WHAT’S IN STORE

 In the closet, we come for the clothes and stay for the party.

- JULIE LASKY

If there is a single room in our homes that defines who we are and haunts our dreams, it is not the bedroom. Or the living room. Or even the kitchen. It is the closet.

Purely utilitarian on the surface, closets have never been just about storage. From the time these little rooms emerged in their modern form to hold newly minted mountains of consumer goods, they have allowed us to lead double lives. Outside are the uncluttered living spaces we arrange to reflect our ideal selves. Inside are the clothes, shoes, cleaning supplies, toys, hobbies, electronics, and mementos beloved or forgotten that reveal the changeable and often chaotic depths of our characters.

At their most aspirational, closets become refuges where people can dress, sip Prosecco, and display handbags or watches as if they were artworks in a gallery. So attractive are these sanctums that their owners might even invite guests to take a peek.