Solid Wood Shelves For Closets – The Perfect Fit

At John Louis Home, we use only 100% grade a white pine to create our products. We never use particle wood, pressed wood, or composite materials.

The tools required for closet organizers are a tape measure, pencil, level, screwdriver, power drill, and a saw. John Louis Home recommends a table saw, chop saw, or a fine-toothed hand saw.

1. Measure Your Closet:

• Reach-in closets (narrow): Often work best with 12-inch deep organizers.
• Walk-in closets (larger): You can use 12-inch or 16-inch deep organizers, depending on how much space you have to move around.
• Always measure width, depth, and height.

2. Identify the Items You Plan to Store?

• Count your clothes, shoes, and accessories. Do you need extra hanging space, additional shelves, or more drawers?

3. John Louis Home Benefits:

• Real Wood: They use solid wood, not cheap particle board.
• "Cut-to-Fit": You cut the pieces to perfectly fit your closet, meaning no wasted space. Leftover pieces can become extra shelves!
• Adjustable: Customize your
  storage by shifting shelves to fit any item.
• Accessories: Add drawers, doors, shoe shelves, and more for a custom feel.

4. Simple Planning:

• Think about one organizer per wall.•Use corner shelving to maximize tricky spaces.
• The system mounts to your wall, keeping the floor clear.

5. DIY Friendly:

• They're designed for you to install with basic tools.

By knowing your closet size and storage needs, you can use John Louis Home’s flexible solid wood system to design an organized space.

Choosing DIY or professional installation for a John Louis Home closet system largely depends on your comfort level with tools, your available time, and your budget. John Louis Home designs its products with DIYers in mind, making installation simple for most homeowners.

DIY Closet System with John Louis Home

• Save Money: You cut out labor costs by installing it yourself.
• Custom Fit Made Easy: Their "cut-to-fit" solid wood system means you trim pieces to perfectly fit your exact closet, using every inch.
• Sense of Accomplishment: Build it yourself and enjoy the pride.Basic Tools: You only need common tools like a drill, saw, and tape measure.
• Easy Guidance: John Louis Home provides clear instructions and videos for easy installation.

Professional Installation (Less Common for John Louis Home)

• Convenience: Experts do the work, saving you time and effort.
• No Tools Needed: You don't have to own or rent any equipment.
• Higher Cost: This is the main downside, as labor adds significantly to the price.

Which Option Fits You Best? We highly recommend DIY installation for John Louis Home closet organizers. Set up these products quickly and easily on your own. However, if you’re short on time or not confident with tools, you can hire help—but it may cost extra.

John Louis Home’s cut-to-fit solid wood closet organizer makes DIY installation easy. Here's a general overview of the steps involved:

1. Plan & Measure:

• Measure everything accurately: Get the exact width, depth, and height of your closet space.
• Design your layout: Decide where your vertical towers will go, how many shelves you need, and the placement of hanging rods. John Louis Home offers various configurations and allows for custom designs.
• Identify wall studs: This is crucial for stability. You'll need to securely mount the system to wall studs for proper support.

2. Gather Your Tools:

• Tape measure, pencil, level, screwdriver (a power drill/screw gun is highly recommended)
• Saw (a table saw, chop saw, or fine-toothed hand saw for cutting shelves to size)
• A buddy! While not strictly necessary, having an extra set of hands makes assembly and installation much easier.

3. Assemble the Core Components:

• Assemble the Storage Towers: These are the main vertical structures. Follow the instructions to build the tower sides, top, and bottom using the provided cam lock system.
• Install Wall Brackets/Support Rails: Secure these to your wall studs at the desired height. While the top shelf and tower usually set at 84 inches, but you can adjust them higher or lower to suit your space. The tower can also sit flush with the floor if your baseboards allow.

4. Install Shelves and Hanging Rods:

• Cut-to-Fit Shelves: This is a key feature. You'll cut your solid wood shelves to the precise width needed for your closet. Any significant leftover pieces exceeding 24 inches into extra adjustable shelves for the towers.
• IInstall Shelves: Place shelves onto the support brackets and into the pre-drilled holes in the vertical towers. Shelves are adjustable, so you can change their height as needed. Some shelves can be positioned for easy and convenient shoe storage.
• Install Garment Bars: These typically go underneath the shelves and connect to specific brackets. John Louis Home’s metal garment bars let hangers glide smoothly. If you're installing in a corner, one bar might need to be trimmed shorter to allow hangers to slide freely.

.5. Add Accessories (Optional):

• Drawers: If you have drawers, install the soft-close slides and then assemble and install the drawers into the tower sections. Start from the bottom up if doing a full drawer bank.
• Doors: Add cabinet doors to cover sections of your towers.
• Other accessories: Install any pull-out valet rods, tie/belt racks, or other specialized accessories according to their instructions.

6. Finishing Touches:

• Insert mushroom caps into screw holes for a finished look.
• Use the provided stain pen for any touch-ups on cut ends or scratches.
• Check that every component is tightly secured and perfectly level.

John Louis Home makes installation simple with clear manuals and step-by-step videos. Their system is flexible, so you can customize it to perfectly fit your closet and storage needs.