SD Project: Bijou Dressing Table

I am SO EXCITED to share my latest project with you.  It's been in the works for ages and it's finally, finally done!

As you may have seen from previous "home tour" posts, I have an old home that is fairly streamlined and not very girly.  I love our decor but I've always wanted a pretty dressing room.  I've been sort of adding elements, such as my shoe cabinets, to our guest room but I am loathe to take over the whole space completely.  I also, didn't really have a place that would be safe for a delicate dressing table or all the perfumes, puffs and crystal that I would want to be there.

But that doesn't mean that I haven't dreamed of a pretty space all my own...

Then I realized I did have one small space that I could repurpose into a bijou dressing table. I started making plans and lists...

In my funky old home I have a funny closet-in-a-closet space in the guest room.

You open the outer door and you see this rectangular space that has a clothes rod on the left, a window on the right and another deep cabinet straight ahead.

The inner cabinet holds the guest room blankets and pillows, hat boxes and craft supplies. I keep some shoes in here as well as my off season clothes.

I drew up plans for a shelf that would be hinged under the window which would be supported by a shelf bracket for a brace and two decorative chains on each side.  The bracket would be hinged to lie flat against the wall and then the table part, also hinged would be able to be lowered down so I could open the inner cabinet doors.

Once I decided on a plan, I started to plan my furnishings - vintage dressing table linens...

A Ghost chair to sit on...  I thought and searched for ages on what chair to have in the space.  It need to be high enough but small in width.  I looked at all kinds of chairs and stools from new Pottery Barn to vintage vanity stools.  In the end, I've always loved the Ghost chairs and the clear will keep the small space airy. 

With a color scheme of crystal, pinks soft and bright, gold and small touches of black, a sari was the perfect fabric to act as a cover for the clothing section and a window shade.

A gilded shelf for accessories...

Antique tassels...

The project has been on hold for a while but know that I'm back in town, the pub is done and I'm done being sick this week, it has all come together.

The outer door now has a small sign warning of the girly space inside.

Yes, I have a Keep Calm poster, but now it's hidden inside the "fourth wall" of the room.  The sari was long enough to cover the clothes still on the left, drape across the ceiling and down, suspended from chain, to cover and decorate the window.

Isn't it ADORABLE????

I've decorated it with some of my existing pieces as well.  A Waterford crystal sugar sifter for powder, a Caron puff, my Chanel and Chloe perfumes and Waterford clock (the first piece I ever bought from when I was 17) on a Waterford tray.  A glove hand and small boxes for jewelry.

The most crucial piece I invested in and that I was very specific about was the mirror.  I knew from the start that I wanted a vintage Murano dressing mirror and this one with it's gilding and pale pink glass flowers was everything I dreamed of.

The Ghost chair and my tuffet fit perfectly too.  I'm going to get a faux flokati to cushion and protect the chair.  That's the last detail.

The last details are these amazing antique hand-cut paper cuts I had framed.  With their fairy tale themes they are perfect for my new space.

And my gilded shelf holds a delicate glass carousel horse. 

I so thrilled to have my little space.  I can't wait to linger over perfumes and polish and powder.

We all need a special place to find a bit of peace... mine just happens to be pink!

Other posts:

Key Word: Projects - an anthology

Key Word: Custom - an anthology

Key Word: Home - an anthology

Curl up with a good Book

I know it's been a while since I showed more of the home tour. You already got an advance peek into our medicine cabinets and bathroom cupboards. Then you got the whole closet tour. All riveting stuff, I know!

But this is my favorite room in the house. One that I need to spend far more time in. The Library.

Yep, we had an extra room and we made it into the Library. I think I've mentioned before that our house is 110+ years old so we don't have the whole modern "great room" concept at all. We do have 3 bedrooms upstairs and then downstairs we have the living room, dining room, kitchen, sun room and the library.

This room, like the dining room and stairway, still has the original milled paneling unpainted. So you get a lot of rich wood tones. We wanted sort of the eclectic British library feel going on, but we do have a ways to go in getting all of the layering of accessories.

The door to the room opens in on a corner (bottom left if you think of the room as a perfect square) so you get a full view of the room when you walk in. Right in front of you along the wall looking out of the front of the house are our two salon chairs and game table. We got these made through Ballard Designs by shipping them fabric, then they custom upholster them and ship them back. The game table was a post-Furniture Market bargain for only $20! Now we need to find a really good set of chess pieces to go with it. And yeah, this is one room we still need to get blinds for.



If you step into the room and close the door (see it there on the left?), there are these built in shelves which are just perfect for DVDs and books. We have quite a collection which has grown since we started doing backyard movies.



