Closet Factory is in the business of building a better quality of life for its clients. "It's a fun purchase with us," Charles Palko says. "People do dream about what kind of closet they're going to get."

The Palko family are the owners of the Closet Factory franchise serving the Delaware Valley—covering Ocean County down to Cape May County in New Jersey, Philadelphia and its surrounding four counties, and the state of Delaware. The company prides itself on catering to its clients, whether they're working on a $2,000 job or a $120,000 job.

"We go from simple to spectacular, and our spectacular is really spectacular," Palko affirms.

In addition to custom closets, Closet Factory also designs and installs wall beds, entertainment centers and organizational units for other areas of the home and Palko assures that no matter the project, it will be done to the client's specifications, and it will be done well.

"Because of our 45 years of experience in architectural woodwork, we are well above what is considered industry standard when it comes to how we manufacture our products," he says. "The quality, hands down, is better at Closet Factory."

There are three buckets a customer requires, according to Palko. First is ensuring the project meets all of the client's organizational needs. Second is building a closet that is aesthetically pleasing. And third is succeeding in doing both of these things within the customer's budget.

"We make sure from an organizational point of view that there's enough room for all of their handbags, all of their shoes, their long hang, their short hang. We make sure we cover all the bases," Palko explains.

As far as aesthetics, Closet Factory designers can put together everything from simple, streamlined plans to extravagant designs with all the bells and whistles.

"Aesthetics has a lot to do with the end price, and we work with the client on what their budget is. We work around that number, so we maximize organization and aesthetics to that budget," Palko says. "We don't want to overdesign it and we don't want to under design it."

Training and technologyCloset Factory designers go through "constant training," according to Palko. The initial training is three intense weeks, and there is follow-up education as they work their way up to more intricate and expensive designs.

Closet Factory also utilizes a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) program to build its designs, which enables clients to see their project not only in 2D, but in a full 3D rendering in their home. The accuracy is so advanced that it transfers the project to the company's computerized machinery to be able to individually cut each part of the project.

"Everything starts from flat wood and it's cut exactly as it's designed on the CAD program," Palko says. "Our shop is the most sophisticated in Closet Factory's franchise network, so our customers are getting the benefit of having the best equipment and the most experienced people working on their project."

Closet Factory manufactures everything on site except for hardware. Doors, drawers, even glass—it's all cut and manufactured in-house, and computer-generated to exact specifications resulting in one of the best yields in the industry.

"We're in control of what happens with the client experience," Palko says.

While industry standard is to finish a job about 85% of the time—meaning, for instance, a two-day job won't be finished in two days 15% of the time—at Closet Factory, they're at 97%.

"And we're not accepting the 3%," Palko adds. "We're finding out who and how we didn't get those projects done on time."

Organization for a lifetime
Many companies offer lifetime warranties, but what's different with Closet Factory's lifetime warranty is that it's transferable to a new homeowner.

"Our products are built for life," Palko says, "and we back them for life."

This, paired with the company's one year, no-interest financing, makes investing in home organization to meet every day needs an easy choice—and a choice that has grown in popularity over the years.

Twenty-five years ago, clients were focused on beautiful kitchens and master bathrooms when buying or building a home. Today, they still are, but they also want home organization that fits their needs.

"That's what the customer wants today. Customers want a great kitchen, a great master bath and a great walk-in closet," Palko says.
And according to him, there's no better way to ensure a customer is getting the organization and closets that fit their need than by giving them a say in the process. The Closet Factory team sits down with a new client from the very inception of a project, involving them every step of the way.

"From a clean slate all the way up to completion, the customer has input. We're coming up with this beautiful design that the customer actually has ownership of," Palko says. "We're not designing our dream closet, we're designing the customer's dream closet."

Closet Factory
Serving Pa. and N.J.
(215) 268-7660
ClosetFactory.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 25, Issue 5 (July/August 2025)
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