For Sale: $500,000 Closet

And you thought your closet was small.

Apparently, for Houston philanthropist Theresa Roemer, a 3,000 square feet closet worth around $500,000 is just not big enough. She and her husband Lamar just listed the closet – and the house it resides in – on the market for $12.9 million. They bought the house for 2.5 million last July. See, we told you that a custom closet would increase your home’s value.

Roemer, who believes you can never have a big enough closet, is planning to build a closet twice this size in her new house. The original intent of creating such a one-of-kind space was for it to be a venue for her charitable works and she has held numerous fundraisers in her amazing closet.

Next to Carrie Bradshaw, Roemer has one of the most famous closets in pop culture. She and her champagne bar equipped closet have appeared in several newspapers and talk shows including Good Morning America and the Today Show. Calling it her “she cave,” Roemer’s three story, custom designed closet houses designer fashions on one floor, shoes on another and handbags on yet another.

Roemer’s closet also attracted the attention of an enterprising thief who stole an estimated $1 million worth of luxury goods from it on August 2, 2014 when the Roemers were at their country club. The most valuable item stolen was a locket of baby hair from Roemer’s son who died in a car accident. In a bizarre twist of events, two weeks after the heist, the robber sent some items to a Houston newspaper after trying to initially extort money from Roemer.

Disguising his voice, the robber called the Houston Press and told them he had contacted Roemer and threatened to go public with the news that the items he stole from her were fake unless she gave him half a million dollars. Roemer confirmed the thief contacted her but she refused to pay a dime. She said the thief had taken some costume pieces in addition to expensive jewelry. “He’s just trying to blackmail me, because the closet story went viral, and he can’t unload anything now,” Roemer explained. “So now he can have an extortion charge added to the burglary charge when he’s caught.” Due to the blackmail attempt, the FBI joined the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.

The good news; the package the thief sent to the Houston Press had Roemer’s locket with her son’s baby hair, which she was thrilled to have back.

However, she still hasn’t recovered her Rolex and Chanel watches or her $80,000 emerald ring. Which just goes to show – you can have a $500,000 closet in showcase home, but when it comes down to what’s really valuable and priceless, it’s the things people hold dear in their hearts. It will be interesting to see if the next owner of this notorious closet will have as interesting tales to tell.

You don’t have to spend a half a million on a custom closet. Well, unless you want to.