I’ve always dreamed of that perfect Pinterest closet… the kind that just stops you in your tracks.
It wasn’t until we moved into our forever home that I could finally give myself one!
I chose California Closets after researching many custom closet companies, because I was really unimpressed by both the quality and color selections of other wood laminate systems available.
The companies I considered were ClosetMaid, Home Decorators, and Martha Stewart, and at the time, none of them offered anything besides White, Cherry, or Espresso.
I looked at sample pieces of those collections at Home Depot, and the quality of the wood was just not there.
Ultimately California Closets had the biggest selection of different options and the best product.
They all had the look of real wood, not a flat or cheap, shiny looking laminate which fit my personal style.
Today I am going to give you some insight into the California Closets process, such as how their free estimates work as well as their installation services.
Below is a review of my experience with California Closets, on a scale of 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
Disclosure: California Closets did NOT sponsor this post, all opinions are my own. Affiliate links are used in this post.
Related: Build This Custom Nursery Closet for $100
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CALIFORNIA CLOSETS DESIGN PROCESS: 5
About the Free Design Consultation
California Closets boasts a free design consultation on their website so I figured there was no harm in setting up an appointment.
I wasn’t able to find any ballpark pricing online so I wanted to at least get a quote to determine the closet cost.
A local design consultant got back to me within 24 hours and my free consultation was set for the same week.
She was extremely knowledgeable… I could tell she had been doing this for quite a while.
She was very helpful in creating my desired design, which leading up to this I had no idea what I wanted.
With walk-in closets, there are A LOT of measurement specs to consider and you have to analyze your current & future wardrobe needs.
For example, in order to choose how many shoe racks you need, you need to actually take inventory of how many shoes you own.
Next, she set up my master bedroom closet design in a 3-D CAD drawing which gave me a real vision of what it would look like.
I fell in love after seeing the custom design and I knew I had to make it happen.
Related: Decorating Our Master Bedroom with Vaulted Ceilings
CALIFORNIA CLOSETS SALES PRESSURE: 2
About the Sales Process
Before the in-home consultation concluded, the local designer did ask if I wanted to move forward with the quote to get started on my new closet.
Although my heart already did, I knew I needed to discuss with my husband and sleep on it.
I told her I would get back to her within a week, and she was completely respectful about that decision.
I was expecting some aggressive sales tactics, but luckily there were no acts of desperation.
She followed up by phone one week after the consultation to see if I had made a decision.
I decided to move forward, and we finalized my design after some last minute questions.
Selection changes were easy and she was transparent on any upgrade costs. We finalized what design options fit within my budget.
CALIFORNIA CLOSETS INSTALLATION PROCESS: 4
About the Installation Process
Once we agreed on the final cost, the wait time for an install date was two weeks after I signed the contract.
Due to supply chain issues with Covid, I definitely recommend asking about product line availability early on.
Of course, I was ready to go THE NEXT DAY because I was so excited, but it was a blessing because I needed to take care of a lot of prep work first.
As you’ve seen in the before photo, we needed to paint over the pale, light pink walls and trim before the closet system could be installed.
I also swapped out the hideous fluorescent light fixture for a new, sparkling, glam one.
Clearing the room meant removing all of my clothes.
I took that opportunity to sort through everything and donate what I no longer wanted.
Total time for the installation team to finish was 4 hours, about a 1/2 day.
Related: How to Build a Beautiful Baby Clothes Organizer
CALIFORNIA CLOSETS QUALITY: 5
About the Product Quality
Here’s my overall rating!
I really can’t speak highly enough about the final result, quality of their product and customer service – it was all a great experience.
When I look over the final product, all of the boards have a real wood look with a textured wood grain you expect.
In reality, the boards are made of a laminated composite which means virtually no maintenance and allows for the variety of finish and texture options.
Nothing in this closet system is plastic – you can tell they have used high-quality materials.
The standard drawers come as soft close, with under mount slides that are not visible and can hold more weight.
Everything is solid, sturdy construction.
Since everything was customizable you chose exactly how you wanted each section set up. There are custom storage solution options for both large and small spaces.
