A date with Sarah-Kate; Kate’s home truths
Sarah-Kate’s wardrobe hang-up is out of the closet
How on earth do people build houses from scratch? I have one job left regarding our current reno and that is to fit out my wardrobe. And do you think I can do it? Not on your nelly!
The smallest room in the house and I’m at a total loss as to how it should be put together. “You’ve waited mumble-mumble years for a proper grown-up walk-in wardrobe,” the Ginger chided. “This is your chance to have one and get it right.”
And then he left me to it. But after mumble-mumble years of keeping my clothes in plastic bins and repurposed shelving, what would I know about getting it right? Gym clothes go on a pile in the corner, shoes are distributed evenly throughout the house, whatever I’m looking for is in the hand-washing basket and everything else is black, so good luck finding it.
This history of appalling storage systems simply left me at a loss when it came to this wonderful opportunity, so I did what any normal woman in my position would do – I watched re-runs of Sexand theCity to see how Carrie Bradshaw arranged her closet.
And before you get too excited and start thinking I’m adding shoe walls, glassfronted cabinets and a round poufy thing for the Ginger to sit on while I twirl in front of him in a selection of evening gowns …
My new wardrobe is the size of Carrie’s old one from the TV show, not the new one Big made for her in the movie. That one’s bigger than our whole house. Lord knows how many decisions were involved in the creation of it.
Mine’s a far simpler – yet obviously still too complicated for me – beast and looking at what Carrie had didn’t actually help. I only have one tutu and no high heels, plus everything I own is three times bigger than hers.
Next I tried outsourcing. Wardrobe companies are neatly arranged on every second corner in Auckland, but the choice proved to be overwhelming. Drawers or shelves? How many of each? Soft-closing or standard? Deep or shallow? Shoe racks? Longhanging space? Half hanging? Hung from the wall? Sitting on the carpet? Enough already!
Take me back to my student days when I had a rack on wheels and an old chest of drawers with fairy princess stickers all over it picked up off the street.
“You know how I’ve always wanted a sauna,” I said to the Ginger. “No,” came his reply. “Well, I think I’ve found the space.”
Yes, the steam may prove problematic with the carpet which I have chosen after only three months, but still, Gwyneth Paltrow says saunas are good for removing toxins and I feel I have more than my fair share.
Further investigation reveals that Gwyneth also swears by Oprah Winfrey’s one-year rule. That is, if you haven’t worn it in the past 12 months, out it goes. I have clothes going back three decades, so if I stack my cards right, maybe I can have my wardrobe and sweat in it too?