HGTV's Untraditional Closets In The 2024 Smart Home Has Fans Horrified

HGTV is known for their huge sweepstakes in which they give away expensive, fully paid houses each year. The HGTV Smart Home for 2024 was revealed this spring with a full house tour, only to leave fans flabbergasted by and disappointed in what they viewed as a major design mistake. People took to social media to share their confusion and disapproval. Within weeks of the reveal, the home improvement network posted a video on Instagram to address the issue: why are there no closets in the HGTV Smart Home 2024? 

Wait, what do you mean no closets? Well, not exactly no closets — just no traditional closets in the primary bedroom, as they were removed from the home during renovation to make space for a larger primary bathroom. Instead, the designer, Tiffany Brooks, opted to install freestanding wardrobe cabinets (here's the difference between a wardrobe and closet) on either side of the window with a bench seat in between. Each wardrobe has one side with a pull-down rod at the top and shelves below, while the second side is full-length hanging space for dresses. While HGTV posted the video in hopes of defending what they saw as an efficient use of a small space, fans tore the design to pieces in the comments, horrified by what they viewed as a major oversight for such a large, expensive home worth around $1,028,020.

Fans critical of the wardrobes most frequently commented that the small size would be an absolute deal-breaker, as they owned more than six articles of clothing as comedically shown in the Instagram video. Others had concerns with the pull-down rod, claiming that if they jammed it full with clothes, it would be extremely heavy and hard, if not impossible, to operate. Several fans also pointed out that the nightstand would prevent easy access to one wardrobe, while another group lamented that the bedroom lacked space to even supplement the dismal closet space with a dresser. Everyone in opposition to this non-traditional closet design agreed: it's one thing to put up with a tiny wardrobe space in a small apartment or vacation rental, but it is extremely insufficient for a house of this size and price point. Many joked that if they won the house, they would end up as one of the HGTV contestants that couldn't afford their new homes, thanks to the extensive costs required to get the primary bedroom storage up to snuff.

Another angry mob of commenters hotly debated whether these freestanding units made this a legal bedroom from a real estate perspective. In many areas, a bedroom without a standard closet would be considered non-conforming and would therefore lower the value of the property. The overall consensus was that even if it was technically legal in Atlanta, why would anyone want a home with so little closet storage anyway?

Despite the majority of fans very vocally trashing the 2024 Smart Home wardrobes, there were a few to come to their defense, saying the European-style closets maximized the small space well and looked gorgeously modern. Several fans piped up to say they would 100% rather have a big, beautiful bathroom space than closet storage anyway. Those in favor said the wardrobes were perfect for maintaining a minimalist capsule wardrobe (which is one of several ways to make your small closet seem larger), saying less clothes means less material possessions, which ultimately means less stress. A few fans joked that if they won, the forced purging of clothes would thrill their significant others who are sick of their overstuffed closets!

So where do you stand on the hot wardrobe debate? Would these wardrobe closets be sufficient for you? Regardless of the answer, a few fans were quick to remind us that beggars can't be choosers — they are giving the house away to one lucky winner for free so don't look a gift horse in the mouth. If you are fortunate enough to win this incredible Atlanta smart home, minimal closets likely wouldn't spoil the life-changing surprise. However, if you are just looking for design inspiration, maybe just skip this idea if a capsule wardrobe isn't for you!