Boy's Bedroom Closet Update: Don't Leave Us Hangin'

Back in May, I posted the updates we made to our boy's bedroom shared closet space.  Here is a visual of the somewhat completed project, to spark your memory:

So far, it's working wonderfully to keep all of their clothes looking nice and organized.  As a reminder, we had taken out the kid's dressers and installed closet rods and shelving into their closet to now house all of their clothing.  The one struggle is that it's not as easy/quick for them to put their clothes away as before when they had their labeled drawers, which in turn has caused some resistance of wanting to help on their end. 

I had also mentioned in the last post that we weren't completely finished, which is why I am finally back with an update post today!  Some of you recommend I paint the dowels white, and I mentioned my plans to add additional shelving.  I can finally say, "Done and done!"

First, the closet rods.  I didn't love the original wood tone, however, I really struggled with the decision to paint.  I feared that all of the hangers rubbing on it repeatedly, would cause wearing and scratches and maintenance to the dowels.  So, I opted against it and let my wheels spin for a bit....

Then, one day I spotted these at the home improvement store.

What is it?  It's a PVC shower curtain rod cover!  It's amazing the things we get excited about right?  Who knew something like this would have me singing, "B.I.N.G.O" throughout the store with the kids?  Ahhh, life's sweet moments.

The PVC comes in the size of a shower curtain rod itself, so I just needed to cut it down to fit my dowels.  Which was super easy peasy to do with a pair of regular ol' scissors.

Then, I just wrapped it around the wooden dowel and popped it back into the closet:

Instant white closet rod!  Score!

I should have snapped a pic, but I will say that the closure of the PVC around the wooden dowel isn't 100%, meaning there is a small strip of wooden dowel showing through on the very back side of the rod itself, since the dowel was slightly larger than a shower curtain rod would be.  But I was absolutely OK with that, since it's not seen and is still enhancing not only the look of the closet, but the easy of sliding the hangers along the rod.  I still say that it's a huge WIN.

As you can see in the photo above, the second thing that we my husband did, is cut down a piece of melamine shelving for the very top of the closet.  By adding the one additional shelf, we have a ton of extra closet storage, for toys, completed art projects and linens!

Now with those two additions, we can finally mark off "Boy's Bedroom Closet" from the home to do checklist!

It's amazing how two simple inexpensive updates really change the entire closet both aesthetically and functionally!

Side by side before and after:

Anyone else adding shelving anywhere to gain a little extra storage?