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Not Enough Closet Space? Clothes Racks to the Rescue

Older homes often lack closet space (as do some other small apartments, condos and houses), which can leave the occupants searching for ways to store their clothes. Freestanding wardrobes may be too bulky, but a clothes rack might work. Some offices and other workspaces might find a clothes rack handy, too. While there are plenty of utilitarian options, some designs are especially noteworthy.

Back in 2008, we wrote about the DINO clothes rack from designer Lincoln Kayiwa. Now Kayiwa has collaborated with Materialise to create the cool-looking DINO Module, with its 3D printed hangers. The varying hanger lengths ensure that the DINO will accommodate both long and short clothing pieces. (But this also means the DINO won’t work for an end user with all long items.) The spacers help ensure that there’s enough room for bulky items such as winter coats. 

Having the shelf above the rod provides additional storage. And the rack is on locking casters, so it can be moved around reasonably easily. 

The Tati coatrack from Asplund was designed by Johan Ridderstråle and Mats Broberg. It has an optional hat knob as well as optional hooks to use in addition to whatever hangers the end user chooses. The base is either Carrara marble or black granite, so it’s not going to tip over easily. 

The Tris, from Mox, was designed by Gerhard Gerber.

It consists of three solid chrome-plated steel tube frames, connected with four synthetic joints.

With this design, the Tris can be configured in various ways, providing some flexibility for the end user.

Photo: Amanda Hestehave

Some clothes racks provide enclosed storage, too. As a member of the Holdbar design group, Annika Göransson created the Alfred for the group’s exhibition during Paris Design Week 2015.

This is another design which can be rearranged a bit to meet the end user’s needs: a compact design vs. one which allows for more long items to be hung, and stacked vs. non-stacked drawers.

The 7-Day Closet was designed by Golf Jakkapun Charinrattana, one of the designers at Studio248, for MilliMatter.

One nice addition to this design is the pole which can hold ties, slacks, etc. The drawers are intended for clothes which can be folded; with at least one of them, the end user can glance inside to remember what’s stored there. The drawers are sized differently than those in the Alfred; each sizing choice will work best for some subset of end users.

Noodles Noodles & Noodles has clothing racks with shelves, crates or both; each of the four side shelves in this model can be fitted with a crate. Casters and hooks are optional, too. All of this gives the end user some nice options. Those crates are billed as a way to store smaller items, but they seem quite large; I’d think little items would get lost inside them.

Some clothes racks take the form of screens or room dividers. Apparel from Opinion Ciatti, designed by Vera & Kyte, is made of lacquered steel. It has 10 coat hooks, and clothes can also be draped over the bars or (for scarves and such) passed through one of the diamond-shaped openings. 

Hooks are easier to use than hangers, so this design could appeal to those who want a super-simple way to hang up some clothes. However, given the placement of those hooks, some items may be hard to see.

Photos: James Champion

Loris&Livia’s screen was part of a series of prototypes presented during the London Design Festival 2008. For those end users who would could use a screen, the flexibility here is nice, allowing one item to serve as a coat rack, a screen or both at any given time—and also allowing for the four sections to be folded into different arrangements.

Natalia Géci’s Nomadic Linko System is a system of metal frames, wooden hinges and accessories that can be combined into a wide range of configurations. Flexibility galore!

The system provides numerous storage options (hooks, hangers, shelves, pockets, etc.) as well as things like mirrors. My concern here (as with many screen-type racks) would be stability; would a large rambunctious dog easily knock it over?