Life is hectic. Between work, family, friends, and all of life’s responsibilities, we have to juggle a lot of things. Many things are out of our control, but our closets and living spaces don’t have to be. Closets by Design has solutions for your home to help keep them running more efficiently so that you have time to handle the things in life that matter. From offices and entertainment centers, to bedrooms, closets, hobby spaces and garages, they offer practical and budget friendly solutions to organize your space and help make life a little easier on you.
“We help you make better use of your space,” says Mark Hutto, President of Closets by Design of the First Coast. “What is provided by the builder in homes is often not practical for everyday living. With Closets by Design, we can double the utilization of your space. We provide custom solutions for your home that we install hassle-free. With our products you don’t have to worry about carpentry, painting, dust and debris. We can be in and out in a day with no fuss or mess.”
Mark and his wife, Frances, head up the team at Closets by Design of the First Coast. Mark has been running small businesses for many years and has over 30 years of experience in the manufacturing industry. Frances comes from a teaching and design background and manages the Sales team.
“We really enjoy making a difference and improving people’s homes in our community,” she says. “With home values what they are, our organization solutions and closets can make them even better. In a very efficient manner, we can really make an impact on the use of people’s space and increase the value of their home. The work is very rewarding.”
The process of getting a custom closet system into your home is simple. First, you will want to give their office a call. Their front desk representatives will set you up with an appointment for a design consultation.
The design consultation is a free, no-obligation appointment where a designer will come out to your home. They work with you to measure your space, listen to what your needs are and provide their ideas and suggestions to help find you a customized solution. They bring all of their samples to the meeting so you can have lots of different options of color and materials to choose from. Your designer will draw up your plan based on your needs and price it on the spot; giving you all the information you need to make an informed decision.
“We try to make the quoting process as simple as possible with our customers. We can work within many different budgets to come up with a solution. We give clients multiple options to choose from and provide a clear outline and quote, so they have everything to make a decision,” says Mark. “Once you decide on a solution, you are then ready to book your install date. We usually book a couple months out and the install typically takes a day to complete, which is unusual for most home improvement projects.”
Closets by Design is the only major closet company that makes their products locally. Once your project is ready to go, almost all of their manufacturing is done at their Jacksonville location off Philips Highway. “Having our products made locally is one of our biggest advantages,” says Mark. “It makes us nimbler.We have better control over our pricing, and we are not subject to shipping costs and shipping delays as much as our competitors. We have a very large local team and all manufacturing, cutting, engineering and assembly is done here. This also allows us to provide custom solutions unique to our client’s needs. Custom solutions are often out of reach for certain budgets but because we make our products locally, our custom options are affordable. We have done over 5,000 installs and not a single one of them has been the same.”
Closets by Design offer the best value, hands down, in the industry. Their custom-tailored designs are made from the highest quality construction. They rank highest in customer service and total customer satisfaction and have been in business nationally since 1982. They have made a huge impact on our community and have done a lot to give back. During the pandemic, they ran a giveaway for essential workers. The winner was a local couple. The wife worked at the Mayo Clinic in the critical care and pediatric unit and her husband was a firefighter. They provided them with free systems for their laundry room and walk in closets. “There were a lot of happy tears with that installation. It is such an honor to make a difference in people’s lives,” says Mark.
Aside from helping clients streamline their homes, Closets by Design provide a great working environment for employees. “Running a small local business, we are able to really help our employees make a good income,” says Mark. “I want to help people who are usedto working dead end hourly jobs be able to have a career with us. Our designers and installers come from all walks of life and are able to do well because our customers truly enjoy our products.”
