Measure the Real Wall
Every wall measured top and bottom, because in these houses they are rarely the same.
Closets
Closets and
Built In Storage
Old houses were not built with storage. Built ins scribed to your actual walls are the way to get it without losing the room.
What We Do
Storage That Fits the House
Houses from this era have almost no closets. What storage exists is usually a shallow press with a single rail in it.
Flat pack systems assume square rooms and plumb walls. Neither is true here, which is why they end up with a two inch gap down one side.
We build to the wall that is actually there. That means using the alcove beside a chimney breast, or the odd depth left over when a room was subdivided.
Storage is the part of a remodel that gets cut first and missed every day afterwards.
- Walk in closet fit outs
- Reach in closet rebuilds
- Built in wardrobes and presses
- Alcove and under stair storage
- Shelving, rails and drawers
- Lighting inside the closet
What You Get
What a Closet Job Covers
Layout
Hanging, folding and shoe space worked out around what you actually own.
Carcassing
Built and fitted to the space, scribed so there are no gaps against uneven plaster.
Internals
Rails, shelves and drawers at heights that work rather than at standard spacings.
Lighting
Light inside the closet, which most of these never had.
Finish
Doors, trim and paint matched to the room.
How It Works
Four Steps From Call to Finished
The same process on every job in the New Orleans metro, whether it is one room or the whole house.
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Free On-Site Walkthrough
We come to the property and look at the actual house. On older New Orleans homes that means checking settling, moisture and what sits behind the plaster before anyone quotes a number.
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Written Scope and Price
You get closets written down: what is included, what is not, and what could change it. No charge and no obligation.
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One Crew, One Contact
Materials, trades and scheduling handled in house. You hear about problems the day we find them, not in a bill at the end.
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Walk It and Sign Off
We walk the finished work with you, write down anything you are not happy with, and fix it before the job is called complete.
Built-In Storage vs. Freestanding: What Actually Works in an Older New Orleans Home
Freestanding wardrobes and furniture pieces work in a pinch, but they eat into floor space that older New Orleans bedrooms usually can’t spare, since many were built before closets were a standard part of the room. Built-in storage, designed to fit the actual dimensions of the space, almost always makes better use of a small or irregular room than furniture bought off the shelf.
Built-ins also let you work with the quirks of an older house instead of fighting them, a sloped ceiling under a roofline, an odd nook next to a chimney, or a narrow closet depth that a standard wardrobe won’t fit into at all. The trade-off is that built-ins are part of the house once installed, so the design decisions matter more than they do with furniture you can swap out later.
Why Humidity Is the Real Enemy of Closet Materials
Closets are often the least ventilated space in a house, and in New Orleans that’s a real problem. Humidity gets trapped in a closed closet with no airflow, and over time that moisture warps cheap particleboard shelving, causes veneer to peel, and creates the right conditions for mold and mildew to grow on stored clothing and shoes.
Solid wood, moisture-resistant plywood, and properly sealed MDF hold up far better than basic particleboard in a humid closet, and they’re worth the difference. Adding a small vent, a louvered door, or even just leaving a gap for airflow at the bottom of a closet door does more for the long-term condition of the space than any material choice on its own.
Making an Awkward Closet Work: Common Layout Problems in Shotguns and Doubles
Shotgun houses and doubles often have narrow, deep closets tucked into odd corners, sometimes barely wide enough to open the door fully. A common mistake is installing a standard closet system designed for a square footprint into a space that’s actually long and narrow, which wastes most of the depth.
The better approach is designing storage around the actual shape of the space: shallow shelving on the long wall instead of a single hanging rod down the middle, or splitting the closet into distinct zones for hanging, folded storage, and shoes based on where the depth actually allows for each. A closet that’s measured and designed around its real footprint holds far more than one built to a generic layout.
Local Knowledge
Finding Space in an Old Plan
Shotguns and doubles were built as a chain of rooms with no hallway and no storage. Later subdivisions of those rooms left odd leftover depths that are perfect for built ins.
That is usually where the storage is hiding: beside a chimney breast, under a stair, or in the depth left over when a room was split.
- No original closetsStorage added without eating the floor area of the room
- Out of square wallsUnits scribed to real walls instead of butted and gapped
- Chimney alcovesThe most commonly wasted space in these houses
- HumidityVentilation and materials suited to a damp climate
Ready For a Straight Number?
Tell us what you want done. We will come look at the house and put it in writing.
They transformed my old kitchen into a modern space quickly and kept everything clean.
Lucas Rivera
They renovated our entire condo and the quality is top-tier. New flooring, fresh paint, and updated lighting throughout.
Sophie Ruby
A full main floor renovation. Honest pricing, high-quality materials, and a very hardworking crew.
Zachary Bailey
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you build a closet where there is none?
Usually yes. The question is whether it comes out of the room or out of space that is already being wasted. We look for the second first.
Why not a flat pack system?
They assume square rooms and plumb walls. In a house this old you get gaps and packers. Built in and scribed costs more and actually fits.
Can you match the room trim?
Yes, and it matters. Storage that picks up the existing millwork reads as part of the house rather than furniture pushed against a wall.
Do you do it alongside a bedroom renovation?
Usually the sensible way to do it. See bedroom renovation.
Is there a difference between renovation and remodeling?
In practice, no. People use both words for the same work, and we answer to either. If you want the longer version we wrote about it: renovating vs remodeling.
Will a closet renovation help with musty smells or mildew?
It can, if the renovation addresses ventilation and not just shelving. Adding airflow, a vent or louvered door, and swapping moisture-prone materials for ones that resist humidity are what actually stop musty smells and mildew from coming back, not new shelving alone.
What material holds up best in a humid closet?
Solid wood, moisture-resistant plywood, and properly sealed MDF hold up far better than basic particleboard, which warps and peels when it’s exposed to trapped humidity over time. Pairing better material with some form of airflow gives the best long-term result.
Can a small or oddly shaped closet actually be made more functional?
Yes, in most cases. Custom-designed storage that’s measured to the closet’s actual depth and shape, rather than a generic off-the-shelf system, typically makes far better use of an awkward space than what’s currently installed.
Cities We Serve
Closets Across the New Orleans Metro
Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and Tangipahoa parishes, and out to Baton Rouge.
- New Orleans
- Metairie
- Kenner
- Gretna
- Slidell
- Covington
- Mandeville
- Madisonville
- LaPlace
- Hammond
- St Rose
- Baton Rouge
Not listed? Call 504-470-0455. We cover most of the metro and the Northshore.
Explore Our Services
What Else We Do
One contractor, inside and out, across the New Orleans metro and the Northshore.
Where We Are
Based on Magazine Street
We work out of 3436 Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans, which puts most of the metro within a short run and the Northshore inside an easy morning.
- Address3436 Magazine Street #120-D
New Orleans, LA 70115 - Phone504-470-0455
- HoursMonday to Saturday, 8:00am to 5:00pm
Next Step
Let’s Talk About Closets
Tell us what you want done in New Orleans and we will come and look at the house. Free written estimate, no obligation, and a number that holds.
Free Estimate
Let's Look At Your House
Send this over and we will call you back to set up a walkthrough.
- Call504-470-0455
- Visit3436 Magazine Street #120-D
New Orleans, LA 70115 - HoursMonday to Saturday, 8:00am to 5:00pm