Do You Need a Closet Island? Pros, Cons and the Space It Takes

A closet island is the piece everyone photographs and the piece most closets cannot fit. It adds drawers, a folding surface and a sense of a dressing room; it takes a room wide enough to walk around it with drawers open. Here is how to decide.

What it adds

• Drawers on one or more sides, often replacing a dresser
• A counter-height surface (around 36 inches) for folding, packing and laying out outfits
• A place for a tray, a charging spot, or display
• The feel of a dressing room rather than a storage closet

What it needs

Islands commonly run 24–36 inches deep. A common design guideline keeps about 36 inches of clearance on every side that has drawers, plus 24 inches of wall storage on each side wall. Add it up — 24 + 36 + 30 + 36 + 24 — and a two-sided island wants a room about 12.5 feet wide; a one-sided island against a wall of shelving can work in less. Below about 10 feet, most rooms cannot make it work.

How much space does a closet island need?

Use the space planner with your room width and depth; if the walkway between the side walls is under about 96 inches (36 + 24 + 36) you do not have room for an island with drawers on both sides. The planner's storage-wall model assumes 24-inch-deep storage; an island is the same depth again in the middle.

The cons

• It is the single most expensive add in a walk-in (see closet island cost on our sister site).
• It blocks the walkway if the clearance is fudged.
• It collects clutter on its surface unless the surface has a job.
• It cannot be moved once built.

Alternatives that deliver most of it

• A drawer tower on the end wall: same drawers, no floor space.
• A bench: a surface to sit and set things down, in 18 inches of depth.
• A peninsula: an island attached to one wall, needing clearance on fewer sides.
• A pull-out folding shelf: a surface that disappears.

Decide

If the room is 10 feet or wider after wall storage, you fold or pack in the closet and the budget allows, an island earns its place. Otherwise take the tower and the bench, and read how to design a walk-in closet for where they go.