Installing Closet Cedar

Cedar closets are all the rage and with good reason. Cedar gives your closet a luxurious and sophisticated look and feel that transforms the ordinary into extraordinary. Lining your closet in cedar is a great way to update the look with a timeless beauty and style that is unmatched by any other upgrade. It looks beautiful, gives your closet a fresh scent, and protects the investment that you’ve made in your wardrobe.



Oils in Eastern red cedar evaporate slowly to release the fresh scent that so many know and love. Cedar scent seems to remind a lot of people of their childhoods, where they grew up with cedar hope chests, beautiful armoires, and other heirloom quality furniture. Cedar is great for closets for a multitude of reasons other than the great smell. It doesn’t cover up odors, but rather eliminates odors by actually deodorizing the air around it. It is a very absorbent wood, so it soaks up humidity. This humidity is what helps molds and mildews grow in closets and gives your clothing that musty smell. It also repels common closet pests that can damage clothing, such as moths, cockroaches, and silverfish. The oils in your skin get on your clothing and shoes, attracting these pests, so using cedar is a good idea for any closet.



Make sure when you choose your cedar lining or accessories that it is Eastern red cedar. Western red cedar does not produce enough oil to be an effective barrier against pests. However, it is still very absorbent, so if you’re not fond of a strong smell, you might prefer the Western variety for your closet. Both varieties are beautiful, possessing a deep red wood grain that looks great with any décor.



Lining your closet is not as difficult as you might think and many people choose to install it themselves. You can use a prefabricated liner, a sheet of cedar, or cedar planks. Many people choose a precut liner because it is very easy to install. Planks can be installed with industrial glue, or nailed into place with small finishing nails. You will need to use some long, larger screws to attach load-bearing planks to studs inside of your closet. Because cedar splits so easily, you will need to predrill pilot holes in the wood before inserting the screw.



Another way to incorporate cedar into your closet is to upgrade your hangers to cedar clothes hangers. You’ll love how they look and feel. If your cedar closet accessories ever start to lose their scent or luster, simply wipe over them gently with a fine grit sandpaper to restore them to their original state.