“Go big or go home” is what you’ve been told about how to decorate your bedroom, but this could be draining your pockets and ruining your space to look great but feel altogether wrong.
Take a trip through any home improvement centre, and you’ll find yourselves drowning in publications featuring spreads of multi-million-dollar master bedroom suites and celebrities’ closets large enough to hold entire apartments. The message: luxury = quality of life. What these publications won’t, however, guide you through, in terms of understanding what provides the most satisfaction for your bedroom remodel, has to do with understanding what sets two vastly different options on the table apart: full luxury interior design solutions or custom closet designs.
The question of which route to take in either scenario has to do with more than just a price difference (even if that is a factor in this decision). It has to do with understanding that in either case, you are seeking a type of knowledge that can solve your own set of problems related to establishing that desired bedroom environment you can enjoy living in on a daily basis
Myth and Reality
1:Luxurious interior designers manage everything more skilfully. → Expert Closet Professionals Provide Excellent Storage Options
Interior designers are masters at putting together a cohesive, beautiful space that flows perfectly from room to room. They are knowledgeable about colour theory, lighting psychology, and how to transform a 12 by 14 bedroom into an opulent haven. However, their extensive knowledge frequently falls short of what a trained closet designer might provide in terms of making the most of every cubic inch of closet space. Custom closet experts have devoted their whole lives to the study of storage psychology, which examines how various individuals arrange their possessions and develops solutions that adjust to shifting clothing requirements. They know a man’s closet needs differ drastically from generic storage solutions-longer hanging for suits, specialized shoe storage for the different types of footwear, and drawer configurations that make sense for masculine accessories.
A fancy interior designer will spec a gorgeous built-in armoire that looks great in an Instagram photo, but a closet specialist is going to design a system that saves you 10 minutes every morning and keeps your expensive clothes in pristine condition for years longer.
2:Increased Spending Always Leads to Better Outcomes → Total Spending Is Subordinated to Strategic Investment
Here’s where most guys get it wrong: they assume that spending $50,000 on a full bedroom redesign will automatically create a better outcome than investing $15,000 in a phenomenal custom closet system. The reality is more nuanced and depends entirely on your actual lifestyle needs.
A custom closet system will make a world of difference in your daily life more than new paint shades and designer bedding if your current bedroom design is functional and you are satisfied with your current furniture and lighting fixtures but are exasperated by disorganization, lack of storage space, and poor dressing functionality.
Picture this, please. They include walls which do not offend my aesthetic sensibilities, a comfortable bed, and lighting. However, each day starts with a wrinkled closet rod full of messy clothes and stuffed dresser drawers. A $12,000 custom closet system, complete with appropriate compartments, adjustable shelving, and specialty storage for everything from cufflinks to weekend gear, revolutionizes your routine in ways a $50,000 makeover of the full room simply can’t touch.
3:One-size-fits-all solutions are beneficial for most bedrooms → Your Lifestyle Needs a Customized Solution
“The single largest mistake men make with respect to bedroom redesign is in choosing solutions based on generic recommendations, not on their own lifestyle patterns, personal interests, and final objectives.” One’s way of life should fit well in their bedroom, not the other way around.
“The single biggest mistake men do when it comes to redecorating their bedrooms is in choosing solutions based simply on general advice, rather than based on their particular
If you tend to work at home a lot, your bedroom may require a small workspace that an interior designer can incorporate into the overall design of your room. If you are a watch, shoe, or vintage clothing aficionado, a custom closet designer can design areas where you can view your collection. If you tend to travel a lot because of business, the two designers can design solutions for your storage needs that will make packing and unpacking stress-free.
Here is the key: it is an honest assessment of how you use your bedroom space – not how you think you should be using it or how you have seen otherwise great spaces allocated in design magazines.
4:Choosing the Best Option for Your Circumstance:
Whether to opt for luxury interior design, closet design, and other customization services depends on accurately diagnosing the core areas of pain that exist within the realm of interior design. If the bedroom feels small, outdated, and incongruous with one’s personal style, poor lighting, or just not functional for the way in which one lives, overall interior design is in order.
However, for those with most of the irritation being with storage, organization, and efficiency of everyday routines, a custom closet system would bring about far more dramatic improvements for far less money when it comes to quality-of-life upgrades.
Many successful bedroom makeovers integrate the best of both worlds – beginning with the design and installation of closet organizers as the first-step solution to functional issues and then consulting with an interior designer for the design overhaul.
5:Rely on Your Feelings Instead of Industry Marketing
The renovation trade makes money when there are complexity and maximum spend, but sometimes the greatest bedroom upgrades are achieved through surgical precision rather than replacement. A well-designed closet system can transform an average bedroom into an opulent one every morning, but stunning interior design that doesn’t fix storage issues will leave you frustrated, even when shots are Instagram-worthy.
Shake off outmoded wisdom that urges you towards the priciest possible plan and take action that resolves your own unique challenges, at the very least in a manner that honours your wallet and lifestyle.
Pros
Challenges the notion that higher cost always means higher value, effectively saying that in this case, a more focused and less expensive solution (such as custom closet) will sometimes provide greater everyday satisfaction.
Emphasizes personalized lifestyle needs rather than trends, urging the audience to pattern decisions around real-life routines and needs rather than the general kind presented in the typical magazine spread.
Advocates a hybrid or phasing approach, where the most effective way to solve the problem may well be a combination of the two approaches.
Cons:
Presents a kind of false dichotomy between interior designers and closet professionals in that many interior designers are actually quite proficient in integrated storage solutions.
May underestimate the value of a well-designed space, which, for many, serves an important role in their end-of-the-day feelings of well-being, independent of its functional value.
Is targeted at a very select group (men frustrated with disorganization), potentially alienating readers with other sets of priorities, or even shared use of a bedroom.
📚Reference
1: “Remodeling Impact Report: Bedroom Addition.” National Association of Home Builders. 2022.
2: California Closets. “Storage and Organization Survey: American Homeowner Habits.” 2024.