Forget the Pool or Even the Living Room—‘Our Closet Time Is Precious’

A room you might not expect comes to mind when home seller Karen Haines reflects on fond memories at her Hollywood Regency-style house in Palm Springs, California: her bedroom closet.

“Forget the great room, swimming pool or hot tub. All the action in the house happens in the closet. It’s where everyone wants to be,” said Haines of the enormous space, which is decked out with white tones, mirrors, marble and gold finishes, and has double sinks with bird-shaped faucets.

Haines and her husband, Chris, are selling the house, designed by acclaimed architect Robert Marx and on the market with Douglas Elliman for $5.2 million. The couple, both entrepreneurs in the music industry, usually keep classic rock ‘n’ roll playing in the closet all day, she said.

“My daughter and I try on clothes in there, and Chris and I drink coffee in the morning and cocktails come evening,” she said.

For most homeowners, closets are merely functional—that is, a place to hold clothes, accessories and other items that they turn to for everyday wear. Some, however, are taking the coziness and intimacy of the primary suite’s walk-in closet to the next level and turning it into the home’s prized space. It’s become a place where couples can connect at the end of a hectic day or a lounge where owners socialise with friends, enjoy a morning coffee, and, yes, even imbibe with cocktails and wine.

Chris Lim, a real estate agent and former president of Christie’s International Real Estate, said that he is witnessing a redefining of the concept of walk-in closets.

“With the inclusion of features like bar sinks, lounge seating, spacious islands and glass displays and expanded vanity areas, walk-in closets now offer a retreat for morning rituals and post-day relaxation,” he said. “They’ve become hubs of activity and connection in multimillion-dollar homes.”

Part of the trend, he said, is the growing number of fashion and social media influencers, who often use their bedroom closets as their offices or filming space.

When it comes to showpiece closets, Brazilian design firm Ornare is a leading name and charges between $30,000 and close to $1 million for its services.

Claudio Faria, the CEO of Ornare Miami, said that when he opened his business in 2007, closets were an afterthought with homeowners investing their money in zhuzhing up public-facing spaces such as kitchens and family rooms. Now, he said, closets are dominating home design—his business has grown 50% annually for the last five years as a result.

“Closets have become more important because, in the way that wealthy people collect cars and art, they’re collecting clothes, and closets are the venues to show them off,” Faria said. They’re also a unique area to use in your home because of their intimacy and become talking points.”

Ana Paula Siebert Justus is a client and tapped Ornare to bring her vision of a glamorous closet to life. Justus, a fashion influencer, and her husband, Roberto Justus, an entrepreneur, own a five-bedroom condominium in Sunny Isles, Florida. The large wardrobe in their bedroom is awash in green hues, wood and leather. Backlighting features throughout, and there are sections for handbags and clothes plus a hat rack and a vanity with a chair.

“I spend a lot of time in my closet shooting content, so it needs to be in photograph-ready shape,” she said. “It has no door, and one of my favorite ways to connect with Roberto is to catch up as I’m getting dressed for the day or evening events. Our closet time is precious.”

Tina Trahan, a philanthropist and art collector, lives in Los Angeles’s Studio City neighbourhood in a 5,100-square-foot home that was the exterior for the home on “The Brady Bunch” TV series. She shared similar sentiments about her closet. She has repurposed one of the bedrooms into the space and has outfitted it with double-height rolling racks, a three-way mirror, a sofa, a Miele coffee machine and a fridge stocked with drinks including White Claws—her beverage of choice.

Trahan said that she frequently entertains girlfriends, and they love heading to her closet to drink tequila and wine and catch up.

“We end up ordering sushi and eating it there. My closet is 100% our favourite place to hang out,” she said.

Other examples of these double-duty flashy closets abound.

Real estate agent Katrina Barrett of Christie’s International Real Estate Walt Danley | Local Luxury is overseeing the marketing and sale of a $40 million home in Paradise Valley, Arizona. The centrepiece of its primary suite is an expansive closet with seating, a steaming area, hidden panels to store valuables and a secret door leading to a sports barn with a pickleball court and golf simulator.

In another example, Susan Archer is selling her home in Issaquah, Washington, near Seattle, for more than $6 million through Windermere Real Estate/Luxury Portfolio International. She described the property’s primary bedroom’s closet as “a haven for creating memorable moments with friends and family.”

The white-painted space has marble and cream walls and features backlighting, a display case that’s common in upscale boutiques, a washer and dryer, a wet bar, an island and seating.

“Many of my girlfriends and I have gathered around the island, their excitement palpable as they admire my collection. With champagne flutes in hand, the atmosphere is lively and carefree,” Archer said. “Beyond the soirées with friends, my closet holds a special place for precious moments with my daughter. As she grows, her interest in fashion blossoms, and my closet becomes a treasure trove of inspiration for her budding style.”

Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu delivered a warning to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a recent visit to Washington: Already-high airfares will surge if the war in Iran doesn’t end soon.

Sununu, a Republican who represents some of the biggest airlines as president of the industry group Airlines for America, has for weeks sounded the alarm to Trump administration officials about the economic fallout from high jet fuel prices. The war, Sununu has argued, must come to a close soon, or things will get worse.

Administration officials have gotten the message.

Privately, President Trump’s advisers are increasingly worried that Republicans will pay a political price for the rising fuel costs, according to people familiar with the matter. Many of those advisers are eager to end the war, hoping prices will begin to moderate before November’s midterm elections.

The fallout from the U.S.-Israeli attack in late February has slowed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane, triggering a sharp increase in oil, gasoline and jet-fuel prices.

That means consumers are grappling with high costs ahead of the summer travel season, as they consider vacation plans.

Sixty-three per cent of Americans said they put a great deal or a good amount of blame on Trump for the increase in gas prices, according to a new poll conducted by NPR, PBS and Marist.

More than 8 in 10 Americans said struggles at the gas pump are putting strain on their finances.

Jet-fuel prices roughly doubled in a matter of weeks after the war began, and they have remained high. Airlines have said that will add billions of dollars of additional expenses this year, squeezing profit margins.

U.S. airlines spent more than $5 billion on fuel in March—up 30% from a year earlier, according to government data.

Carriers have been raising ticket prices, hoping to pass the cost along to consumers, and they are culling flights that will no longer make money at higher price levels.

In March, the price of a U.S. domestic round-trip economy ticket rose 21% from a year earlier to $570, according to Airlines Reporting Corp., which tracks travel-agency sales.

So far, airlines have said the higher fares haven’t deterred bookings and they are hoping to recoup more of the fuel-cost increases as the year goes on.

Earlier this week, Trump said the current price of oil is “a very small price to pay for getting rid of a nuclear weapon from people that are really mentally deranged.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that if Iran got a nuclear weapon, the country would have more leverage to keep the strait closed and “make our gas prices like $9 a gallon or $8 a gallon.”

Trump has taken steps in recent days to bring the war to an end. Late Tuesday, the president paused a plan to help guide trapped commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, expressing optimism that a deal could be reached with Iran to end the conflict.

Crude oil prices fell below $100 a barrel on Wednesday, after reports that Iran and the U.S. are working with mediators on a one-page framework to restart negotiations aimed at ending the conflict and opening the strait.

Sununu said Trump administration officials are conscious of the economic fallout from the war: “They get it…and I think that’s why they’re trying to get through the war as fast as they can.”

But he cautioned that it could take months for prices to return to prewar levels.

“Ticket prices won’t go down immediately” after the strait is fully reopened, Sununu said. “You’re looking at elevated ticket prices through the summer and fall because it takes a while for the prices to go down.”

Since the initial U.S.-Israeli attack in late February, Sununu has met in Washington with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, representatives from the Transportation Department and senior White House officials.

A White House official confirmed that Hassett and Sununu have discussed the effect of increased fuel prices on the airline industry. The official said the conversation touched on how the industry can mitigate the impact of high jet fuel prices on consumers.

“The president and his entire energy team anticipated these short-term disruptions to the global energy markets from Operation Epic Fury and had a plan prepared to mitigate these disruptions,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said, pointing to the administration’s decision to waive a century-old shipping law in a bid to lower the cost of moving oil.

Rogers said the administration is working with industry representatives to “address their concerns, explore potential actions, and inform the president’s policy decisions.”

A Treasury Department spokesman pointed to Bessent’s recent comments on Fox News that the U.S. economy remains strong despite price increases. The spokesman said Treasury officials have met with airline executives, who have reaffirmed strong ticket bookings.

“We’re cognizant that this short-term move up in prices is affecting the American people, but I am also confident, on the other side of this, prices will come down very quickly,” Bessent told Fox News on Monday.

The war has already contributed to one casualty in the industry: Spirit Airlines. Company representatives have said they were forced to close the airline because the sustained surge in jet-fuel prices derailed the company’s plan to emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Trump administration and Spirit failed to come to an agreement for the company to receive a financial lifeline of as much as $500 million from the federal government.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has argued that the Iran war wasn’t the cause of Spirit’s demise, pointing to the company’s past financial struggles, as well as the Biden administration’s decision to challenge a merger with JetBlue.

Other budget airlines have also turned to the federal government for help since the U.S.-Israeli attack. A group of budget airlines last month sought $2.5 billion in financial assistance to offset higher fuel costs, and they separately wrote to lawmakers asking for relief from certain ticket taxes.

Forget the Pool or Even the Living Room—‘Our Closet Time Is Precious’

Some homeowners are taking the coziness and intimacy of the primary suite’s walk-in wardrobe to the next level and transforming it from functional storage into the home’s centrepiece

Administration officials have spoken to the airline industry, which has voiced concerns about the rising costs.