Designer Yasmina Soussi was asked to improve the look and functionality of Brigitte's closet... which also doubles as a work desk!

Brigitte lives in a townhouse in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville with her husband, Simon, who has three children in joint custody. Telecommuting since the beginning of the pandemic, she had no choice but to set up her office in her walk-in closet due to the lack of space elsewhere in the house. The set-up was not optimal, and the background of hanging clothes was not at all suitable for Brigitte's many virtual meetings.

Tired of having to use wallpaper to hide her unprofessional space and knowing that she would be telecommuting two to three days a week, she asked Yasmina Soussi for a little help.

Multi-Use Closet Before

Transformation Process:

■    The most important thing was to create a professional-looking background. The designer suggested incorporating two shallow closets that would conceal almost all of the clothes. To make the doors more aesthetically pleasing, they were dressed in rattan fabric, a trendy material.

■    The back wall now has shelves and a pair of rods, maximizing storage space. A few pieces of clothing are still on display, but in a very orderly fashion, and all the clear plastic bins that used to show their contents have given way to metal and fabric baskets. Goodbye clutter!

■   Brigitte was working in front of a rather boring white wall and had no place to put pens and papers that were lying around on her work surface. We added moldings to the wall and painted it black. A perforated panel with containers for small items and a memo board with clips were attached.

■   The ergonomic chair was retained, but the work table was replaced with a sit-stand desk that allows you to change positions at will.

■   Lighting was not a problem: a window on the right (off-camera) provides natural light; there were also recessed spotlights in the ceiling. The designer simply added a table lamp to create a softer atmosphere when needed.

■   We also thought to revise the atmosphere: some decorative accessories like frames and vases help to forget that we are in a closet.