Southwest Ranches, FL custom closets and home organization

Southwest Ranches is one of Broward's younger municipalities. In 1996, Pembroke Pines proposed annexing the area, residents objected, and in March 2000 they voted to form a town of their own instead of joining Pembroke Pines or Davie. The town incorporated on June 6, 2000, formed to keep the area's semirural character. That shows in the rules: homes can't be built on lots smaller than one acre, and town law generally keeps out streetlights and sidewalks. Some properties are small farms or equestrian ranches, and the town takes in older communities such as Country Estates, Green Meadow, Ivanhoe Estates, Rolling Oaks and Sunshine Ranches.

The housing is almost all one type. Census Bureau estimates count about 98% of the town's roughly 2,300 homes as detached houses, and about 96% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners. The median home was built in 1982, and more than 60% went up in the 1970s and 1980s.

On a property this size, the garage often has to hold the tools for the land as well as the cars: mowers, trimmers, hoses, ladders and fencing supplies, plus bikes and pool gear. A custom garage storage system gives each group a place. Wall-mounted cabinets keep chemicals and small tools behind doors, slatwall holds rakes and long-handled tools on hooks, overhead racks take the bins you only need a few times a year, and a workbench gives repairs a home. Because the cabinets hang on the wall, the floor beneath them stays clear and easy to sweep.

The floor can change too. Swisstrax tiles interlock over the existing slab, and the garage options page shows the cabinet colors and workbench tops you can choose from.

Broward and Miami-Dade require every garage door to meet the large-missile impact rating. When that door opens, its tracks and opener take up ceiling space, so the designer measures the door's full travel before placing any overhead rack. It's also worth planning a shelf or cabinet for hurricane-season supplies, so water, batteries, flashlights and shutter hardware are in one place from June through November.

Most homes here date from the 1970s and 1980s. If your closets still have their original builder shelving, a walk-in closet system replaces it with hanging, drawers and shoe shelves sized to what you own, and the same approach works for reach-in closets in the other bedrooms.

On a property with horses or a working yard, the back door takes a beating. A mudroom with a bench, hooks and cubbies keeps muddy boots, riding gear and work jackets from spreading through the house. Our unique spaces page shows mudrooms, utility closets and other rooms that don't fit a standard category.

If your property has a private gate, share the code when you book or plan to meet the designer there, and let us know where to park if the driveway is long.

Nearby, homeowners in Davie, Weston and Pembroke Pines work with the same design team. To start, book a free in-home design consultation and tell us which rooms you have in mind.