The walk-in wardrobe in the photograph always looks calm. Jackets hang in a gentle gradient, shoes sit like exhibits and there is not a stray sock in sight. Then you open your own wardrobe and a jumper falls on your head. The gap between those two pictures is planning. Good dressing room design is less about glamour than about an honest list of what you own.
Part of the interior design Chelmsford guides by Rachel Buscall Interiors. See all interior design guides.
Start With an Inventory, Not a Sketch
Before anyone chooses doors or drawer fronts, take everything out and look at it. Sort your clothes by type: long coats and dresses, shirts and jackets, trousers, folded knitwear, shoes, bags, belts, jewellery and anything seasonal. Then estimate how much of each you have, and be honest about what you will never wear again.
A rough measurement of each group tells you what the storage needs to hold. Hanging clothes need rail length, folded clothes need shelf or drawer space and shoes need depth and height. A dressing room built around what you own will always outperform one that copies an image from a magazine.
Think about how you dress, too. Do you plan an outfit the night before or choose in a rush? Do you share the space with a partner, and do you both need to be there at once? Those habits affect where you put the mirror, how wide the central aisle is and how the room flows through a morning.
Choose the Right Shape for the Space You Have
Dressing rooms come in a few basic shapes, and each suits a different room. A single run along one wall is the simplest, and it works well in a slim space. Two parallel runs, with an aisle between, make efficient use of a medium-sized room, provided the aisle is wide enough to open drawers and doors and to stand comfortably. An L-shape or a U-shape gives you more storage in a larger room, though a U needs enough width that the corners don't become dead spots.
A central island is a luxury that only works if there is genuine floor space around it. A free-standing chest of drawers, a bench or a low unit in the middle gives you a place to lay out outfits, fold clothes and sit to put on shoes. If the aisles around it become tight, it will do more harm than good. If space is limited, a bench against a wall or under a window might be the better choice, and my article on maximising space in small properties has more on making tight rooms work.
Not everyone has a spare room, of course. A section of a bedroom, a landing alcove or an awkward eaves space can be turned into a dressing area with fitted units and a curtain or doors. It is worth looking at what the rest of the house is not using.
Dressing Room Design Ideas for Hanging, Shelving and Drawers
Inside the units, the mix of hanging, shelving and drawers is what makes a dressing room function. Double hanging, with one rail above another, suits shirts, jackets and folded trousers and nearly doubles the capacity of a wall. Long hanging suits dresses and coats. Mixing the two means you don't waste height on short items.
Drawers are better than shelves for anything that creases or tumbles, such as knitwear and underwear, because you can see the contents from above. Shallow drawers suit accessories and jewellery, and dividers keep small items in their place. Pull-out trays and shallow, felt-lined drawers protect delicate pieces.
Shoes need their own plan. Angled shelves, pull-out racks and shallow cupboards all work, and it helps to leave a few taller spaces for boots. Give bags a spot where they can keep their shape, with enough room that you aren't squashing them.
There is a reasonable case for including a few uncommitted spaces. Leave a shelf or a section of rail free, and the room can adapt as your wardrobe changes. A dressing room that is full on the day it is finished has nowhere to go.
Get the Light, Mirror and Fabric Right
You will only use a dressing room well if you can see into it. Light that spreads across the rails and shelves, without throwing shadows into corners, makes it easier to match colours and find things. Strip lighting inside the units, with a gentle ceiling light above, works well, and a warm, consistent colour of light helps you judge how clothes will look in the rest of the house. The full approach is in my guide on how to layer lighting in a luxury home.
Position a full-length mirror where you can step back from it, ideally in natural light and not in a dark corner. A second mirror at an angle, or a mirrored door, helps you see the back of an outfit.
Finishes also contribute to the feel of the room. Soft carpet or a good rug underfoot, upholstered seating and fabric-lined drawers give it a sense of calm and keep sound down. Choose surfaces that are easy to clean, and think about ventilation so that clothes stay fresh. If the room has no window, ask a qualified professional about ventilation before you fit it out.
Think About How the Dressing Room Meets the Bedroom
A dressing room opens off a bedroom, so the two should work together. If the door is close to the bed, think about noise and light in the early morning, and whether an alternative door, such as a sliding or a pocket door, would be more considerate. The calm scheme of the bedroom should carry through, or at least not fight with it. My guide to a luxury bedroom that helps you sleep covers the sleep side, and this piece leaves it there.
Plan It for the Life You Actually Lead
The best dressing room is the one that makes your mornings quicker and your evenings tidier. It does not need to be big. It needs to be planned around you.
If you would like a trained eye to turn your inventory into a layout, you can talk through my dressing room with Rachel, or read about interior design in Chelmsford to see how projects begin.
Rachel Buscall Interiors
Where Business Excellence Meets Design Innovation