Closet

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An open built-in closet Old Jefferson Louisiana 2016 - Coolidge Street 58.jpg
An open built-in closet

A closet (especially in North American English usage) is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. Fitted closets are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the room. Closets are often built under stairs, thereby using awkward space that would otherwise go unused.

Contents

A piece of furniture such as a cabinet or chest of drawers serves the same purpose of storage, but is not a closet, which is an architectural feature rather than a piece of furniture. A closet always has space for hanging, where a cupboard may consist only of shelves for folded garments. Wardrobe can refer to a free-standing piece of furniture (also known as an armoire), but according to the Oxford English Dictionary , a wardrobe can also be a "large cupboard or cabinet for storing clothes or other linen", including "built-in wardrobe, fitted wardrobe, walk-in wardrobe, etc." [1]

Other uses of the word

In Elizabethan and Middle English, closet referred to a small private room, an inner sanctum within a far larger house, used for prayer, reading, or study.

The use of "closet" for "toilet" dates back to 1662. [2] In Indian English, this use continues. [3] Related forms include earth closet and water closet (flush toilet). "Privy" meaning an outhouse derives from "private", making the connection with the Middle English use of "closet", above.

Types

A typical modern wall-mounted space-saving
closet Space-saving closet.JPG
A typical modern wall-mounted space-saving closet
Linen closet Linen Closet.jpg
Linen closet

Closet tax question in colonial America

Though some sources claim that colonial American houses often lacked closets because of a "closet tax" imposed by the British crown, [5] others argue that closets were absent in most houses simply because their residents had few possessions. [6]

Closet organizers

Closet organizers are integrated shelving systems. Different materials have advantages and disadvantages: [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedroom</span> Private room where people usually sleep for the night or relax during the day

A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterised by its usage for sleeping. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds, a clothes closet, and bedside table and dressing table, both of which usually contain drawers. Except in bungalows, ranch style homes, ground floor apartments, or one-storey motels, bedrooms are usually on one of the floors of a dwelling that is above ground level. Beds range from a crib for an infant; a single or twin bed for a toddler, child, teenager or single adult; to bigger sizes like a full, double, queen, king or California king). Beds and bedrooms are often devised to create barriers to insects and vermin, especially mosquitoes, and to dampen or contain light or noise to aid sleep and privacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laundry room</span> Room where clothes are washed

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bookcase</span> Furniture used to store books

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murphy bed</span> Bed that is hinged at one end to store vertically against the wall

A Murphy bed is a bed that is hinged at one end to store vertically against the wall, or inside a closet or cabinet. Since they often can be used as both a bed or a closet, Murphy beds are multifunctional furniture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chest of drawers</span> Piece of cabinet furniture

A chest of drawers, also called a dresser or a bureau, is a type of cabinet that has multiple parallel, horizontal drawers generally stacked one above another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cupboard</span> Furniture enclosing items stored in a home

A cupboard is a piece of furniture for enclosing dishware or grocery items that are stored in a home. The term gradually evolved from its original meaning: an open-shelved side table for displaying dishware, more specifically plates, cups and saucers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entertainment center</span>

An entertainment center, also known as an entertainment complex or a home entertainment center, is a piece of furniture designed to house consumer electronic appliances and components. It is sometimes a large cabinet with an exterior styled to appear like upscale furniture and an interior dedicated to electronic gear, such as home audio, television sets and video game equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walk-in closet</span>

A walk-in closet or walk-in wardrobe (UK) or dressing room is typically a large closet, wardrobe or room that is primarily intended for storing clothes, footwear etc., and being used as a changing room. As the name suggests, walk-in closets are closets sufficiently big as to allow one to walk into them to browse through the items. It is often a small room with wall-mounted cabinet, shelf and drawers, and these can either be with or without doors. Walk-in closets often do not have doors in front of shelves, which can give a better overview of the clothes, but also leads to more dust. When the walk-in closet is large enough for dressing and undressing, the wardrobe is often also equipped with one or more mirrors. The room should also have good lighting, and a bench or chair can be handy. A dressing table is sometimes also found in the walk-in closet, and such dual use can relieve congestion around other rooms such as bathrooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chifforobe</span> Type of furniture

A chifforobe, also chiffarobe or chifferobe, is a closet-like piece of furniture that combines a long space for hanging clothes with a chest of drawers. Typically the wardrobe section runs down one side of the piece, while the drawers occupy the other side. It may have two enclosing doors or have the drawer fronts exposed and a separate door for the hanging space.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hutch (furniture)</span> Set of shelves or cabinets on top of a lower unit with a counter and either drawers or cabinets

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A wardrobe, also called armoire or almirah, is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate accommodation was provided for the apparel of the great. The name of wardrobe was then given to a room in which the wall-space was filled with closets and lockers, the drawer being a comparatively modern invention. From these cupboards and lockers the modern wardrobe, with its hanging spaces, sliding shelves and drawers, evolved slowly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh dresser</span> Type of furniture with display shelves

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Børge Mogensen</span> Danish furniture designer (1914–1972)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinetry</span> Box-shaped piece of furniture with doors

A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood, coated steel, or synthetic materials. Commercial grade cabinets usually have a melamine-particleboard substrate and are covered in a high-pressure decorative laminate, commonly referred to as Wilsonart or Formica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural property storage</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airing</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish dresser</span> Type of kitchen furniture

An Irish dresser, sometimes known as a kitchen dresser, is a piece of wooden Irish vernacular furniture consisting of open storage or cupboards in the lower part, with shelves and a work surface, and a top part for the display of crockery, but also any objects of monetary or sentimental value.

References

  1. OED. OUP. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  2. OED. OUP. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. "Armoire - Dictionary Definition". Vocabulary.com. Archived from the original on Dec 15, 2022.
  4. "7 Helpful Kid Closet Organizer Ideas: Kids Closet Organization". Bauformat Seattle. July 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  5. "Old Stone House". National Park Service. Archived from the original on Jan 12, 2009.
  6. Theobald, Mary Miley. "Stuff and Nonsense". The Journal of the Colonial Williamsburg Association. Archived from the original on Jan 27, 2019.
  7. Donovan, Mark J. "Wire Shelving vs Wood Shelving". Home Addition Plus. Archived from the original on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
  8. "Choosing the best closet system". Consumer Reports. January 2014. Archived from the original on Jun 18, 2022.