The dressing room is a small yet crucial part of your home – utilitarian as well as your little pamper zone and therefore, it requires much thinking.
Here are some ideas to help you thoughtfully set up your little space…
Design
Work out your spaces first. How much do you need for storage? Where do you want your dressing to be? Then decide on your furniture scheme. Should it be contemporary? Do you want a full length mirror or a three-sided one?
The design scheme should be such that it lets the user be the focal attraction of the room. Avoid using heavy ornamentation on the surfaces. Small patterns and delicate lines are preferred.
Doing up your dressing room tastefully is not only about showcasing your fine chest and ornate mirror. A contemporary dressing room should have appropriate lighting and bespoke storage.
Though there is an array of items and materials to pick from, you must go through each to select the ones that reflect your personality. A soft rug on the floor for a chic look, or parquet flooring for a warm feel; an interesting dressing table with intricate detail, or a built-in shelf with clear cut lines and smooth angles – it’s all about creating your own style.
If you want to create a dreamy setting, use a theme involving whites – soft-to-touch fabrics, light graphic behind the mirror, glamorous furniture with interesting details – and hints of gold – as in the border of your chair or the rim of your lighting fixtures.
Walk-in-Wardrobe
It is essential to decide exactly what type of storage solutions would fit into your bill. If you want to set up a walk-in-wardrobe, take a look at the different options available for creating a modular system. It is innovative and space saving. You can customize it according to your own needs, making sure that the space right from the ceiling to the floor is suitably utilized. You could include shoe racks, belt racks and pull-down hanging rails so as to create room for all your clothes and accessories.
The built-in system comes in different materials – aluminum extrusion and melamine board, and there are several finishes to choose from, such as anodized, white, maple and graphite.
Lighting
Appropriate lighting is the chief aspect of creating a perfect ambiance for dressing and make-up.
Ideally, the lighting for a dressing room should be bright enough to judge the make-up correctly and even from all directions so that it avoids forming shadows around your eyes and nose.
Also, the best vanity lighting should be a combination of different light sources, i.e., incandescent, fluorescent and halogen. However, if that’s not possible, you could give one concealed tube light above the mirror and two concealed surface mounted bulbs on either side of it. Installing a make-up mirror with adjustable filters can also do the trick. It shifts the color of light to match the desired light source. Another classy option is to install a row of light bulbs on both sides of your mirror to create a lovely Hollywood-style effect.
You could also install a lighting control system with an occupant sensor. Put all dissimilar light fixtures on different switches to create special moods, such as, relaxed soft setting for dressing up and a bright well-lit environment for make-up. It saves energy, and looks enchanting at the same time!
Color
Contrary to the lighting, the color scheme for a dressing room should be kept simple. A palette of natural hues such as white or beige is the best bet as it doesn’t clash with the color of the dresses.
If you want to use a brighter tint in combination, use it on the wall with the mirror, so that the rest of the walls with the neutral shade form an appropriate backdrop to your reflection.
As far as possible, surfaces such as door and flooring should be of some light color so that they bounce light across the room. A little bling in the form of crystal, silver or gold may be added for the ultra-glam look. For example, use a gold cushion or a crystal lined mirror.
Shilpa Ahuja is a designer and editor of Decorisk Magazine. She has worked in hotel interiors at The Park Hotels, India, and has completed several home interior design projects as a freelancer.
She completed her Masters in Design Studies (MDesS) degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She also has a Bachelor degree in Architecture (B.Arch) from Chandigarh College of Architecture. Her work has been published in Indian Design & Interior magazine and exhibited at Harvard University and at Aroma Hotel, Chandigarh.
Shilpa is also the Editor-in-Chief of Shilpa Ahuja Digital Media, which includes ShilpaAhuja.com, one of India’s most-read digital fashion magazines. Originally from Chandigarh, she is currently based in Chennai, and can be reached at [email protected].