How to Design a Perfect Dressing Room
A dressing room could be a pretty mundane and uninspiring part of your home, but if it’s designed right it could also serve as a place of indulgence and even a bit of luxury. Designing such a dressing room doesn’t have to be expensive, but you have to know what kind of look you are striving for and then design the room around it. Remember that in this room storage space is the most important part and the furniture should accommodate the clothes and the jewelry, not the other way round.
Think about your “getting ready” ritual, and try to make the room design work with it.
The size
Dressing room doesn’t have to be large, but it has to fit all the clothes (and possibly linen), a dressing table, a couple of mirrors and, obviously, some decoration. With all these stuff in the way, you don’t want the room to feel claustrophobic and disorganized. The room size usually goes from 60″ D x 48″ W x 74″ H to 83″ D x 71″ W x 94″ H. It’s completely fine if your ceiling is a bit lower than usual, as it can be fixed with the right lighting. Also, the perfect place for your dressing room is right next to your bedroom.
Furniture
Don’t go overboard with furniture – a dresser and a couple of mirrors will be more than enough, leaving you with enough space to walk around freely. Choose a few larger pieces that can accompany the dresser and set the tone of the room. A chair or an ottoman is a practical addition. The best way to go is with something large and comfortable, possibly in plain white or beige.
A dressing table is also both practical and decorative, especially if you are planning to use your dressing room as a makeup room as well. Something sturdy with a lot of drawers is the best picks. Hardwood in a color that sets it apart from the rest of the room is the best way to go.
Mirrors
These is one item in your dressing room you are absolutely not allowed to save any money on – the mirror. A low-quality mirror will almost certainly show an unflattering image. Make sure it’s made of high-quality glass and if space allows it always go for a full-size one. It can also serve as an accessory because it will make the room appear larger and brighter. A nice full frame (or something more modern and minimalistic, depending on your taste) can act as a nice piece of wall art if it’s placed and lit properly.
Lighting
Lighting can completely change the mood of any room. In every design, it one thing that sets the stage for what’s about to unfold in a room. In a dressing room, however, it has a more practical purpose – overhead light can put an accent on your unflattering features and therefore affect your wardrobe choice. Inquire about professional lighting online and take your time with this decision. The goal is to find a simple white light that is bright enough and serves its purpose. It’s best to have multiple ceiling lights and place a couple of task lights around the mirror to avoid having too many shadows.
Folding screen
If you share a dressing room with someone folding screen is simply a must, but even if you don’t – it can be a nice stylish touch to make the room appear more luxurious and rich. Don’t hesitate to make the screen as decorative as your means allow you. A Victorian look is the most popular choice because it’s usually associated with wealth and affluence, but if your home is more modern and more clean cut than that – there’s a variety of options to choose from. Just don’t forget about measurements – it will make the room appear smaller if you buy the one that’s simply too big.
Shoes
There are a few ways you can organize your shoes and the choice mostly depends on the amount of space you have. Having a discrete shoe cabinet, usually underneath the drawers, is the most common solution, but it’s sometimes difficult to choose a pair in that manner. Placing them on shelves will take up more space, but it is much easier to choose this way. In the end, for more casual footwear an ordinary shoe rack can do the trick just fine.
A coat rack
Getting a coat rack will allow you to utilize more of the wall space and add a bit of retro vibe to your dressing room. It may seem like a pretty ordinary piece of furniture, but it has a rich history and picking the right style of it also speaks volumes about the aesthetic of your home in general. Contemporary coat racks are usually simple, underscored and not necessarily symmetrical. They’re usually made of metal with a slick, reflexive surface. A vintage coat rack can be a lot of different things, but most drew inspiration from a lush and highly decorative Victorian look. They can either make the room more interesting and offbeat or seem random and over the top, depending on how the rest of the room looks like.
A dressing room definitely isn’t a necessity, but once you get one you won’t be able to remember how you lived without it. It’s more than a simple storage space – it’s a place to indulge in daily rituals, relax and enjoy.
