Today I’m sharing my new dressing room! Dressing in colour is a joyful part of my creative life. And the best way to do it well is to have a well designed space to create outfits in.
Learning to dress with colour
At the beginning of the pandemic, when I discovered this fashion stylist and started to truly master how to dress with colour, my closet got a lot bigger. Okay, crammed.
Here’s the bottom line, if you want to wear colour and you want to do it well, you need to have options.
This is what it looked like in our last house before we moved in December.
The dressing room before
The existing primary closet in our new house was a small walk-in with a work-out room attached to it.
So we took out the old closet with the wall in between and this is what it looked like during construction:
Everything in this house was taupe when we took possession.
A happy yellow ceiling with white cabinets
And here is my new closet and dressing room.
Ceiling colour: BM Hanna Banana
Because the cabinets were white–which they had to be because my clothes are colourful–I added colour to the ceiling instead and added some roman shades in the same yellow with white stripes.
Mixing old (vintage) with the new
The vanity I found on Marketplace and the vintage chair was a gift from a client I’ve had for many years and the plant stand is also vintage.
The neutral leopard rug is from Stanton.
Lucy got into the photoshoot! My dress is from Banana Republic. Photography by Macy Yap
Double sconce | Beaded Chandelier
Getting the design details right
As usual, if I had anything to say about it, no Swiss cheese holes in the ceiling so we did double sconces instead. I love them so much!
My valances are not functioning, they sit exactly like this at all times and as you can see that they’re installed directly below the crown moulding and cover the header of my 2″ blinds. They were custom made.
I love having my costume jewelry on hooks (from IKEA) so I can see what I have. When you can see it, you wear it.
Don’t make this design mistake
Notice I have knobs on everything. I have seen too many 4″ pulls slapped on everything in my day so I prefer this look.
Since I had a little wall space left over, I installed a leaning shelf for straw hats in the summer and scarves and winter hats in the winter time.
Halfway through construction when I kept calling it my walk-in closet, my bestie Jan who managed the reno pulled me aside and said “Maria, it’s a dressing room.”
“Oh,” I replied, “Thanks.”
I am so blessed to have this fabulous space in our new home, and wow is it ten times easier to create an outfit each morning!
Related posts:
A Better Way to Organize your Closet & My Favourite New Light
Absolutely stunning! Bright, fresh, well-laid out – it is perfect. Congratulations and many happy uses!
Beautiful! Double sconce link does not link properly.
It’s fixed now! Maria
Beautiful closet!!
I just want to caution you to keep your blinds closed so your clothes don‘t fade. That would be such a shame! I have had this happen when I had a closet with a window.
As a retired fashion stylist and closet designer, I agree 100%. Expensive natural fibres are affected most severely. It’s a common mistake because few storage designers have real fashion industry experience.
So this dressing room is fully North, it barely gets a flicker of light in the summer time when the sun sets. Maria
Maria . Two words
That’s lovely !
Congratulations to you on your new house !
So sunny and light. Beautiful!
Absolutely gorgeous design! Thank you for introducing me to BM Hanna Banana.
Love the yellow ceiling. Where did you get the leaning shelf for the hats and scarves?
I added the link! Maria
Just wondering, where are Terreeia’s clothes? I hope she has a stunning and chic
dressing room too!
I was wondering exactly the same thing 🙂
She has a full section of her own it just wasn’t photographed because she doesn’t have a lot of clothes and they are primarily neutral 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous! You and the dressing room! What a joy it must be to step into that room every morning… wow!
Beautiful!
Love it! I’m interested in the closet details! What hangers did you go with?
just the skinny velvet hangers you can get anywhere! Maria
Looks organized, cheerful, colorful, Love your happy sign and the creamy yellow ceiling.
What a dream. The portrait of you and Lucy is too cute!
Eye candy!
What a gorgeous space! I have a “thing” for yellow too, and it looks so fresh in here. I really love the orange accents on the island. Of course, Lucy is the perfect accessory that looks just right paired with any color!
I love this closet. Congratulations
Gorgeous!
I hope the windows have good UV filtering, it would be a shame for sunlight to fade any of those beautiful colors.
[One of my hanging blue (probably dyed) stone necklaces faded on the exposed side]
Gorgeous! Honestly out of reach for my small home and smaller closet but those turtles would fit anywhere in my house! Enjoy getting dressed!!
