Custom Closets on Hilton Head Island

Older homes, original closets

The median home on the island was built in 1987, and about 54% of the island’s homes went up in the 1980s and 1990s (as of 2024). Many closets are still the builder’s rod and one shelf.

Condos and villas

Nearly half of the island’s homes, about 47%, are in attached or multi-unit buildings such as villas, townhomes and condos (as of 2024). A designer who has worked in a condo knows how tight the space is.

Part-time homes

About 1 in 4 homes in the Town of Hilton Head Island is held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use (as of 2024). If that is your home, book the measuring visit and the install for weeks you are on the island.

Two shops on the island

Signature Closets of the Low Country builds in its shop on Otter Hole Rd, 0.7 mi from Hilton Head Plantation’s Main Gate. Inspired Closets has its showroom on Target Rd, 1.2 mi from Coligny Plaza.

Two showrooms in Bluffton

More Space Place (Fording Island Rd) and Closet Factory (Persimmon St) are 2.0 and 1.5 mi from Old Town Bluffton, and both list Hilton Head among where they work.

Wiring and permits

The Town of Hilton Head Island requires a building permit for electrical work, so a new outlet or closet lighting is a permitted job, and the contractor you hire submits the application.

For custom closets on Hilton Head Island, there are three kinds of shop. Closet specialists such as Inspired Closets, More Space Place and Closet Factory design a closet, pantry or garage as a system and install it, with a free consultation. Builders in a local shop, such as Signature Closets of the Low Country and Carolina Custom Solutions, make the closet as cabinetry on the island. A handyman can hang shelves and closet rods, and Handyman of Hilton Head lists custom cabinets, closets and built-ins on its website: see handyman services on Hilton Head Island.

Closet & Cabinet Experts, based in Savannah, says its clients include Hilton Head, and GarageExperts of Hilton Head covers the garage. Closets By Design (Coastal South Carolina) also lists Hilton Head Island among its service areas on its Houzz profile; it is based in North Charleston with no island office, so it has no card here. The Bluffton side has its own list: custom closets in Bluffton.

A closet organizer on Hilton Head can mean a built system with drawers, shoe shelves and hanging space designed to your closet, or a cabinet-style build in the same finish as your kitchen. Signature Closets of the Low Country says its systems are not modular and not wire shelving; Inspired Closets shows you the design in 3D or augmented reality before you buy. Ask each company to show a closet in a home like yours, a condo, a villa or a 1980s ranch.

The same companies also do the rooms around the closet. Inspired Closets lists pantries, laundry rooms, home offices and entryways; More Space Place lists pantries, utility rooms, Murphy beds and home offices; Signature Closets lists pantries, media centers and kitchen cabinets. A Murphy bed turns a guest room into a home office. If you are redoing the kitchen too, see kitchen remodeling on Hilton Head, and for new floors under the shelving, flooring companies.

For garage organization on Hilton Head, GarageExperts of Hilton Head lists garage cabinets (base, pantry and overhead), slatwall and epoxy floors, and its free estimate is on-site. Closet Factory, Inspired Closets and Closet & Cabinet Experts list garage storage systems next to closets, so one visit can cover both. For garage shelving or a full garage makeover on Hilton Head, these are the companies to call: the door companies don’t do this work. Ask each whether the proposal covers the floor, the wall system and the cabinets, and what the warranty says.

If the garage is full of boxes rather than tools, a storage unit may be the cheaper fix: see storage units on Hilton Head. To clear out what you no longer need first, see junk removal, and for the door itself, garage door repair on Hilton Head.

Most companies here start with a free consultation: Inspired Closets and Closet Factory come to the house, Closet & Cabinet Experts comes to the house or hosts you at its showroom, and Signature Closets says an owner measures. Measure what you own before the visit, and ask each company four things: who installs (its own crew or a subcontractor), how long from signed design to install, what the warranty covers and whether it transfers to a buyer, and whether financing is offered. Get the terms in writing.

Shelves and drawers need no wiring, but LED strips and a new closet light are electrical work. The Town of Hilton Head Island requires a building permit for electrical work, and the contractor you hire submits the application: see electricians on Hilton Head. If the closet is in a gated community such as Sea Pines, Palmetto Dunes, Hilton Head Plantation or Long Cove, a closet inside the walls rarely involves the review board, but check your community’s rules on contractor access and hours.

Nearly half of the island’s homes are in attached or multi-unit buildings, and about 1 in 4 homes is a part-time home. For a condo or villa, ask the association or property manager what a contractor needs: usually a certificate of insurance, a reserved elevator or loading time, and approved working hours. An Inspired Closets reviewer describes a condo closet designed to make the most of tight space, and a More Space Place reviewer describes a small closet redesigned as a dressing room.

If you are away most of the year, ask when the company can do the measuring and the install in one stay, and who lets the crew in. For a home you rent out between your own stays, see second homes on Hilton Head Island, and for the moving day, movers on Hilton Head.

Inspired Closets says on its website that smaller closets typically start around $5,000, and that a smaller reach-in may cost less and a large boutique closet more. Closets By Design’s Houzz profile gives a typical job cost of $1,000 to $10,000 and says the price depends on the custom items. These are one company’s own figures each, not an island average.

What moves the price: the size of the space, solid wood versus built-up cabinets, the number of drawers, doors and lights, and whether the job includes the pantry or the garage. Signature Closets says it prices a job once and sticks to it; get at least two free consultations and compare written designs, not just totals.