Decide before you get quoted
Render the closet in two or three styles first. Walking into a quote knowing what you want is the cheapest hour you will spend on the project.
Closet pricing is quoted per linear foot of run, not per square foot of room. Everything below is in that unit, plus what typical projects come to end to end. US pricing, 2026.
Measure the wall the storage runs along. A 6 ft reach-in is 6 linear feet, whether you put one rod in it or four.
| System | Materials / ft | Installed / ft | Lifespan | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wire shelving (ventilated) | $8 - $25 | $15 - $40 | 10+ years | What builders install. Cheap, holds weight, and sweaters fall through the gaps |
| Melamine DIY kit | $35 - $90 | $60 - $150 | 10 - 15 years | Big box tower kits. Solid value if your walls are square, which they are not |
| Wood-look laminate, installed | $120 - $250 | $180 - $350 | 15 - 20 years | The mainstream closet company product. 3/4 in. melamine with edge banding |
| Semi-custom, painted MDF | $250 - $450 | $300 - $600 | 20+ years | Shaker fronts, crown molding, sprayed finish. Looks like millwork |
| Full custom hardwood veneer | $450 - $900 | $600 - $1,400 | 25+ years | Cabinet shop work: real veneer, glass fronts, integrated lighting, an island |
The gap between the DIY and pro columns is labor plus the design fee. On a reach-in it is most of the price; on a walk-in with an island it is a smaller share of a bigger number.
| Project | Size | DIY | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reach-in refresh (rod and shelf swap) | 6 ft wide | $150 - $400 | $600 - $1,400 |
| Reach-in converted to double hang plus drawers | 6 ft wide | $400 - $900 | $1,200 - $3,000 |
| Small walk-in, one wall | 5 x 6 ft | $700 - $1,600 | $2,000 - $5,000 |
| Walk-in, two walls, drawers and lighting | 7 x 8 ft | $1,500 - $3,500 | $5,000 - $12,000 |
| Primary walk-in with island and glass fronts | 10 x 12 ft | Not realistic | $15,000 - $45,000 |
| Spare bedroom converted to a dressing room | 10 x 12 ft | $4,000 - $9,000 | $20,000 - $60,000 |
These are the line items that move a quote after you have agreed the layout. The app lets you toggle most of them before you ask for a price, which is a cheaper place to change your mind.
| Add-on | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| LED strip lighting per run | $150 - $500 | Add an electrician's half day if there is no circuit |
| Center island, 4 - 6 ft | $2,500 - $8,000 | Needs 36 in. clear on every side |
| Glass or fluted glass fronts | +30% over solid | Per door, framed in metal |
| Soft-close drawer bank (5 drawers) | $600 - $1,800 | Undermount slides are most of the cost |
| Pull-out valet rod, tie rack, belt rack | $40 - $180 each | Cheap upgrades that get used daily |
| Full-length lit mirror | $250 - $900 | Skip the fixture and side-light it instead |
| Motion sensor switch | $25 - $80 | The single best value item on this list |
| Cedar lining | $4 - $9 per sq ft | Leave it unfinished or it stops smelling of cedar |
Style is a cost driver on its own, because it decides the material and the finish. Same nine styles the app renders.
| Style | Installed / linear ft |
|---|---|
| Modern | $180 - $450 |
| Minimalist | $150 - $320 |
| Luxury | $600 - $1,400 |
| Boutique | $350 - $800 |
| Industrial | $90 - $260 |
| Scandinavian | $140 - $340 |
| Classic | $300 - $700 |
| Contemporary | $320 - $750 |
| Rustic | $160 - $420 |
A reach-in redone properly runs $1,200 to $3,000 installed. A 7 by 8 ft walk-in with drawers and lighting runs $5,000 to $12,000. A primary walk-in with an island and glass fronts starts around $15,000. Doing it yourself with a melamine kit cuts those numbers by roughly two thirds, and the difference is almost all labor.
For a reach-in, usually not: a melamine kit installed carefully gets you 80 percent of the result for a quarter of the price. For a walk-in with an odd shape, angled ceilings or a window in the wrong place, custom earns it back, because that is exactly where kits fail.
Storage shows well but rarely appraises as a line item. Treat it as something you are buying for yourself. The exception is a primary bedroom with a genuinely inadequate closet, where the fix removes a buyer objection.
Convert the single rod to double hang. Two rods, one shelf and a couple of brackets is under $100 in materials and adds more capacity than anything else you can do for the money. Then add a $30 LED strip under the top shelf.
Typically $2,000 to $5,000 for a reach-in and $5,000 to $15,000 for a walk-in, which puts them in the wood-look laminate to semi-custom bands above. You are paying for the design service and the install warranty as much as for the panels.
Render the closet in two or three styles first. Walking into a quote knowing what you want is the cheapest hour you will spend on the project.