Oh my goodness! This is so beautiful, so timeless and so very you! 💫 Love that Lucy Lu got into the shoot too.
Really beautiful. You’re very fortunate to have the space! Although I’ve seen bedrooms converted into dressing rooms even in smaller houses. If we didn’t need a bedroom to use as a den (I can’t stand the tv in the living room), I might have a dressing room too! It’s so true—you don’t wear what you can’t see.
What a gorgeous, organized and happy dressing room! I love it and want one just like it. Love the pic of you and Lucy.
I adore every detail of this space, especially the yellow ceiling! Bravo, Maria!
This is breath-taking. The perfect backdrop for your colorful clothes!
Thanks everyone! It’s a joy to be in! Maria
Looks lovely! But I want to know what Lucy was laser focused on in that photo 😂
It is so beautiful. Personally I would need more hanging space because I love to hang as much as possible. The look of the drawers, island and open shelving for shoes, purses etc is lights out though. There is nothing like an incredible closet/dressing room. Enjoy!
Absolutely beautiful! Can you link those IKEA hooks? I’d love to find a way to put those in my closet for costume jewelry.
Love it!! Maria, could you please share how you made your fab necklace hangers?
They are hooks IKEA sells, Maria
It’s WONDERFUL!
Cindy
A truly beautiful space. it looks so inviting, I would get dressed and then not want to leave!
Just color me jealous. Absolutely stunning, Maria.
Drooling 😋
Simply gorgeous !!
can you provide approx measurements for your space, and island size
I LOVE your new closet and I’m happy that you have it! You bring so much joy to people (including me) through your work and it’s fun to see the joy in your life. Thank you for sharing!
simply beautiful! #closet-I-mean-dressing-room-goals!
It’s gorgeous!
What’s the specific pattern and color of the carpet? Maybe Stanton’s King Cheetah in griege? Thanks!
I am always eager to see the updates of your beautiful new home! Enjoy seeing your choices and even though I am not a lover of bright colours in my own home, I recognize your skills in pulling everything together. When it came to your new closet, I find it too much like a paint chip collection of clothing. Totally understand that it works in an editorial sense and something you might see in a interior decorating magazine…not real life. As a former fashion designer, clothing manufacturer and costume designer, I find the lack of patterns in the clothing lacking. I see three such pieces and all the rest seem to be copies of the same pieces just in different colours. I was interested in your posted video of the British stylist who certainly had some more creative ways of connecting solid colours with patterns creating a unique and individual look. thanks for this video 🙂 I am sure most of us would love to live in a “perfectly” decorated house but I am of the opinion that my decor is inspired by the uniqueness of the finishings…pieces that have meaning and history. It may not look perfect but it is home to me. Having said this, I am always learning something valuable from your posts 🙂
Continue to learn Inez. All your comments are your opinions and perhaps, in the future, you may want to edit yourself.
My motto is:
Does it need to be said?
Does it need to be said by me?
Does it need to be said by me now?
Take 10 deep breaths and reread your comments 10 times prior to posting. I don’t have to like everything but I certainly appreciate Maria sharing HER dressing room for all of us to see.
TAKE 5.
Why is it when someone expresses their true feelings, that some others take offence? Are we sheep being fed what to think and how to respond. My comment was not mean…just what my impressions truly were. Not just mindless…oh, it is so beautiful, Colour me jealous…etc., etc. I would challenge you to reread my comments where I not only congratulated Maria in her posts, I paid homage to her skills and teaching expertise!!! My comments were complimentary four times ending with that I am always learning something valuable in her posts. My opinions are valid and I stand my them and my right to express them respectfully. Perhaps …it does need to be said….and yes by me if I am feeling it and why not now??? Have a good day and let others have their say without criticism. ps…my name is Ines not Inez. Please edit.
What a condescending response to me giving my opinion. I encourage you to read my response 10 times prior to posting as well and you will see that it was full of honest flattery and positivity…unlike yours which didn’t “need to be said by you”. Let other people have their say without castigating! Not everyone has to like everything and that can be seen in multiple cases in Maria’s blogs. We are all entitled to our opinions and don’t need to follow your examples when dissenting.
Thank you, showing your home and closet is an intimate thing. All your design makes me happy. You can tell you are a happy person. I just remodeled my kitchen and found your post the night before solidifying my choices. I went neutral, subway tiles, beautiful off white and I love it. I appreciate that you have well thought out strategies for decorating a timeless look.