kinda faced a similar DYI dilemma what to do about all the closets in my own home which was built in the late 1920’s
the closets from what I’ve seen of the era were pretty basic, a top shelf and a wooden dowel (FWIW all my rentals were also built around the same time period)
in my rentals when the units were remodeled, installed “shelf track” on all the studs (in the closets) so it gives tenants the option of customizing the closet to their needs
as for a master closet,… in my own home I’ve got some built-in library shelving cabinets in the bed room(s) and a built in linen cabinet in a hall way area so to keep everything looking the same knew this required some cabinet building
first thing I did was take a few field drips to ikea to get an idea of what I wanted (design element wise)
ikea stuff is made out of particle board which does not last but the showroom was a good place to get hands on ideas
for all the bedroom in my house opted for floor standing cabinet of two basic designs (one wide w/ drawers & adjustable shelves AND one narrow w/ out drawers & adjustable shelves – which can be used to store items like shoes)
the reason I designed two basic cabinet sizes is because this arrangement gives me the option to mix and match cabinets for all the bedroom closets in the house (once I install the basic cabinet elements in the closets I then just cut shelving and closet rod to size as needed)
all my cabinets are built out of birch plywood (which purchased from TH&H) and they also have all the accessories like fancy looking chrome closet rod, drawer slides, lights, etc
in the end all the bedroom closets in my house look very period BUT have a very modern adjustable desin element and will last because everything is built out of birch plywood
built the cabinets using pocket screw joints, but found out things can be just a hair off,… to get things just alined “spot on” bought a festool domino tool AND use now use pocket screws to clamp things together using Titebond III
last tip, the only place I’ve wallmount cabinets in in my laundry room, this is because I wanted to be able to sweep and mop the floor (even w/ French cleat, its not as secure or simple as something floor standing)
