A Veterans Day Closet Makeover in Annapolis

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This makeover came out of a contest, sponsored by Westfield Annapolis Mall, The Container Store, and our team, that invited the community to nominate a local veteran family for a complete room transformation. Bill and Laura Swick were nominated by four different people, and once we read their story, it was easy to see why.

Laura and Bill are both Navy veterans. Laura served four years of active duty as a Navy nurse followed by four years in the reserves. Bill served for 24 years, first as a surface warfare officer, then in the meteorology and oceanography community, and finally as a Permanent Military Professor at the Naval Academy. After a rare spinal cord condition stemming from an accident during his Navy service, Bill underwent surgery; he was told he would fully recover within a week. Instead, it left him paralyzed from the waist down. In the years since, he and Laura have been steadily adapting their home around his needs while raising their six children, whom Laura homeschools. Bill now teaches high school math in Baltimore, coaches cross-country, and volunteers with their church.

The space they most wanted to tackle was their closet. Filled with backstock medical equipment and items stored well out of Bill’s reach, it made getting dressed a task he could not do on his own. Our goal was bigger than tidy shelves. We wanted the bedroom and closet to feel like a sanctuary, a calm escape from the daily challenges the family navigates, and a space where Bill could finally be self-reliant.

Here is what the closet looked like before we started:

  • Cluttered walk-in closet with dense clothing rack, stacked suitcases, and heaped comforters before professional organization
  • Corner of walk-in closet before organization showing overcrowded shelves with medical supplies and packed clothing rack
  • Wire shelving unit overflowing with sheets, comforters, and pillows in a walk-in closet before professional organization
  • Walk-in closet with outdated wire shelving and overflowing clothes before Elfa system installation
  • Overloaded clothing rod with hats, suitcases, and comforters piled in a walk-in closet before professional organization
  • Overpacked clothing rod and cluttered shelf above in a walk-in closet before professional organization
  • Disorganized closet shelving packed with medical supplies, Bioness boxes, and miscellaneous items before professional organization
  • Wide view of cluttered walk-in closet before professional organization with overflowing shelves and medical supplies
  • Full length view of disorganized walk-in closet showing linen side, medical supply shelving, and clothing area before professional organization

The Approach

Everything started with one principle: if Bill could not see it and reach it while seated, the system was not working.

We began with the medical equipment, which had been swallowing the closet. The backstock and rarely used supplies moved out to the bedroom armoire, sorted into clear shoe boxes so they stayed contained but out of sight. Then we built a dual medical station, one beside Bill’s chair in the bedroom and one inside the closet, so the supplies he reaches for daily are always within reach. Frequently used items went into low, clear drawers he can open and see into, while less frequent items went up high.

The heart of the project was a new Elfa Decor+ closet built around a chair. The team at Stay Home Safely, who specialize in home modifications, helped find a chair suited to Bill’s needs, and the whole layout grew from there. Now Bill sits down, and everything comes to him: hanging clothes to his right, folded shirts and shorts in the drawers to his left. A 32-compartment organizer holds his socks so he can see every pair at a glance, and mesh dividers keep each category in its lane. For the first time in years, he can get dressed start to finish without help.

With the medical backstock relocated and the children’s winter gear, luggage, and odds and ends moved to a basement closet, we suddenly had room for the things that belonged. Laura’s clothes came out of cramped dresser drawers and into the main closet, neatly folded in Elfa drawers and hung on slim felt hangers so she can actually see what she owns. We added cubes for the clothes steamer, shoe care, and seasonal accessories, and we gave their keepsakes and photo albums a dedicated home in matching boxes on the top shelf, exactly where infrequently used treasures should live.

The thoroughness carried into the details. With six children and frequent guests, the linens were their own puzzle, so we tucked each sheet set into its matching pillowcase, then sorted everything by size into labeled baskets so the children could grab what they needed without asking. Even Laura’s jewelry, once a tangled drawer, got sorted into stackers, with heirloom pieces stored safely up top.

Here is what the closet looked like after we emptied it and started installing the new Elfa Decor+ system:

  • Empty walk-in closet with old wire shelving cleared out and ready for Elfa system installation
  • Professional installer kneeling and mounting Elfa shelving brackets on walk-in closet wall during renovation
  • Corner view of newly installed Elfa closet system showing white shelving, clothing rod hardware, and drawer unit
  • Wide view of walk-in closet with fully installed empty Elfa shelving system including drawers, shelves, and hanging rods

Here is the Systems by Susie team putting the finishing touches on the closet before the reveal:

  • Three Systems by Susie team members in the fully organized walk-in closet showing linen shelving and accessible storage
  • Systems by Susie organizer smiling while styling the finished linen wall with labeled white wicker baskets and folded towels
  • Five Systems by Susie professional organizers in matching black shirts smiling in the finished walk-in closet linen area

And here is the finished closet:

  • Accessible side of organized walk-in closet featuring Elfa drawer system, sweater shelves, and cap organizers after professional organization
  • Organized closet shelves with neatly folded sweaters and clear acrylic hat and cap organizers after professional organization
  • Organized closet shelf with labeled grey keepsake boxes and jewelry storage above hanging clothes after professional organization
  • Beautifully organized linen wall with labeled white wicker baskets by bed size and neatly folded white towels after professional organization
  • Wide view of accessible walk-in closet side featuring Elfa drawer system, sweater shelves, cap organizers, and hanging clothes
  • Professionally organized walk-in closet corner showing Elfa shelving, labeled baskets, grey storage boxes, and reading chair
  • Bills section of the organized walk-in closet with warm-hanger clothing rod, labeled wicker baskets, and grey storage boxes
  • Professional photo of grey reading chair with plaid pillow and three framed religious art pieces in organized closet corner
  • Close-up of organized sock drawer with divider inserts and clear acrylic hat organizers above in an Elfa closet system

What Made This Project Unique

The generosity around this one was something to behold. The winning family was set to receive $2,500 in products, but The Container Store was so moved by the Swicks’ story that they donated over $5,000 to make the space everything it needed to be.

What we will remember most, though, is the reveal. Laura described the finished space in a single word: serene. She has since started sitting in the closet chair each morning with her coffee, savoring a few quiet minutes before her busy day begins. Bill chose his own word: accessible. And then he said something that has stayed with our whole team.

What chokes me up is the personalization and the custom touches. It is almost like a handwritten card. They thought specifically of Laura and I, and nailed it.

Bill Swick

Getting to give back to a family that has given so much to their community and their country is a project we will not forget.

  • Bill walking through his newly organized accessible walk-in closet with his walker alongside his wife at the reveal
  • Homeowner laughing and dancing with joy in her beautifully organized walk-in closet at the project reveal
  • Bill seated in the closet chair accessing his Elfa drawer system with his walker nearby showing the accessible closet design
  • The Swick family with parents and three children smiling together in their newly organized walk-in closet