[Perhaps a Weird Al Yankovic type of parody of The Beach Boys song "California Girls" changed to "California Closets."]
I may have only whined about it in passing, but I have been living without a real closet since I moved into my apartment. Apartments here (even new construction, like mine) do not contain closets in bedrooms, just as they do not, for example, contain a kitchen sink, appliances, cabinetry and other niceties. I am apparently quite blessed that I have a dark little closet for general storage (and yes, no light in said dark closet included).
When Seth and Dena were here in early January, we visited Mann Mobilia and I placed my order for a closet system -- think like a combination beteween California Closets and IKEA. It's a cabinet or series of cabinets that you purchase that can then be pimped out with shelves, drawers, shoe racks and the like. I had actually considered purchasing such a thing from IKEA, but they never had the right stuff in stock and, quite honestly, I couldn't lift the boxes of the pressboard like stuff that seems much heavier than actual hardwood. And I also wasn't quite convinced that IKEA could stand up to my closet needs for four years and, since I am going to be staring at it in my bedroom every day I wanted something that actually looked nice, rather than something that would simply suffice.
So, I designed and ordered the system at Mann Mobilia on 6 March. (I can't recall whether I mentioned in the blog from that time, but the sales clerk didn't really speak English and my German was even less developed then that it is now, but somehow we managed.) It will be in a dark wood (schwarz braun, which translates to black brown) that should match the bed I brought over from the US. It will fill the entire wall (which is only 3 meters, so not huge) of the wall in my bedroom directly across from said schwarz braun bed. I strategically designed the center section so that the top third of the cabinet will be open to allow for insertion of a certain flat screen television that is now in the living room, which TV was purchased for this purpose and will be replaced with a larger model (more about Barney, Phase II, in a later post), along with a shelf at the top for components. When the closet doors are closed, the TV is tucked out of sight so it doesn't negatively influence the room's feng shui.
(Actually, I'm not kidding about the feng shui thing. I read somewhere that a TV creates negative energy. I'm not saying I totally buy into that, but I have always thought TVs were out of place in bedroom decor. And I guess I think they are generally out of place, hence that awesome lift TV cabinet I had in the redecorated living room in Chicago that is, alas, now sitting in storage there because it doesn't work with Euro power. Grrr...)
Mann Mobilia estimated at the time of ordering (and downpayment of 50% -- anyone want to guess what this thing cost?) that it would take 10 weeks to arrive. That would put delivery at, say, May 16. Right.... When I got home from Rome last week (business, not pleasure, though there will be a blog about it, no doubt), there was a message in German on my machine. Something about MannMobilia (easy enough), schränksystem (closet system -- I might be spelling that incorrectly), termin (appointment) and a really, really quick mention of a phone number that I couldn't capture. My ever-patient and helpful executive assistant helped me call them this week. The good news is that it has indeed arrived. The bad news is that they can't install it until 23 June. :-(
In the meantime, I have a failing IKEA solution. I got a metal freestanding clothes rack that seemed somewhat stable, even though the screw holes in the metal base did not align for the last screw, it seemed stable enough (or about as stable as you can expect for €29,99). About a month ago I came home to see a leaning tree of clothes. Significant slant to the left as the rack had split at the bottom and the back portion was leaning against the wall and part of the base at the front was in the air. So each day, dressing is a delicate balancing act to keep the rest of the rack standing and some sort of tidiness to my suits.
And that's just hanging clothes. The rest of my clothes and shoes (and you know I'm not a total chick, so it's not like I have a ton of either) are still packed in long boxes littering both my bedroom and the study. This was fine during the winter as I had located jeans and a few sweaters and sufficient numbers of clothes for work. Well, with summer, I have had to start digging into the boxes. The cats think this is great fun and also have started digging in the boxes that I have left open and I now open them to find clothes strewn with fur. Not to be with all the fur-trimmed items I already have (kidding!). I suspect that the new closet will still not be large enough to hold clothes for all seasons, but at least the process should be a bit more manageable once I have a closet solution that is not threatening with every move of a hanger to fail.
(Side note. One of my nieces refers, or referred to at least once, to hangers as hookers. For those of you who know my brother Seth, you can imagine how much fun he had with that. Suffice to say for now, when I get the new closet thing, I will need more, um, hangers.)
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