DIY Closet with Curtains on a Flexible Track

{{I have been meaning to post about this project (which I completed 7 months ago the week that my baby was born). I'm a bit late in posting it, but in all the Internet research I did to make this closet and curtains, I never found exactly what I was looking for. With that in mind, I thought I would post the basics on my closet solution for others to use.}}

The Need:

We recently moved into another room in our basement apartment. This was to be our bedroom, music room, office, and craft room...and it didn't have a closet. As renters, it needed to be somewhat temporary. We decided to build a little closet/shelf system against the wall and use curtains to cover it. (This room has some ducting along the ceiling of one wall, so we built it under the ducting, but this could be done against any wall).

Do it yourself:

Shelves:

1. Hardware. We started with a shelf and rod bracket like this one from Ace. We used a stud finder to space the brackets along the studs.

2. Shelf. We used an two old shelves our landlord had in his garage (measured 3 times and then cut to size with a jigsaw) and secured them to the brackets.

3. Rod. We went to the Ace place, bought a wooden dowel, and cut it to the correct length. It was super cheap. I recommend getting a plastic stopper for the end. We haven't, and clothes fall off the ends of the rod.

Organization:

4. We used two inexpensive ($19.99?) 2-shelf shelving units from Target for shoes. We also used some milk crates ($5?) to hold extra shoes.


5. We have a lot of clothes. We used some multi-level slack hangers from Fred Meyer (they look like this)--I really like them--and some tie hangers like these. That has helped A LOT. Still, our closet is super full.

6. If I cared more (I may still do this) I would get some cute bins for organizing stuff on the shelf.

The Curtain:

7. Track. I really wanted a sliding track that bent in a U-shape. It was really hard to find! We used the Konnect International pre-packaged bendable track. It was the perfect length for our project and very reasonably priced. ($45 plus shipping). I LOVED this track. It was exactly what I wanted. (They also will cut a track to fit your projects specs). Warning: though it is flexible, it is hard to bend it into place...it is definitely a 2 person job. (It comes with all of the hardware you need, except for something to attach it to the curtains). I also loved that the middle two rollers are magnet catches--they keep your curtains closed!

8. Curtain Clips. I really liked these curtain clips from Target. They were $5 for a 10-pack (cheaper than the hardware stores). They easily fit into the circular rings on the track system and clip onto the curtains (no sewing a place for a rod or setting grommets!)


9. Curtain. I believe I used this article to help me get an idea of how to sew the curtains. This was my first sewing project since junior high (15 years ago??) and it turned out very well, thank you. I did A LOT of measuring--length and width. On one of the hospital curtain track sites, it gave me an idea of how much curtain to order...if I find it I will come back and edit this post.

I bought the fabric at Joanne's. The solid brown is a thick heavier fabric, and the pattern is a lighter cotton--but they worked just fine together. I was originally going to use a canvas drop cloth for the fabric--I still think that is a fantastic idea. I ironed the curtains, clipped them to the clips, and--VOILA!!--I have a closet!

Here are a few sites I used for inspiration:

My original plan was more like this.

I ended up with more of this look.