Design your closet — bay by bay, the way you'll build it
Open closets aren't fixed pieces — split one into up to four vertical bays and fill each with hanging, shelves, drawers, a shoe rack, or cubbies, then render it in 3D.
A closet is never one solid block — it's a run of vertical bays, each doing its own job: a tall stretch of hanging here, a stack of shelves there, drawers and a shoe rack down the end. RoomSketch3D's open closets model exactly that. Drop one in, split it into up to four bays, and fill each bay independently — the 2D plan and the 3D view both redraw to match.
These are the open (doorless) wardrobe pieces in the catalog. Alongside them sit the rest of the wardrobe family: open and double-hang rails, shelf-and-hang combos, a freestanding garment rack, and walk-in shelving and islands — so a whole walk-in comes together from real parts.
What you'll need
- •A room to build the closet into (a bedroom, mud-room, or walk-in)
- •About five minutes
Step by step
- 1
Add an open closet
Open the furniture catalog and search closet. Pick one of the open, doorless pieces — an Open Hanging Wardrobe, Double-Hang Wardrobe, Shelf & Hanging Combo, Closet Cubby Organizer, Closet Shoe Rack, or one of the Closet Shelves towers — and add it. Every one of these acts as a starting preset over the same bay model, so any of them can be reconfigured into any of the others.
Search “closet” to reveal the open, doorless closet pieces — each a starting point for the same bay layout. - 2
Choose how many bays
With the closet selected, its inspector shows a Partitions row — the buttons 1 to 4. That's how many vertical bays the closet is divided into. Add bays as your run gets wider; existing bays keep their fill, and a new bay comes in as shelves you can change.
The Partitions row sets the number of bays; each bay below it gets its own fill. - 3
Fill each bay
Every bay has its own dropdown, labelled Bay 1, Bay 2, and so on. Open it and pick the fill: Long hang (one full-height rod), Double hang (two stacked rods for shirts and folded-length items), Shelves, Drawers, Shoe rack, or Cubbies. For Shelves, Drawers, Shoe rack, and Cubbies a − / + stepper sets the count. Mix and match down the run — a real closet is rarely all one thing.
- 4
Stack drawers or shelves below a rod
The classic move: hanging up top, storage underneath. On any bay set to Long hang, Double hang, or Shelves, use the Below dropdown to add a lower zone of Drawers or Shelves (or None to leave it full-height). The bay splits into a top and a bottom, each with its own count.
The Below dropdown stacks drawers or shelves under a rod or shelf — the hang-above, drawers-below layout. - 5
Size it, drag it to the wall, add hardware
The closet takes exact width, depth, and height in the inspector like any piece, and it hugs a wall when you drag it near one — line several up to build a full wall of storage. Drawer and shelf fronts share the same hardware control as cabinets, so knobs and pulls match the rest of the room. Need loose or freestanding pieces? The Garment Rack rolls anywhere, and the Walk-in Closet Island anchors the middle of a walk-in.
On the plan the closet reads as its real footprint — drag it flush to a wall like any storage piece. - 6
See it in 3D
Switch to the 3D view. The open frame, rods, shelves, drawers, shoe rack, and cubbies all render exactly as you configured them, bay by bay — so the closet you show a carpenter or organizer company matches the one you laid out.
Every bay renders true in 3D — hanging, shelves, drawers, and cubbies where you placed them.
Tips
Start from the closest preset
The open pieces are just presets over one bay model — so if you want mostly hanging with one bank of shelves, start from the Shelf & Hanging Combo and adjust, rather than building every bay from scratch.
Build a walk-in from parts
Line closet runs along two or three walls, drop a Walk-in Closet Island in the middle, and you've laid out a walk-in — each wall configured for what it holds.
Match the hardware once
Set the knob or pull on one closet and it carries the same shared hardware style as your dressers and cabinets, so drawer fronts read consistently across the room.
Common mistakes
Expecting a Below zone on every bay
The Below stacking only appears on bays set to Long hang, Double hang, or Shelves — the fills that leave room underneath. A bay that's already all drawers, shoe rack, or cubbies has no lower zone to add.
Reaching for a fifth bay
A closet tops out at four bays — beyond that the bays get too narrow to read in the plan and in 3D. For a wider run, place a second closet beside the first and keep configuring.
Trying to reconfigure the garment rack or island
The freestanding Garment Rack and the Walk-in Closet Island aren't bay systems — they keep their own simple controls (rail tiers and drawer count). The Partitions editor is only for the framed, open closet pieces.
Frequently asked questions
How many bays can one closet have?
Up to four. Set the number in the Partitions row; each bay is filled independently.
Can a single bay have both hanging and drawers?
Yes — set the bay's top fill to Long hang, Double hang, or Shelves, then use its Below dropdown to stack Drawers or Shelves underneath. That's the standard hang-above, drawers-below combination.
Do open closets have doors?
These are the open, doorless pieces built to show their contents — rods, shelves, and drawers on display, the way a closet organizer or walk-in looks. For a closed cabinet look, use a doored wardrobe instead.
Does my bay layout survive in 3D and exports?
Yes. The bay configuration is saved with the piece, so the 2D plan, the 3D view, and your exports all render the same hanging, shelves, drawers, shoe rack, and cubbies.
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