Walk-in closets are indicators of luxury and many people dream of having a house with one. In fact, some of the most famous inspirations for these storage spaces come from films from the last ten years. We will analyze walk-in closets most known and coveted from contemporary movies and break them down to replicate them.
Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement (Walk-in Closet
The Queen introduces Princess Mia to her new suite in Genovia. Her bedroom includes an expansive walk-in closet with drawers that open up using a remote control. The drawers store her sunglasses and jewels while a pair of cabinet doors reveal crowns for her to wear. This movie has been referenced for its extensive scene of the “dream walk-in closet.”
Replicating the walk-in closets
There are several columns of European contemporary designed cabinets; characterized by a minimalist uniform look. There is no wood grain on these surfaces, as usual for the European style, so these are painted light brown. There are appearances of handles and several drawers are opened via the circular notch. Otherwise, they are presumed to be open by remote control which is why the other cabinet panels have no handles. The cabinets are not floor-to-ceiling and appear two feet taller than Mia so she would have to reach higher items.
On the left side, we have a column of shoe racks with seven tiers and two mirrored columns of wardrobe cabinet doors. Beside them are notched storage drawers that we can see close up when Fat Louie plays with the remote control. This is custom cabinetry with different drawers. The base cabinets have two sets of seven rows of drawers with a larger cabinet door on the right. The top half of those cabinets have four tiers of large clear drawers and two sets of eight shallow drawers.
Lastly, on the right side, there are full outfits on merchandising style sloped racks separated by tops and bottoms. Past the gray pillar, there are six base drawers activated by remote control, which that hold jewelry. On top of those drawers are three boxes of jewelry, lit by the undermount lights from the upper cabinets. The double cabinet doors reveal crowns on stands and the cabinet box is lined in velvet.
Sex and the City 2 (The Dream Walk-in Closet)
This HBO series spawned two theatrical releases. While most of the movie takes place in Abu Dhabi, they live in a luxury apartment. This includes a large walk-in closet that houses most of Carrie Bradshaw’s fashionable clothes and accessories. Although we don’t get to see the other side of the walk-in closet in the scene, there is an image of the whole room.
Replicating the walk-in closets
First up, we see two cabinet systems next to each other that appear to be a white shaker style. Each of these is floor-to-ceiling cabinets.
The two left side cabinets have a base of two sliding drawers with a stylized inset face panel. There are two oblong spherical silver handles on each drawer. There is a toekick panel at the base of these cabinets to give the drawers a little bit of height. Above that is Carrie’s shoe collection in a four-tier shelving cabinet with folding wing doors that hide at the sides. Above those are double door cabinets with silver knobs at the outer corners, same handles as the drawers.
The three right side cabinets have a base of two sliding drawers. These are lower than the left cabinets because there’s no toekick panel to raise their height. Above those are wardrobe closets with a mounted rack for long dresses and outfits. The wardrobe doors also fold and hide to the sides of each wardrobe. There are double door cabinets with knobs at the corners on top of these cabinets.
(Note: Although the scene does not show the other side of the walk-in closet, it has a similar layout on both sides. This side is a brown tone faceless European design, compared to the white shaker style. Each section features a closet pole and 3 drawers on the bottom. There is additional open shelving on top of each section. Lastly, there are under cabinet lighting above each section’s closet pole.)
The Great Gatsby (Walk-in closets in the Bedroom)
Based off of the novel of the same name, Jay Gatsby brings Daisy to his opulent home. Jay clothes to the mezzanine of his bedroom and throws colorful clothes all over Daisy, giggling at his whimsy. Rather than a separate closet, the wardrobe space is located above his bedroom. The storage of these clothes adds to the luxury of the scene in the movie.
Replicating the walk-in closets
There is a lot to unpack. Literally. There are several cabinet storage systems on the mezzanine, all in espresso hardwood, a classic elegant color.
First of all, the cabinets closest to the staircase has cabinet shelving where Gatsby opens glass panel doors to grab his hats. Each hat looks to have its own place on those shelves. On the same unit, the center doors are high solid brown cabinet doors with silver door levers. On the right of this unit are open cube organizing shelves (or cubbyholes). In other words, this cabinet unit has base cabinets with four rows of solid wood banker drawers.
Next up, Gatsby moves past a corner installation of cubbyholes with double door cabinets with silver door levers. From this angle, we can deduce these are all floor-to-ceiling cabinets. This corner unit has similar center cabinet doors as the first unit.
In the center of this mezzanine level, there is a four-column cabinet storage unit emphasizing the symmetry of this room. Interestingly, everything in that storage unit is all marked by “fours.” Four columns of four rows of banker drawers, four-by-four cubbyholes, and topped with four tall cabinet doors.
The left side of the room mimics the right side except where the spiral staircase descends into the bedroom proper. Finally, a ladder is present to access the higher cabinet areas of the mezzanine.
(Note: Interesting side note is that this aesthetic is very modern and based on European contemporary furniture design. The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920’s America. A person of Gatsby’s status would reflect traditional furniture.)
Crazy Rich Asians (Exotic Walk-in Closets of the Century)
Rachel, an economics professor, travels to Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick Young, unaware that he comes from an extremely wealthy high-society family. Rachel’s college friend, Goh Peik Lin, explains how wealthy Nick Young’s family. Let’s break down Peik Lin’s designer walk-in closet piece-by-piece.
Replicating the walk-in closets
Goh Peik Lin has a lavish aesthetic combining custom natural wood, purple, rose (dark pink), cream, and embellished gold trim. On either side of the screen are two-tone cabinets with floor-to-ceiling storage columns with a single cream toekick panel.
Starting with the natural wood units, two columns have four rows of drawers with clear panels and gold knobs. Above those is a rack for short dresses and blouses with two tiers of open shelving for boxes above them. There is a natural wood column closest to the camera without drawers for long dresses and coats.
Next to the natural units are “antique white” wardrobe cabinets, since that is a popular color for cabinets. The doors have raised panels with a purple flower pattern design and clear diamond shaped knobs. Above the wardrobe doors are double door cabinets with similar raised panels and knobs.
There are cabinet doors with rose inset panels and antique white borders across the screen. The shoe rack column has four shelves for shoes and two tiers of shelving for shoe boxes at the top.
Interesting thing to note is that this walk-in closet mixes 2 different styles. The cabinetry reflect a traditional style while the doors show a contemporary design. The mix of the Antique White doors and the embellished gold trim in fact show a sign of wealth.
Overall
Walk-in closets found many of these iconic movies are built with many forms of storage. The complexity of each closet reflects not only the different personalities of the owners but the sophistication each one has. Many of these closets featured multiple drawers, under cabinet lighting, and open shelving. Whether its storage for jewelry, shoes, or even purses, these walk-in closets display all of a person’s luxury clothes like a grand museum.