Going around the room counter clockwise, there is a set of bookshelves on the other side of the table and chairs along the same wall. On the wall opposite the door are two windows flanking the fireplace. To the left of the fireplace we have these three huge waist-high glass vases filled with peacock feathers, wicker balls and curling reeds.

On the fireplace mantle are vintage bottles and glass apothecary jars filled with more wicker balls and vintage zoological illustrations. The bowl is by this local artisan who makes amazing pieces. He is in his 70's and he comes to the farmer's market once a year with amazing pieces. We have three of his bowls and buy them for gifts too. Maybe I'll do a post just about his work, because it is so good.



Over the fireplace are vintage botanical illustrations of ferns. I got a bargain on the prints and then blew it all on the framing. I take my framing seriously!



Moving along to the right is the big cushy reading chair. I just love this fabric! What is cool is that I had the chair made locally and the storage ottoman made by Ballard yet the fabric aligned perfectly when they both came in! The floor lamp matches the chandelier in the room and also came from Ballard.



Did you notice this? It's a pretty interesting piece. It looks like a real Luna moth pinned to the board but actually it's a digital image of the moth recreated 3-dimensionally out of paper and feathers. We got this at an art show right before we moved. The artist has a website, Insectworks, and does amazing stuff. I am seriously considering getting more pieces from her because I love them so much.



Next to the chair is lovely little antique oystered table. It's not perfect but I love it. On top I have a collection of Chinese cricket cages. I'm not sure if they are vintage or not but I just love how delicate they are. If you click on the image you can see them a bit better. The one on top right has little fishies carved on the top. The center one is in the shape of an owl while the two in the font are carved with rabbits and birds intertwined.



On the wall opposite the fireplace and two the left of the door are two of our 4 bookcases. They're all glassed in so the books don't get all dusty and are organized somewhat by topic/genre. On top of these I have a bee skep, a little wood piece, vintage bottles, more glass apothecary jars, a piece from the Times Square Waterford New Year's Eve ball from the 2000 NYE and a globe.



The door to the bathroom and the other bookshelf.



The chandelier and our lovely beams.



What's behind this door?????



We call this The Speakeasy. We repurposed the closet to hold a wine cabinet and all of our liquor and party glasses. This room is the coldest room in the house so it's perfect for storing wine. I have a few pictures up in there but it's hard to see the ones on the side walls. This is a close to a secret passage as the hubby has been able to get, although he longs to put a bookshelf in front of the door so it is even more hidden.



The bookshelf between the Speakeasy and the bathroom door. This one is filled with classics, fantasy, medieval and history books.



Back to the main wall you can see lots of cookbooks and my collection of children's books (a lot from my own childhood) and pop-up books. Robert Sabuda's books are pure art and, I don't think, for kids.



I love this little wood and ivory box.



We do a mix of books and pieces so it breaks up the monotony. I really need to add a rug in there and get the shades done.

Then chess pieces and let the games begin!

Through the Looking Glass and Into the Wardrobe

I find it interesting that closets have become so popular and imbued with status, just as bathrooms and kitchens have been. Nowadays if you don't have a huge custom closet you can tend to feel like a second-rate citizen. More and more in magazines you are getting to peek into the fashion shrines of women from celebrities to regular women profiled in issues of everything from Domino to Better Homes and Gardens.

And, of course, who could forget Carrie's closet on SATC:



I've always had a fondness for my closet beginning in childhood. The house I lived in for most of my childhood had a small walk-in closet in my bedroom. I loved it because, like the Narnia wardrobe, it became an entrance into another world. I played in there and read in there, leaning my pillow up against the door to barricade myself in and my sister out. I had a bookshelf in there too, which was filled with books and special treasures.

I actually still have that bookshelf. It's lived through multiple moves from that time going with me to college then back home and then to my first apartment and now it lives in a whole new state and is a lovely chocolate brown. Can you see it? It's successfully blending into the wall.



Suffice it to say, I like closets even more now. I would love to have a whole room dedicated as my dressing room. I'd love it to be a jewel-box of a room with an ottoman or a chaise to lounge on, built-in cubbies and a three-way mirror. I'd equip it with matching wood hangers and drawer shoe boxes.

But, I live in an old house (as I've mentioned) that I love. So, as many an apartment dweller or vintage home owner knows, closet space is usually small to non-existent. Luckily I do have several closets, it's just that none of them are very big. And when you have a considerable number of shoes, etc., you have to be organized.

