# I built the Impossible Closet ![[images/Impossible-Closet.webp]] **Creator:** Super Valid Designs (@SuperValidDesigns) · **Published:** 2024-06-24 · **Length:** 21:25 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U) > Caption source: YouTube's automatic English captions (en-orig), fetched with yt-dlp (android_vr client) on the first try. The captions are clean; timestamps come from the chapter list and the captions. The video was added from the user's "Summarize" playlist. ## Outline ### The problem and the inspiration (0:00 to 1:02) - [0:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=1s) "Your closet is wasting too much space": the problem is not size but how efficiently the space is used. - [0:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=23s) The inspiration is *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* by C. S. Lewis, where a wardrobe opens onto Narnia, "the biggest walk-in closet ever". A short skit follows of clothes hanging in an outdoor "closet" in the woods. ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0015.webp]] *The book that inspired the build* - [0:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=50s) A magic portal is "entirely impossible", but the book has "another trick up its sleeve". A standard 3 ft by 2 ft entryway closet with a hanging bar fits about 18 coats comfortably, a design he jokes has been standard "since the invention of the coat hanger in 1903, I think, probably". ### Closet theory (1:03 to 2:00) - [1:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=84s) He lives in a tiny home and needs a closet about 30% smaller, which would hold only about 12 coats in the standard design. His goal is "more coats per inch than any other closet". - [1:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=118s) "Closet theory": closets get harder to use the fuller they get. ### Testing standard capacity (2:01 to 4:37) - [2:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=133s) He separates **maximum coat capacity** (what you can cram in) from **usable coat capacity** (where you can remove and insert a coat without fighting its neighbors). In a typical closet, the ratio is about 2:1. ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0150.webp]] *Maximum vs. usable coat capacity: roughly 2:1 in a normal closet* - [3:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=181s) The goal is a closet with a ratio of 1:1 or better, where usable capacity even exceeds the standard maximum. The answer is the form of a book: closed, it can't take another page; open, every page is reachable and new sheets slide in easily. ("No Narnia books were harmed... Only one Twilight book.") - [3:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=232s) Baseline test: he clamps a board inside the standard closet at exactly 2 ft. His rule is that one-handed hanging marks usable capacity, because once you need a second hand the closet's function "starts to decline drastically". - [4:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=278s) Result: **10 coats** one-handed and **21 coats** with two hands. The target is a 2 ft by 2 ft closet holding about 21 coats one-handed, with easy access to every coat. ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0300.webp]] *Baseline: 10 coats usable, 21 maximum, in a 2 ft wide standard closet* ### Designing the solution (4:38 to 6:13) - [5:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=331s) His first plan was a giant hardback-book spine made of door hinges and partial wooden frames, one per coat. He worried that the slop in many hinges would add up, considered piano hinges, and in the end wanted an off-the-shelf part anyone could buy. ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0340.webp]] *The book-spine concept in CAD* ### Finding the right hardware (6:14 to 8:06) - [6:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=374s) In a store, he finds swinging **rug display racks**, exactly the mechanism he wanted, and suspects he had seen them before and was subconsciously inspired by them. He asks viewers for other "book-like mechanisms". ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0380.webp]] *Swinging rug display racks in a store* - [7:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=444s) Changing his search terms turns up a **wall-mounted blueprint hanger** on Amazon, "a mini version of the rug rack", for about $150. Doing the door hinges alone would have cost about half that, before lumber and a cabinet redesign. ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0445.webp]] *The wall-mounted blueprint rack* ### Building the closet frame (8:07 to 10:08) - [8:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=487s) To save money, he uses 2x4s, thin hardboard and a spare door he already had instead of 3/4 in plywood or MDF, which he recommends if you build one yourself. He calls it a proof of concept and says he is "not a very good furniture builder". ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0560.webp]] *Building the 2x4 frames* - [9:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=559s) About the channel: his passion is "unique solutions to everyday problems", such as a lighting rig for bands or a cat-litter sifter, engineering his way out of problems instead of adapting to them. ### Installing the system (10:09 to 12:29) - [10:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=609s) He fastens a 2x4 plumb to the wall and mounts the first panel. The blueprint rack needs extra 2x4 spacers so the arms can swing out fully without hitting the frame. - [10:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=640s) Full access needs **two doors**: one on the front and a hinged side panel. - [11:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=660s) A cabinet-builder friend gave him maple-veneer MDF panels, which he uses for storage compartments above and below the coats. The upper compartment took "15 minutes of pure struggling" to fit. - [11:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=706s) He cuts the old door to size, fights its warp, and adds trim to hide screw holes. A roller latch at the top holds the side door shut so the front door's latch doesn't push it open. ### Customizing and finishing (12:30 to 14:00) - [12:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=750s) Scrap-wood hangers bolted to the arms looked wonky because the arms aren't straight, so he 3D printed clamps that grip the arms' thin bars. He offers the print files free on his Discord. ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0760.webp]] *Coat clamps on the articulating arms* - [13:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=782s) The finished closet: green paint, brass hardware, a shoe drawer, a "mini garage" for Victor the robot vacuum, a top cubby for hats and gloves, a front door, an opening side wall, and the modified rack with **12 articulating arms rated at 20 lb each**. ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0790.webp]] *The finished green closet with its shoe drawer and robot-vacuum garage* ### Testing the new design (14:01 to 16:06) - [14:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=841s) If it holds 24 coats (two per arm), it already beats the 21-coat maximum. One-handed, one coat per arm (12 total) fits easily, so it is already a success; the front door compresses the coats that stick out. - [15:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=900s) He gets **24 coats** in one-handed. It was getting difficult near the end, but he can still take a coat from the middle and rehang it with one hand. For fairness, he doesn't count coats piled onto the last arm. The door still shuts. ![[images/Impossible-Closet-t0940.webp]] *24 coats hung one-handed* - [16:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=967s) The claim that usable capacity exceeds maximum capacity "kind of" holds: 24 usable here vs. 21 maximum in the standard test. With the front door clamped shut, the closet behaves like a crammed standard closet; open it and the rack makes room again. ### Final results and review (16:07 to end) - [17:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=1066s) Using both hands, he adds one more coat per arm: **36 coats**, and the door still shuts. That matches the maximum he could fit in the full 3 ft standard closet. He stops there for fear of breaking something, and because he has "completely run out of coats". - [18:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=1113s) Scoring his goals: 21-coat maximum, "blew that out of the water"; one-handed operation, 24 coats; access to all coats, better than nearly any closet. The 2 ft by 2 ft interior he "may have cheated" on: the panels were already 24 in wide, so he widened it a couple of inches, and the hollow 2x4 frame adds a few more. He believes it would still be a big improvement at true 2x2 dimensions. - [19:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=1185s) The blueprint racks are "the real star of the show". He plans to keep about 20 coats in it day to day for the best experience. - [20:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=1212s) Outro: there's "something alternatively magical about working through a problem and coming up with a unique solution". The closing gag ([20:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=1249s)) shows chickens being shooed out ("Stay out of here"). ## Key takeaways - Separate **usable** capacity (one-handed access) from **maximum** capacity (crammed). A standard closet runs about 2:1. - Hanging coats on pivoting arms, like pages in a book, lets a closet store densely when closed and fan open for access. - Off-the-shelf **blueprint/plan racks** (12 pivot arms) are a cheap, ready-made version of the swinging rug-rack mechanism, so you don't need dozens of hinges. - The design needs a room layout that allows a front door and an opening side panel. - His results in a roughly 2 ft square closet: 24 coats usable and 36 maximum, against 10 and 21 for a standard bar closet of the same width. ## Claims check | Claim | Verdict | Notes / source | | --- | --- | --- | | *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* is "the second book" of the Narnia series ([0:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=23s)) | Partly accurate | It was published first (1950). It is second only in the in-story chronological order that HarperCollins has used to number the series since 1994, after *The Magician's Nephew* (1955). | | The coat hanger was invented in 1903 ([1:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=79s)) | Broadly accurate (he hedges) | The modern wire hanger is usually credited to Albert J. Parkhouse of Timberlake Wire and Novelty Co., Jackson, Michigan, in 1903 (US patent 822,981, granted 1906). Earlier precursors exist, such as O. A. North's 1869 "clothes-hook" patent ([ThoughtCo](https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-the-coat-hanger-4070933); [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothes_hanger)). | | A standard 3 ft by 2 ft closet fits about 18 coats comfortably; a 2 ft width holds 10 usable and 21 maximum | His own test | These are measurements from his informal one-hand/two-hand test, not an industry standard. | | A wall-mounted blueprint hanger on Amazon costs about $150 ([7:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=449s)) | Plausible | Adir's 12-arm pivot wall rack (model 617) is listed at about $147 on sale by one retailer ([FilingToday](https://www.filingtoday.com/Planfile_Adir_Wall_Rack_617.html)). Similar racks sell for less, roughly $50 to $80. The exact product he linked was not confirmed. | | The rack has 12 individually articulating arms rated at 20 lb each ([13:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=814s)) | Accurate (for this product type) | Adir's listing says "12 pivot brackets", with each arm holding 20 pounds (240 lb total) ([Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Adir-Corp-Pivot-Hangers-Blueprints/dp/B01HDXEPZM)). | | The closet holds 24 coats one-handed and 36 maximum | His own test | Shown on camera. He admits the interior is a few inches wider than the 2 ft by 2 ft target. | | More coats per inch "than any other closet this world has ever seen" | Hyperbole | This is a joke, not a testable claim. | ## Things mentioned ### Books and texts - *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* by C. S. Lewis (1950), the inspiration for the build ([0:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=23s)) - A "Twilight book" (*Twilight* series by Stephenie Meyer), cut up as a prop: "Only one Twilight book" was harmed ([3:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlJFzXUQ-U&t=226s)). Which volume it was is not stated. ### Products and hardware - A wall-mounted blueprint (plan) rack with 12 pivot arms, from Amazon; Amazon affiliate links are in the description - Rug display racks (in-store); door hinges and piano hinges (rejected); a roller latch; 3D-printed arm clamps (free files on his Discord) - Materials: 2x4s, thin hardboard, a spare door, maple-veneer MDF panels; recommended instead: 3/4 in plywood or MDF - "Victor", the household robot vacuum, which has its own garage in the closet ### Inventor showcase (from the description) - [Kangaroo Hanger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B0Z2WVkZgE) - [Simone Giertz, foldable coat hangers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vREokZa4dNU) - [BlankedStudios Voronoi hanger](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OhOSkKL6NO4) ### Concepts - "Closet theory": maximum vs. usable coat capacity, the one-hand rule, and book-style (page-fanning) storage ### Earlier projects referenced - A lighting rig for bands and a cat-litter sifting device (earlier videos on the channel) ## Biographies ### Super Valid Designs (the creator) A YouTube maker channel (@SuperValidDesigns, about 63.6K subscribers when fetched) about inventing "unique solutions to everyday problems". The creator lives in a tiny home, which is the reason for this build. His name is not given in the video, and it was not looked up. ### C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (1898 to 1963) was a British writer and Oxford and Cambridge scholar. He wrote *The Chronicles of Narnia* (seven books, 1950 to 1956), as well as *Mere Christianity* and *The Screwtape Letters*.