Since its founding in 1908, eggersmann has been the purveyor of storage solutions that are simultaneously smart, stylish, and completely customizable. Kitchen cabinets, islands, and wet bars continue to be the German brand’s personalized pièce de resistance, while its United States market brings another storage essential to the forefront: the closet. For Evan Soltoff, vice president of operations for eggersmann USA, high-caliber custom wardrobes were both a natural expansion and an untapped market.
“There aren’t many customized wardrobe manufacturers in the world,” he explains. “We realized the segment of wardrobes was growing really rapidly and still is.” To bring a well-appointed precision to the closet, Soltoff says eggersmann USA teamed up with Schmalenbach Design to create a “homogenous product that comes to the client in the same, high-quality way.” Not only is Schmalenbach a family-owned, German brand — like eggersmann — but the company also brings the same bespoke quality to all its designs to ensure the brands blend effortlessly.
Like the rest of its offerings, eggersmann USA is committed to building wardrobes that will cater to their clients’ unique needs. To understand a client’s vision on a cellular level, our designers will ask for photos of the spaces, tour homes in-person, and ask many well-curated questions. In fact, Soltoff argues designers need to ask more questions when creating a closet than they would for a kitchen.
“The closets we design for our clients are not just about fitting what they want to have inside,” Soltoff says. “It’s also thinking about how to display and access all the pieces—all while making a wardrobe beautiful.”
The results, he says, can be transformative. Each wardrobe system is made to measure, and a single structure can extend to over 12 feet tall; a feat Soltoff says is “highly unusual” in the closet space. Each of the brand’s wardrobes can be made in a series of premium veneers, lacquers, and upholstery such as stitched eco leathers. “It really adds another layer of elegance to the wardrobe,” Soltoff notes.
Regardless of size and material, it’s what’s inside a closet that really counts, and eggersmann USA can outfit its wardrobes with a series of customizable features. Highlights, Soltoff says, includes built-in watch winders, hidden storage, hideaway safes, hat trees, handcrafted jewelry drawer inserts, and rotating shoe storage.
In some cases, clients are requesting integrated coffee bars, wine storage, and even runways—transforming the traditional closet from a practical pitstop to a cherished part of the home. “People are enjoying the space more than just a closet,” Soltoff says. “It’s an elevated environment for them to begin and end the day.”
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