Sandra Sokol and her husband, Mark, were looking for a business where they could use both of their individual skills. With her background in design and his in installation, Closets by Design was the perfect fit.
A franchise with 52 locations across the U.S. and Canada, Closets by Design has been in business since 1982.
The Sokols have owned Closets by Design of Nashville for 14-plus years. Besides closets, they offer organizational designs for garages (including garage flooring), home offices, craft rooms, entertainment centers, laundry rooms, pantries and mudrooms.
“We do organization units for any space in your home,” Sandra says.
Closets by Design products also are somewhat different from its competitors. She explains it’s a much more substantial product that is floor-based (instead of a wall-hung system that may not function well or hold up years down the road). Closets by Design comes with a lifetime warranty.
Sandra also emphasizes that they really focus on customer service.
“We want to take care of our customers. If something isn’t perfect, we’ll fix it. We go out of our way to make sure, in the end, the customer is happy.”
Closets by Design team members also do all of the installations, so it’s a one-stop shop. When finished, installers clean and vacuum the space so it’s ready to be used immediately.
Recently, they designed and installed a functional and luxurious 10-by-10 master walk-in closet in Mount Juliet. The homeowners chose the Classic Premium package, which is a nice upgrade, in a caramel applewood grain. They put in a tilt-out hamper; lots of drawers, some long hang and some double hang; a tie rack; shelves for clothing, shoes and other items; and bridge shelves, little shelves connecting one wall to another, which made the entire closet look consistent and all tied together. This install only took one and a half days.
Some of the other options they offer are different types of shelving for shoes, including tilted shelves, and numerous drawer inserts, such as velvet and Lucite jewelry trays, and sunglasses and watch trays. They also can install pin racks, belt racks, valet rods, and all kinds of hooks for scarves, handbags, ball caps and even toys, if they’re doing a child’s closet. They can do flat walls and design walls, where accessories can be tucked into the grooves. Lighting can also be installed within the closet system.
When a customer calls the office, the Sokols schedule a free, no-obligation consultation, which often takes place within 24 hours. The first thing a designer does is walk into the space with the customer to find out what is working and what is not. This allows the designer to know what to focus on.
“Our designers are well trained to know what’s going to be the most functional design for the space, but they also base the design on what the customer’s interests and wants might be,” Sandra says.
They basically bring a showroom on wheels to the home, which consists of a mini closet, color samples and other types of samples and pictures. They start with a great template and then customers can add options from the a la carte menu. This way, they can pick and choose what is most important to them while staying within their budget.
In one sitting, which takes about one and a half to two hours, they can design, measure and price the entire space. Once the plan is finalized and ready to go, an appointment can then be made for the installation date.
“What we want our customers to understand is that it’s not just a job for us,” Sandra says. “It really is something that we love doing, and we enjoy being in this business.”
