The beginning of the year is the perfect time to make your home improvement ideas a reality. But where should you start?

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to make your home improvement ideas a reality. Whether you need to renovate your pantry or your bedroom closet, custom-designed spaces are a great solution for your family.

But where should you start? The five most important rooms in your home that you should renovate this year are:

1. Your closet.

2. Your pantry.

3. Your garage.

4. Your mudroom.

5. Your home office.

These areas tend to accumulate a lot of clutter. However, when you install custom shelves and storage solutions in each of these rooms, you’ll become better organized and make every room in your home appear sophisticated and welcoming.

Home Improvement Idea #1: Remodel Your Master Closet

One of the most important home improvements you can make is remodeling your master closet from top to bottom. That’s because closets are some of the most clutter-prone spaces in your house—many of us tend to drop our clothes on the floor or stuff our unfolded clothes into crowded dresser drawers. However, this isn’t due to laziness. In most cases, lack of storage space and inconvenient storage locations are to blame.

Here are a few home improvement ideas to get your closet more organized this year:

Reach-In Closet Ideas

• Wardrobe Lifts: If you have limited space to work with, lifts can double the available storage area in your closet.

• Built-In Laundry Hampers: Rather than keeping a hamper on the floor, installing hampers directly into the wall will make your reach-in closet feel larger.

• Slide-Out Rods and Racks: Clothing racks and rods that can collapse maximize the space you have and make your closet appear tidier.

Walk-In Closet Ideas

• Closet Islands: Make use of ample floor space by designing a custom closet island or peninsula.  

• Display Cases: Use open shelves or glass display cases to improve visibility in your space—it’s often easy to lose items in a large walk-in closet.

• Mixed Storage: Have a mix of different storage options for every item in your wardrobe to keep you organized. Install adjustable shoe shelves, jewelry cases, and belt racks for your accessories.  

These simple home improvement ideas will not only refine the look of your closet, but they will also make your space more functional.

Home Improvement Idea #2: Get Your Pantry Organized

Now is the perfect time to get all of your pantry ingredients in order. Whether you need to bake some cookies for a party or you’re already thinking about what to make for a special dinner, now is the time for organizing your spice rack.

Here are the best home improvement ideas to get your pantry under control once and for all:

• Floor-to-Ceiling Lazy Susans: Store more kitchenware and ingredients without sacrificing visibility and accessibility. You won’t have to go searching for the oregano in the back of the cabinet ever again.

• Slide-Out Wine Racks: Stow away your best vintages until you’re ready to uncork them.

• Chrome Hooks: Keep your aprons, potholders, oven mitts and other essentials right where you need them.

• Soft-Close Drawers: Keep everything from linens and fine china to pots and pans in custom soft-close drawers. You’ll rest easy knowing that your expensive china and glassware won’t break if someone accidentally slams the drawer shut.

Whether you have a reach-in cupboard, a full walk-in pantry, or just a few cabinets installed around your kitchen counters, renovating these spaces will make your life easier.

Home Improvement Idea #3: Install Custom Garage Cabinets and Shelves

The garage is one of the most neglected spaces in most homes. Because this area is usually hidden away from sight, it becomes a catchall for everything from old sports equipment to tools. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. When you renovate your garage using custom cabinetry, you’ll make the space tidier and will finally have a place to store all of the loose nails rolling around in junk drawers.

The best home improvement ideas for your garage include:

• Adjustable Shelves: If you buy a new chainsaw, you won’t have to worry about whether it will fit on the shelf or not. You can change the dimensions of your shelves from item-to-item.

• Drawers with Built-In Dividers: Keep all of your nails, spare batteries, paintbrushes, and other tools in separate, built-in containers to prevent drawers from becoming cluttered and messy.

• Steel Shelf Reinforcement: Many tools are heavy, so install steel shelves that can hold up to 300 pounds.

• Metal Hooks: Store bikes, tools, and sports equipment on the ceiling or against the wall to keep the floor of the garage open and clear of clutter.

• Shoe Racks: If your garage doubles as your mudroom, then having shoe storage will keep your family from tracking dirt into the house when they get home.

Even if you rarely go inside your garage, you’ll find that renovating this space will help your family stay better organized in the long run.

Home Improvement Idea #4: Create a Modern Mudroom

If you’ve ever had to beg your child to put her backpack away properly instead of plopping it on the floor at the front door, then you need a new mudroom. Whether you’re prone to losing your car keys or you aren’t sure what to do with your shoes when you walk in the door, a mudroom is an ideal solution.

The best home improvement ideas to focus on when you create your mudroom are:

• Lockers or Cubbies: Each member of your household should have their own space. Not only does this make it more likely that they’ll use the storage space, but it also makes it easier to grab everything they need for the day from one place. You can even install doors to make the area look tidier.

• Chrome Hooks: Hang your keys, coats, scarves, backpacks, purses, and hats, leaving room below them for shoes.

A custom mudroom is a welcome sight to come home to every day. It separates the cozy interior of your home from the outside world, allowing you to fully relax after a long day at work or running errands.

Home Improvement Idea #5: Renovate Your Home Office

A home office should be a sanctuary for creativity and productivity. No matter what you use your home office for—filing your taxes or catching up on some work emails—you can make a few important improvements to your office that will make the space feel more calming and organized:

• Install a Desk That Actually Fits: Rather than shopping for a desk online or picking one out from an office supply retailer, design a custom desk from scratch that fits the dimensions of your room perfectly. You can even match the desk to custom cabinets and shelving, making one cohesive space.

• Include Storage Space for Everything: Don’t shove important tax documents in with your printer paper and extra pens. Having custom filing cabinets, shelves, drawers, and storage containers for each item will keep your home office organized.

• Let in the Light: It’s hard to read documents or finish math homework when the lighting is dim. Accent lighting can provide extra light to areas that need it, such as inside of dark cabinets or on the surface of a writing desk.

• Hide Cords Away: Cords from computers, printers, smartphone chargers, and routers all add clutter to an office. You can keep these cords tangle-free and well-hidden through the use of custom grommets.

When you make these home improvements in your office, you’ll make your space more functional and more aesthetically pleasing. You’ll actually want to get to work.

Which Home Improvements Should You Start With?

Whether you want to renovate all of these spaces in your home or you only want to focus on improving two or three of them, it can be difficult to decide where to start. Should you prioritize your home office, or is your mudroom in desperate need of more storage space?

When you book a free design consultation with an industry-leading custom design company, professional designers will help you decide which spaces in your home need the most TLC. At Closet America, not only will we identify the perfect organization solution for every room in your house, but we can also design and install your new space from scratch in very little time. In many cases, we can install your custom closet, home office, garage cabinets, mudroom, or pantry system in a single day.

The greatest benefit of hiring professional designers is that you won’t have to spend years searching for the perfect closet island and matching components—an experienced designer takes care of all of these little details for you. With minimal effort, every room in your home will look organized and sophisticated.

To get started on these or any other home improvement ideas that you have in mind, book a free consultation with Closet America today. Our team of knowledgeable designers serves homeowners throughout Washington DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland. We will help you create custom plans for all of your renovation projects, from walk-in closets to mudrooms and pantries to home offices. With innovative design, quality materials and fast, efficient installation, we’ll help you accomplish all of your home improvement goals this year.