One of the most fun aspects of becoming a mother is buying, organizing and displaying baby clothes. It starts when you first become pregnant and increases after your baby shower when you’re full-blown nesting.
The problem is most standard closets are equipped with one high shelf and hanging rod, but baby, toddler, and kids clothes are much smaller than adults. I’m going to show you a great baby closet DIY that will work for a baby boy or baby girl! Learn how to build this beautiful nursery closet organizer so you can maximize every inch and put the entire closet to use.
A huge thank you to Modular Closets for providing this closet system free of charge. As always all opinions expressed here are my own. Affiliate links are used in this post, at no cost to you.
Related: How to Design the Nursery of Your Dreams
Start by purchasing a nursery closet organizer that will grow with your child.
Start by purchasing a nursery closet organizer that will grow with your child. I know this post is focused on baby’s closets, but the closet system pictured can be used for children of all ages. In fact, to use this exact closet system for an adult I would simply remove one of the double hanging sections to make room for long hanging.
Make sure it is also easy to install so that you can do it yourself. You will save a lot this way! We paid almost $1,000 to have our master bedroom closet professionally installed when we first moved in. At the time my husband did not feel confident enough to do it himself.
Our next project was our daughter’s first nursery closet where we used a cheap closet organizer that my husband installed himself. We added some upgraded features and had to make some specialized cuts, so it ended up taking him most of a weekend. It turned out really well for the cost, but it won’t work long-term for a teenager or adults closet.
What I loved about Modular Closets was they offer a high-quality, easy to install closet organizer at a very affordable price. What about them is high-quality?
- Their closet panels are made of 3/4″ thick European Birch Plywood, instead of particle board.
- They use solid grade wood which allows any section to be trimmed down with a clean cut.
- Each drawer box is also made of solid birch wood with dovetail joints.
Design your baby’s closet with wardrobe specifics in mind.
Design your baby’s closet with wardrobe specifics in mind. Do you have a lot of cute baby clothing you want to be hung on display? Do you have a lot of onesies and leggings you want to be folded away?
Remember that baby, toddler, and kids clothes are much smaller than adult clothes, so I recommend double hanging on both sides to maximize your wall space. Baby shoes are also quite small so full-length shoe shelving doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Consider what you will be storing and make sure there is a place for everything – I recommend a mix of open and closed storage. Think about whether drawers are a must-have and how much open shelving you’d like. In our daughter‘s closet, I have three spots for hidden storage. She has four good-sized drawers, three large baskets, and two small boxes with lids.
After you get an idea of the features you want, measure your closet and draw out the dimensions. First, check the pre-designed closets by Modular Closets to see if any of those will work for you. Otherwise, you can send your dimensions to them with any specific requests and they will create a design + drawing for you.
Related: The Very Best Blackout Curtains for Your Nursery
Remove any existing shelving from your baby’s closet then prep the walls.
Time to get to work on your baby closet DIY!
Remove any existing shelving and prep your walls. After you pull off any shelving, most likely you’ll need to spackle and sand the holes left on the wall. Take your time doing this so the wall is nice and smooth before painting.
Prime the walls first and then roll a fresh coat of bright white paint on. Remember parts of your wall will be showing behind the closet organizer!
Our favorite white paint color is Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. It’s a true white with no undertones.
Below are before and after photos of this process.
Related: The IKEA Cubby Hack Every Parent Should Know!
Assemble and install each Modular Closets section.
The next step is to assemble and install each Modular Closets section. Start by unboxing all of the materials and organizing them by order of the instructions.
Gather all of the required tools listed in the instructions. Read the instructions in advance, to make sure you have everything you need before you start. Almost all projects end up with a last minute trip to Home Depot!
Plan out your baby closet DIY project in advance to remain stress-free.
Related: 17 Ideas for Nursery Shelves You’ll Love
I recommend having two people to install each section on the wall. My husband lifted and screwed it into each stud while I held it tight and flush against the wall.
We put the two outer sections in first and then both of us squeezed the middle section in last. Our measurements were exact which meant each piece fit like a glove and required a little shimming to get it just right.
He made sure each section was completely level before fully screwing it in.