I take up three of the four upstairs closets. But none of them are very wide so they equal about one standard long closet or maybe a good sized modern walk-in. I have recently broken my own rule about taking over the guest room closet (sorry friends and family!) but I was running of out space for the shoes and the Master bedroom was looking kind of crazy! It had to get reorganized and put away.

Alright, ready? Here's closet 1:



This acts more as a storage closet because most of those clothes don't get much rotation. They are a little dressier than I normally wear. I've also got some off-season things in there as well as a few unique items. There's a few tulle skirts there off to the side and those two white boxes on the top shelf have tiaras! I have a big purse in there and some hats also. I also have a hat box full of vintage gloves and another one for scarves.



Down below are, of course, shoes! I've got boots in the front there and some espadrilles and sneakers and my Topsiders in there too. I've also got my really formal shoes in there. You'll see that almost all of my shoes are in a shoebox. This actually helps me to remember which are which and also enables me to stack more of them in there.



Okay, closet 2. This is the recent victim to the spread of stuff! You can see that the luggage racks are still in there. A sad testament to the sacrifice that was needed. Actually if guests come, I could probably move all the clothes into another closet so there would be plenty of space to hang stuff up. We also have an armoire that is empty so they can unpack in there.

There are not a lot of clothes in there. Mainly some Summer season skirts and tops. But you can sort of see the shoes stacked up in here.



When I did the big switch around I decided to organize my shoes by color. I've got whites and pinks and creams in here, as well as floral patterns and a bunch of sandals. I could probably list all of them out, but really, who has that kind of time?



Now, onto the really big show... the Master bedroom stuff. I know this is about the closets, but I really couldn't get along without my armoire. This thing is packed!



OMG! Look at all of that. It looks crazy here, but actually it is well organized, I swear! The top shelf has purses in the back and some smaller accessories and clutches in the front. The vase on the left is holding some hair things and my new vintage pink sunglasses. In the middle are boxes with my feather fascinators from KissCurl topped by a vintage glove box (filled with gloves, of course).

The second shelf has tights and knee socks from this year in a range of colors and then sweaters. I keep my knit stuff folded and organized by color. So the middle is greys/blacks and then a big pile of argyles in a variety of colors. In front are perfumes and my little feather poof wand.

The lowest shelf has camisoles in the front and then more sweaters, pink/red, greens/cream and brighter shades.



This also has three drawers, the top drawer is filled with almost all of my jewelry and some belts. Recognize anything? The middle shelf is underthings for everyday and the bottom is for the actual lingerie. Whoo hoo!



Yeah, we haven't even gone to the closet yet and I'm showing you more stuff. I like to create categories and behind my master bedroom door there is another one.



That stack is mainly vintage. That's why all the boxes are the same. They're actually photo boxes repurposed to hold my eBay purchases. The good thing is I can use the little tags on the front to id what's inside. Plus they're only $2 each.



Finally! The daily closet. Drum roll please...



See how narrow that is? That has to explain why I've taken over three closets. What's fun/weird about this closet is that I have to step down two steps to go into it. It's on the same level as the bathroom. The bar for the closet is in the middle of the space. On the plus side I can stack shoe boxes all the way up the back wall. There are also two shelves back there.

I've also added a few hooks for some additional easy access, two on the front and one below the clothes for some bags.



Hey, look! It's some of my new sale stuff. Once it gets worn it will be integrated into the herd. Right now it's in staging mode.



The top shelf has some of my luggage, another obsession. I buy all these really cute bags and then they are too nice to go on the plane. I need to take more road trips. I mean, I can't be expected to check that cute pink Dooney pilot case. It would be ruined!



See the lower hook for the bags? What I used was a shelf support and then put some velcro on top to keep the handles from getting scratched or slipping off. I step down and duck under the clothes to get to the back. I know it's kind of crazy but, what can you do?



More shoes!



Does that look excessive?



These are all organized by color - black, then browns, then reds, then greens and so on.



I also tend to stage my shoes. So until I wear them for the first time, they hang out for a while on the toy chest I use for storing my yoga and workout clothes. This kind of typifies how I look at shoes and fashion. There's a mix of vintage, new Manolos and inexpensive pumps. I like them all.



So there's a peek into my secret lair.


For more fun take a peek at these:
Jennine at The Coveted exposes her closet, which may be smaller than mine

Gala took everyone through a thorough Wardrobe Taming

Vivre owner, Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti has the closet of my dreams (almost). Hers and others are featured at Brilliant Asylum

A closet must-have: wooden hangers, preferably monogrammed. I'm still saving up for mine.

Unless you want a more whimsical closet - then go for cloud hangers. Even your clothes will have sweet dreams.

I'm not the only one who loves closets.