All of the shelving comes adjustable and removable as your wardrobe needs may change in the future.
They also offer great customization options if you want extra features.
The option to add the adorable cupped drawer pulls was the icing on the cake!
CALIFORNIA CLOSETS WARRANTY: 5
About the Warranty
A lifetime warranty is provided for as long as you own the home where the system was installed, and as long as the system remains at its installation site.
As I mentioned above, this wall-mounted system is sturdy and will never budge, but it is nice to know that if I do have any issues they will fix or replace it at no cost.
CALIFORNIA CLOSETS COST AND PRICING: 2
About the California Closets Cost and Pricing
Disclaimer: These costs likely vary by your zip codes!
Reach-in closets are also not an apples to apples comparison.
My California Closets Total Cost per Square Foot = $72.62 per Square Foot
My California Closets Total Cost per Linear Foot = $110 per Linear Foot
My California Closets Total Cost = $2,640
My Walk-in Closet Dimensions = approximately 6 Ft Length x 6 Ft Width x 8 Ft Height
The prices above were calculated from the final total including materials AND labor costs for installation.
CA Closets tends to run monthly promotions, which change often.
I saved some money off of retail price by taking advantage of that promotion, which was a free upgrade to one of their premium finish product lines.
I’m rating the price low because they were more expensive than most closet solutions I considered, but you really do get what you pay for.
It was higher than I had originally planned to spend, but that’s ALL home renovation projects.
I have never had a project come in UNDER budget.
Over the past few years of owning this home, the biggest thing I have learned is not to settle for something you don’t really want just because it costs less.
SAVE your money, be patient, and wait for a sale – you’ll be so glad you did in the end.
Related: IKEA Cubby Hack DIY
FINAL THOUGHTS on CA Closets
I am thrilled with my new beautiful closet and how pain free the entire process was.
Of course, there will always be a larger, fancier closet on Pinterest but our master closet is the best version of the available space I had.
All of the baskets you see were purchased at The Container Store!
They have the widest variety of basket dimensions so you’ll almost surely finds something that will fit your shelves.
I look forward to adding décor and filling the shelves with more clothes and shoes over the years.
We will definitely be using California Closets for future projects!
If you are currently researching custom closet companies, I hope you found the pricing information useful.
I know I searched endlessly trying to find ballpark pricing online and I couldn’t find any.
CHECK OUT MY DREAM CA CLOSET
First, the ugly before!
Finally, here it is now!
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Frequently Asked Questions about Closet Organizers
Does a California Closet increase home value?
The short answer is yes, a custom closet can help with the resale value of your home. Having a large walk in closet in the master bedroom is now a non-negotiable for most buyers. However, does having a California Closets brand closet matter to a buyer? Probably not, as long as it was put in with quality product.
Is California Closets solid wood?
According to their own website, all of California Closets’ boards are made with laminated composite, which is made with recycled wood fibers. Because it’s laminated, they are able to offer a variety of finishes and textures that are not available with solid wood.
Next Up
While you’re thinking about updating closets in your home, you’ll also want to check out our DIY tutorial on building a kids closet for $100 or this affordable AND easy to install closet system we used in our daughter’s next bedroom.
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Hello, how recent was this project completed? Would like to know if prices are still relevant. Thanks
Hi there! About a year and a half ago. Hopefully they haven’t changed too much since then 🙂 XO, Kelly
HI! Great review! I was wondering if you could explain how you calculated your linear feet? I can’t figure out how you got 24 feet from a 6x6x6 room. Trying to use your estimates to calculate for ourselves but am stumped! In my head that is just 18 feet if you used each wall in its entirety. This feels like one of those math problems they post on facebook where everyone knows the right answer but you…LOL. Thanks in advance!
Linear feet of the shelving, i’m assuming. the walls that were mentioned are 6′ and the standard shelving is about 2′ wide – this would be 24 linear feet…. i’m guessing that’s where she got this number.
