AMN Construction · Finish carpentry · Custom closets

Custom closets, built around what you own.

A custom closet is shelving, drawers and hanging rods made to fit one closet and one wardrobe. We build and install reach-in and walk-in closets, with heights and depths set by the clothes you own.

Email photographs and measurements 805 886 0988

In short

Count your clothes first. Hanging space, shelves and drawers are sized from what you own.
Plywood or melamine suits most closets. Solid wood is for the parts you see and touch.
Lighting is planned with the electrician before the closet is built.

ShelfThick enough, and supported often enough, not to sag under what it holds.
DrawersJoined at the corners and run on slides that close softly and carry real weight.
Cabinet boxThe carcass. Plywood holds screws and shrugs off moisture better than particleboard.
Toe kickThe recess at the floor. Cabinets are leveled from the floor’s highest point.

Storage in elevation: shelves, drawers and boxes, the parts of a fitted closet.

Step by step

How a cabinet is built, frame by frame.

1 / 6

How a cabinet is built

Cut the partsSides, bottom, top and back are cut from one sheet of cabinet-grade plywood, so the grain and color match.
Assemble the boxThe parts are glued and screwed into a box, then checked corner to corner so it is square.
Face frame or edgeSolid wood is fixed to the front edges. It is what the eye reads, and where the doors will hang.
Doors and drawersDoors and drawer fronts are made and hung with an even gap all round, the same width everywhere.
Finish in the shopPaint or stain goes on in the shop, sanded between coats, and cures before the piece leaves.
Level, fasten, scribeOn site the cabinet is leveled from the floor’s high point, fastened to the wall, and a filler is cut to the wall’s real shape.

Built by Tom. Fifty years of custom cabinets and finish carpentry, from Oregon and Hawaii to Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Westlake Village, and now from Goleta to Carpinteria. Meet the carpenter

What we do

What is included.

Reach-in closets, where every bit of width and height counts.
Walk-in closets, with hanging, shelves, drawers and sometimes a center island.
Hanging rods at heights set for long garments, shirts and trousers.
Drawers on full-extension, soft-close slides, so the whole drawer opens and shuts quietly.
Shoe shelves, flat or angled, and shelves for folded clothes and bags.
Scribing to walls and floor, with baseboard and trim to finish the edges.

How it goes

Step 1
You send photographs of the closet, rough measurements and a count of what needs to hang and fold.
Step 2
We measure on site, note outlets, switches, vents and the attic hatch, and agree on the layout with you.
Step 3
Lighting and any new outlets are planned with the electrician, and the closet is emptied and patched.
Step 4
The parts are built in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria, then installed, leveled and scribed to the walls.
Step 5
Rods, drawers and hardware go on, and everything is adjusted so it runs and closes properly.

Yours to decide

Decide these first.

How much hangs and how much folds. This sets the split between rods, shelves and drawers.
Double or single hanging. Two rods, one above the other, double the space for shirts. Dresses and coats need one tall section.
Material. Melamine (board with a hard factory surface) is tough and economical. Painted plywood or solid wood looks more like furniture.
Open or closed. Open shelves are quick to use. Doors and drawer fronts keep dust off and look calmer.
Floor-standing or wall-hung. Floor-standing looks built in. Wall-hung keeps the floor clear for cleaning.

How to tell good work

Rods and shelves that do not sag under a full load of clothes.
Drawers that open fully, run smoothly and close with even gaps around each front.
No gaps against the walls, even though closet corners are seldom square.
Exposed edges that are covered and smooth, with nothing to snag fabric.
Clothes that hang clear of the shelf below and of the door.

What moves the price

Size of the closet, and the number of drawers. Drawers are the costly part. Rods and shelves are not.
Material: melamine costs least, painted plywood more, stained hardwood the most.
Doors, an island, lighting and other extras.
Preparation: removing old shelving, patching walls and painting before the new closet goes in.

Prices vary with the materials and the hours a job takes. Each job is custom and unique, so we price it once we have seen the room.

Our work

Custom closets, built and fitted.

Santa Barbara South Coast

Painted cabinetry and closets through a remodeled house

Finish work through a whole remodel: a kitchen with sage-green base cabinets and white uppers, a pantry nook with open shelves over a wood counter, a painted bath vanity, closets fitted with shelves and hanging rods, and a stair with new wood treads.

Custom cabinetry · Custom closets · Custom shelving

A long kitchen run of sage-green Shaker base cabinets with brass pulls under a white counter, and white wall cabinets — The kitchen: sage base cabinets, white uppers

A nook with white open shelves above a wood counter and sage-green open base cabinets — The pantry nook

A cream painted Shaker vanity with brass pulls under a green stone top — The bath vanity

A painted white closet with shelves and hanging rods on three walls — A closet: shelves and hanging rods

A narrow walk-in closet fitted with white shelves and double hanging rods on both sides — A walk-in closet

A stair with new light wood treads, white risers and a wall-mounted handrail — New wood treads on the stair

Santa Barbara South Coast

Closet and pantry shelving

Shelving built in place, wall to wall: a closet with corner shelves and double hanging rods, and pantries with shelves that wrap the corner. Each shelf gets a solid wood front edge so it stays straight under load. The last is a walk-in closet lined in cedar.

Custom closets · Custom shelving

A painted white closet with five tiers of corner shelves and two bays of hanging rods — Corner shelves and double hanging rods

A small pantry with painted white shelves fitted between a side panel and the wall — A pantry, painted

Unpainted pantry shelves wrapping a corner, each with a solid wood strip along its front edge — Before paint: shelves edged in solid wood

A walk-in closet lined in cedar boards with white shelf towers and hanging rods — A cedar-lined closet

Painted white pantry shelves wrapping two walls — Pantry shelves wrapping the corner

All finish carpentry projects

Questions

Custom closets: what owners ask.

How high should closet rods be?

High enough that your longest garment on that rod clears whatever sits below it. For two rods, one above the other, the top one should still be within your reach. We measure your own clothes and your reach on site, so the heights suit you.

Is melamine or plywood better for closet shelves?

Both are sound. Melamine has a hard, wipeable surface and needs no paint, which suits closet interiors well. Plywood is stiffer across a long shelf, holds screws better and can be painted or stained. Many closets use melamine inside and wood for the visible fronts.

How deep does a closet need to be for hanging clothes?

Deep enough that a garment on a hanger hangs freely without brushing the back wall or the door. Bulky coats need more room than shirts. In a shallow closet, we can turn the rod to face front or use shelves and drawers instead.

Can you add lighting to a closet?

Yes, and it is worth planning early. Lighting inside a closet has rules about fixture type and distance from stored clothes, which the electrician and inspector handle. We build channels and wire paths into the closet so the lights and their wiring are hidden.

Where we do this

Built in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria where the piece is custom, and fitted on site in:

Carpinteria Summerland Montecito Santa Barbara Hope Ranch Goleta

All finish carpentry · see the projects

Inquiries

Have a room in mind? Send us the photographs.

Email photographs of the room and rough measurements to purchasing@amnbuild.com. Matt reads it himself. No forms.

Email Matt the photographs Or call Matt · 805 886 0988