The entire planning, assembly, and installation process of the DIY closet from start to finish was about 5 hours. There’s always a learning curve when it’s your first time doing something – it will be a lot faster if we tackle another closet soon.
Overall though my husband said this is the easiest system he has worked with. It required no special cuts and all holes were pre-drilled.
You can design your own closet on their website or request that they design it for you for free!
Hand-pick baskets, drawer hardware, and hangers to make your baby closet DIY one of a kind.
Hand-pick baskets, drawer hardware, and hangers to make your nursery closet organizer one of a kind – they will give you all of the heart eyes! The Modular Closets organizer did include drawer knobs, but I found these gold bow knobs instead that are just to die for.
While this baby closet organizer came with chrome hanging rods, another cute idea would be to spray paint them a pretty brass color.
Before looking for baskets, I measured the closet shelving to make sure I chose one that utilized as much shelf space as possible… these striped baskets fit absolutely perfect and hold a lot of stuff! It would have been cheaper to use plastic white hangers, but these wood kids hangers make their little outfits look so chic.
Full Tutorial: The Finished Product
Don’t you love the finished product? Our new baby closet has come a long way! It now has plenty of hanging space and drawer space for all those little baby things.
I chose to remove our bifold closet doors altogether because didn’t want the extra cost of upgrading to new ones. Plus, they block my view of the pretty baby clothes organizer I worked so hard to create!
Consider removing your closet door if you don’t like yours or find it’s always in the way.
Shop Our Baby’s Closet:
Building Your Baby’s Closet – Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up my baby’s closet?
Most closets are not built for nurseries. There is typically one hanging rod with empty space underneath all the way down to the floor. Baby clothing is so tiny, in order to utilize all the closet space you really need double hanging on both sides. Organize baby’s clothes by size with cute baby clothes dividers like these.
We published a great DIY tutorial on how to build a custom nursery closet for only $100. This will help you maximize the space in your baby’s closet!
Typically you will have either drawers or open shelving with baskets in the center which are perfect for corralling smaller things together. Put labels on each basket that way you don’t have to pull the basket out every time you forget what’s in each one. If you have a Cricut machine to make your own, even better.
Another easy way to make labels is simply to use cute gift tags and handwrite on them. Target always has beautiful white or gold gift tags you could use, with a metallic pen from Michael’s.
Finally, put up cute baby closet organizers to divide your clothing by size so you’re not always checking clothing tags to remind yourself which ones baby can wear.
What do you need in a baby closet?
It really depends on whether you have a closet AND nursery dresser. If you have both, what is the size of your dresser – does it have 3 drawers or 6 drawers?
Here are some baby closet organization ideas…
As a general rule, hang your dressiest outfits in the closet such as dresses, rompers, dress shirts, dress pants, cardigans, etc. Personally, I hang my best looking one piece sleepers in there as well which I use daily. You don’t want your closet to look bare, but you also don’t want it bursting at the seams. Display your most favorite articles of clothing and once filled, store the rest hidden in your dresser. We have some great tips on how to organize your nursery dresser if you scroll to the bottom of the post.
While I keep blankets, burp cloths, sleep sacks, onesies etc in the dresser, use your closet baskets (or drawers) for small items like shoes, socks, headbands, hats, and a system for baby clothing as it becomes too small. If you do not have space for a dresser, you’ll want to use standalone drawer organizers to maximize the floor space of the closet as well.
The top shelf of the closet can serve as a catch all for large items such as an extra crib mattress cover, extra boppy pillow, diaper bag, blankets you’re not using yet, baby carrier, etc.
Need More Baby Nursery Inspiration?
We hope you loved this baby closet DIY tutorial! It really was easy and the result is oh so satisfying.
Don’t worry! This closet organizer has so much storage space that it’s not just a kid’s closet – it even works for adults.
For more nursery closet inspiration, check out these 10 Baby Closet Ideas we know you’ll love!
We’ve also got a great post with 25 beautiful playroom storage ideas to inspire you.
Other Related Posts
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How to Decorate Walls in a Nursery Without Painting
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9 Baby Cribs That Won’t Break the Budget
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