Every spring for the past 20+ years my mom and I have participated an annual fundraising event hosted by the local community hospital called “The Designer House”. Each year a different home in the community is selected to receive a complete floor-to-ceiling makeover by a number of local interior designers. Commissioned for the home’s historic or aesthetic significance (and is often on the market to sell), the event coordinators unleash dozens of local interior designers on the home, who are given free rein to appoint their assigned space with a design statement of their choice. In exchange for their pro bono creation, the designer and their work is showcased to the thousands of visitors who tour the home each year.
Inevitably we leave the tour with one or two “must have” ideas for our own homes. As you can well imagine however, setting free the minds of creative people, such is an interior designers, can often result in… eclectic results.
And oh boy, have the designers beget some doosies through the years.
We’ve endured a turtle-themed master bedroom, a kitchen adorned with statues but devoid of a sink, and a family room carpet made of sod.
Our all-time favorite creation continues to be the inexplicable prehistoric theme bathroom; resplendent with moss dripping from the shower rod (personally, I work hard to avoid this in my house) and even more inexplicable — 10”spikes adorning the toilet seat lid which rendered the lid incapable of opening all the way.
Apparently, things were tougher during prehistoric times than I even imaged.
This year we were treated to closet organizers the likes of we had never seen before, which left my mom and I with a serious case of “gotta-have-that!” syndrome. An approximately 12’ x 12’ section 
of basement was converted into an elegant Tuscany-themed walk-in wine closet. Although a relatively small piece of real estate compared to the rest of the house, this refuge was the highlight of the tour. The compact custom wine rack must have easily stored 200 bottles of the grape. A small wine refrigerator fit perfectly under a granite counter top. Custom cabinetry was lit from within, showing off the gleaming stemware and small earth tone dishes. Matching drawers slid out easily and were roomy enough to hold all the essentials of proper wine enjoyment; cheese serving accessories, corkscrews, bottle stoppers and aerators. There was even room-to-spare for a small bistro table and chairs, which of course my mom and I took advantage of, sitting a few minutes just to take the beauty of this custom closet design before the next group of visitors anxious to see the space for themselves moved us along.
In all my years of visiting the Designer House, no other creation has impressed me more than this custom closet design and made me more desirous of having one of my very own.
Until then, at least I have the moss.
Contact the Closet Organizers at Closet & Storage Concepts, to help your create your dream custom closet or Call 1-888-THE-CLOSET.