When I received a call from Yaniece, Tyra's stylist, inquiring about designing Trya's new wardrobe room in NYC, I couldn't wait to jump on a plane. A lot needed to be done, and in just 10 days! I worked my fingers to the bone, and with the help of some excellent people, the job was completed in record time.

So how did I do it? With help! First thing; I flew to NY to measure and design the space. It was tricky, since Tyra's clothing was not on hand. I worked closely with Yaniece, asking her to fill out a questionnaire I prepared regarding Tyra's clothing. Questions were answered as if the closet were full at the end of a season. The key to designing a functional space is to know what items it will hold. Key questions were; how many shoes? How many linear feet of dresses? Skirts? Tops? Pants? (folded short or hanging long), etc. Once I had all the data, I designed the space around her needs. To really throw me off…Yaniece insisted the closet have an office within the space. This was a tall order considering the room had two entrances, cutting down on my useable space. Further, she needed a dresser and laundry hampers. I opted to make a bench on casters, which consisted of two hampers. Without enough wall space to provide ample drawers, I opted for a dresser on wheels.

To see how I did it, check out the floor plan, elevations, and photos. I have to state that my favorite part of Tyra's closet was the 3-way mirror doors. I think it's important to look as glamorous from the front as you do from the back!

Once my designs were in place, I called on friends at Roseburg, Honerkamp, California Closets, Sherwin-Williams, Amerock, and The Container Store, because it takes a village!

My goal was not only to give Tyra a comfortable, functioning wardrobe/dressing room, but to give her a "Green Environment." I flew to Las Vegas first, to the Closet Tradeshow, and met with Roseburg, the largest manufacturers of Melamine and wood veneer products in the USA. I was able to accomplish my dream of "green closet" by using Roseburg's Duramine Melamine Panels featuring their low emission Sky Blend core. Sky Blend is a terrific material made of 100% recycled wood fiber. It is the lowest emission panel product of its kind available. Roseburg shipped their product to Honerkamp, their distributor. Honerkamp also provided me with a MDF product for the areas I wanted to paint in the closet, called Arreis, from Sierra Pine. Being a California resident, I needed to find someone in NYC to take delivery of the product from Honerkamp, cut the Sky Blend & Arreis using my specs, and than install the closet. Jeff Honerkamp recommended California Closets. California Closets worked endlessly over the next few days, making the installation and timeline possible.

However, I had more to think about. A Sky Blend closet wasn't enough. If I was going to make it "green," I need to use "green" paint on all of the paint-able surfaces and walls. I called my friends over at Sherwin-Williams, who not only supplied the paint, but actually painted it too! Without this terrific team of people, it would not have been possible.

But there was more to think about…the hardware, chair, drawer dividers, plastic containers, drawer organizers. I called upon Amerock, who allowed me to choose among an entire catalog off products for just the right knobs. Next was a call to The Container Store. Like magic, my favorite desk chair, and products arrived even before I stepped off my plane in NYC.

I also worked closely with Tyra's designer Ron Norsworthy, and his fabulous assistant Jennifer. As you know, I am a "space designer," and I prefer to let the expert interior designers choose colors. Thank you Ron & Jen for doing an excellent job coordinating the wall colors and closet palate with the flooring, tieing the entire four spaces together. Not to mention they were FANTASTIC to work with!

I'd like to also give a personal thank you to the following people; Rick Troxel, Roseburg;
Jeff Honerkamp, Honerkamp; Bob Westenberg Sr., California Closets; Ian Hardies, California Closets; Marc Machlovitz, Sherwin-Williams; Alison Emmert, Amerock; and
Alli Bujnoch, The Container Store.

IF you are unable to catch the episode on The Tyra Banks Show, October 21, 2008, please check back on my site. Coming soon, we will be downloading the segment for your entertainment.

Love,
Linda xoxoxo