the appliance storage center, steps away in the mudroom.

This design made it possible to add a couch and chair in the keeping room, and a table that seats six in the breakfast room, plus four bar stools.

4) Master closet: Let’s just say it was brilliant! Of course, “Closet” is our first name.

5) Upstairs landing unit: Transformed a blank, hard to use space into a two person homework/gaming station incorporated an amazing amount of hidden storage, granite top and a TV lift that lowers into the granite, only raised when the parents allow.

As for the top five prospecting essentials: A) The Hidden Bed — The desk that with one motion turns into a bed! B) The Dining China Cabinet — It was the prettiest piece in its simplicity, still affording creative custom storage. C) The Murphy Bed in the boys room — The perfect space saver if you want floor space in the place of a bed some times. D) The Media Room System -— It surprised guests when they learned Closet Factory did the work. The wet bar, task lighting, glass framed doors, window seat and it all matched the stained ceiling. E) The Girl’s Closet — We turned a small “step-in closet” into a young girl’s personal treasure chest. There’s a false bottom drawer to hind her journal with a side mounted lock so no one knows it’s there. A dresser top above the bank of drawers lined with accessory slats for jewelry, sunglasses, etc., colorful tack wall to pin up photos, plus slanted shoe shelves, a pull out hamper, dividers for purses and glass framed doors above the dresser. It showed what we can so in a small space.

Q. How did you design the projects?

All of the spaces in the home were designed and manufactured using Planit. All of our salespeople use Planit software to design and sell to our clients be they retail or commercial. Once the jobs are completed we use the screen-to-machine operations to produce the jobs on our nested base router. I have been using it for the past two years, and I can truly say that it has taken the presentation and manufacturing of our product to a higher level.

Q. What is your favorite room of this custom home and why?

It would have to be the library. It is truly stunning. Guests stopped in their tracks to admire its old world charm. It is the first room you see as you enter from the front door, so it got a lot of attention. We designed it be stately and handsome.