Hi there! So sorry I am just seeing this. We included the entry wall as well, where the doorway is, since it’s a walk-in closet the room is actually square (4 walls). Hope that makes sense 🙂 XO, Kelly
I agree with Lauren Kim that the linear feet calc is misleading and probably closer to $175. You have 6’ of closet on the back wall and probably about 4’ on each left and right (assuming back wall shelving/drawers have a depth of about 2’) for a total of 14’. If I have a room that is 100 linear feet but put California closets on 6’ of wall space, I don’t divide the price by the linear footage of the whole room…just the 6’ of wall that has the shelving.
2022 – yes this is old (2016) and misleading. Nobody counts the front wall where the door is unless there is product on it and to do that you would need a much bigger closet. The way they calculated this makes the per foot seem much less than it really is.
This was super helpful. Thank you for your post! Considering CC and this was so informative and thorough. Can’t wait to get started. So nice to see real $ numbers online too.
Question- Did you make the higher level choices? Are there tiers of finishes and functionality?
So glad to hear that! I’d love to see your project if and when you hire them. Are you on Instagram? Tag or direct message me if so! 🙂
I chose the Lago Collection – Adriatic Mist color which was I believe on level about the basic. I really really wanted the wood grain finish/look! It’s very nice in person. I also chose the cupped pulls which was an upgrade too. I remember though that CC had a promotion at the time that you could upgrade your finish for free! and then pulls didn’t cost much since I only needed 4 of them. If you end up talking to a CC sales rep, ask them what promotions they are running that month, and they’ll tell you they do a different one every month. So if you don’t like the promotion in March, hold off until April to see what the next one is 🙂 and definitely negotiate!! I told her what my budget was (which was less than her initial quote total) and she got down to my budget by discounts and also we took a few unnecessary things away. Hope this helps 🙂 – Kelly
Super excited that this was a positive experience! We recently got a quote from CC and Container Store (3rd company coming today!). CC came in least expensive (so far) for our project and because of the in home consultation with CC we got some great ideas that will work better in the space. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Yay! Tag me whenever it’s complete I’d love to see. XO, Kelly
Hi there, whta location is this? Had a CC quote today that is my higher than your costs and I get only 4 drawers, 4 baskets, racks and hanging space all in white.
You seem to have more drawers which usually are pricier.
Thanks
Hi Selma, I’m located in Baltimore, Maryland 🙂 I am sure pricing can vary state to state. I know when I purchased there was a promotion going on that I got the Lago collection finish for the price of their standard white. Ask if they have any current promotions where you can save and also don’t be afraid to say my budget is X and try to negotiate! They want the sale! XO, Kelly
Try choosing a local closet company in your area, other than CC. They provide the same quality product as CC and offers quality options and colors. And they have a vested interest and reputation (usually the owner, designer) in the community. But to compare to the box stores quality is like comparing the NFL to high school football. You were not going to install or design it yourself anyway. Local closet dealers for Org Home.com (or other companies) provide the same quality product and service backed by a large corporation with a Lifetime Warranty. Of course, those companies that offer discounts monthly should have competitive prices year round or beware the ones that say “40% off and free installation” How high were those prices!! It’s not a DYI for most clients anyway!
Compare your connection with the owner and their local reputation before you go up against a Hugh franchised corporation.
You will be glad you did.
Thank you so much for a great review! I’ve been on the fence about splurging with CA Closets or going cheaper with IKEA and other closet systems. Did you ever explore the designing process with The Container Store? If so, what were your thoughts on them? Specifically the Elfa or Avera system. Thanks!
Hi Pam, I see your post asking about Avera. I’m looking into this line and want to compare costs with CC. What did you end up picking?
Thanks,
Monica
Thank you so much for such a detailed review. My husband and I are planning a closet remodeling. We received free consultation from California Closets and Closets by Design. Only a few hundred dollars difference in price (CBD cost before 40% discount is $7,700+) between the two.
I’m leaning towards CC because I like having the 3D CAD as it gives a truer picture of what the closet will look like upon completion
While the CBD consultant was very nice, he had to draw the plan by hand and then it was 1-dimensional..
Again, thank you for the greatly appreciated review!!
You’re welcome! CC is pricey but still so worth it 🙂 Nothing makes my heart happier than an organized and pretty closet! Lol.