TikTok’s “Carrie Bradshaw” on How She Organizes Her Two-Story Closet

AD It YourselfTikTok’s “Carrie Bradshaw” on How She Organizes Her Two-Story ClosetThe stylish creator Carla Rockmore shared with AD how she personalized the space for her expansive wardrobe

By Jenna Adrian-Diaz

January 21, 2022

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Fashion lovers of all ages have fallen head over heels for TikTok creator Carla Rockmore. Fans of the jewelry designer turned full-time content creator have dubbed her the platform’s own Carrie Bradshaw for her high-energy videos that showcase a wardrobe full of eye-catching colors, voluminous sleeves, and beloved wares from designer names and high street retailers alike.

It’s not just Rockmore’s wardrobe and styling that has us and the rest of her followers ooh-ing and ah-ing: It’s also her swoon-worthy two-story closet, replete with a spiral staircase, a fireplace, and intricately carved wooden beams. “I can’t take full credit for this closet,” Rockmore confesses while speaking with AD over the phone from her home in Dallas. “It was halfway done when I moved in.”

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“It was so serendipitous because I was scrolling through Zillow, looking for a home for a long time. And all I saw was ochre and taxidermy,” Rockmore says. “All of a sudden, I got to this listing where I saw part of the spiral staircase and racks in the photos. It looked large, and there was a fireplace at the back. I thought, If that’s a closet, this is my house.” It was, and the rest is history.

The closet’s spiral staircase drew Rockmore in.

Photo: Carla Rockmore

Additions like a railing and a fresh coat of paint—“I had to paint it white, I knew I couldn’t do a mint green closet,” she says—brought the space in line with Rockmore’s vision. But that’s not to say a few sacrifices weren’t made along the way. As she further elaborates, “I put in this amazing chandelier, but no matter what I did in that space it was blistering hot upstairs! I brought in every architect, every air-conditioning guy in the city, for them all to tell me, ‘Ma’am, you live in Texas. You need a fan.’” After one too many instances of Rockmore’s makeup melting off while she was accessorizing on the closet’s second floor, she replaced the chandelier with a ceiling fan.

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Rockmore’s other decorating choices were met with more success. After painting and installing the second-floor railing, she outfitted the second floor with IKEA’s Kallax shelving units to keep her jewelry collection organized and on display. The Container Store’s acrylic storage bins of various sizes hold everything from jewelry to hats, keeping it all in view.

Rockmore organizes her clothes by weight and style.

Photo: Carla Rockmore

“I have to see everything! I’m very visual. So the whole thing is as open as possible,” she says. Eagle-eyed followers will notice that this ethos underscores the entirety of Rockmore’s closet organization. Acrylic letter sorters keep her collection of vintage clutches together but visible, while yet more transparent lidded Container Store bins were stacked together in an under-used corner of the closet to create overflow storage for babouche slides that she scored while traveling in Morocco just before the pandemic.

The decision to outfit the space in a neutral palette was a deliberate choice made to invoke a sense of tranquility. “I am not one to love to live in color,” Rockmore says. “I need calm, maybe because I color myself so much through my clothing.” At the end of the day, she’ll find some quiet time to browse emails and DMs (with a glass of wine in hand) from her grandmother’s antique slipper chair. Other times, the space plays host to Rockmore’s friends, or her dog, who she says loves to sleep there.

“All of these pieces are meant for me, to bring joy to myself,” she concludes. “I don’t look at my collection as treasures. I look at them as the tools I use to create my art.”

Acrylic bins keep jewelry organized.

Photo: Carla RockmoreCarla Rockmore’s closet organization tips

• Keep things visible so they can inspire you: “People always ask me about how to store their luxury handbags. And I say, Just put them on a shelf. If you have the dust cover on them how are you going to be inspired by their color? Or their structure?”
• But if you have windows in your closet, consider UV-tinting them: “I have two windows on the second-floor landing, on either side of the coffered ceiling. I didn’t realize that direct sunlight shines through them early in the morning and that it was literally bleaching my handbags! So I had the windows treated with UV protection.”
• A dehumidifier can work wonders: “I recently purchased three Elsa Peretti silver bottle pendants from Tiffany’s. I’ve wanted them forever. I hung them where I hang my costume jewelry. It wasn’t even two weeks after I bought them that I went to take them out to wear and they were completely tarnished on one side. Coming from the north, I didn’t think [about the different climate]. I immediately put in a dehumidifier in the ductwork.”
• Organize in the way that works for you: “Just organizing by color alone always made me a little crazy. Because that means my red cashmere heavy sweater is going to hang right next to my little red camisole. I hang my clothes by weight and style. And then within that [framework] I work more narrowly with color.”
• Buy what you love: “Don’t buy the things that you think in your head are investment pieces. Purchase what makes you happy and makes you feel joy when you see it, and the outfit will work itself out.”

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