The dressing room boom
As the White House gets a ‘glam room’, Talib Choudhry shares chic ways to create your own vanity lair at home
The start of the Trump presidency has had all the drama of a Mexican telenovela, complete with big hair and orange make-up – and that’s just the Commander-in-Chief. The more camera-shy First Lady, Melania Trump, has been immaculately coiffed and turned out at all of her public outings, a process that takes 75 minutes, says her make-up artist Nicole Bryl.
A key member of Mrs Trump’s “glam squad”, Bryl also recently revealed that Melania is installing a “glam room” dedicated to hair, make-up and wardrobe in the White House. State-of- the-art lighting will ensure that no fashion or beauty faux-pas are revealed under the glare of camera flashes.
In our increasingly image-obsessed times, dressing rooms and vanity areas are now also topping the wishlists of high-end property hunters on this side of the Atlantic. Developers in the luxury sector are installing them as standard, attempting to outdo each other with lustrous fixtures and fittings.
At 70 Chester Square, a redeveloped Grade-II listed Belgravia townhouse by Residence One (price tag: £25 million), a dressing area is concealed behind a plush silk headboard in the master suite. The oak wardrobes feature bevelled mirror panels and alcoves for shoes, ties and accessories.
Other dressing-room designs are less discreet. The London-based design company Hill House Interiors recently installed an entirely mirrored dressing room for a client, inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.
“Dressing rooms have become a ubiquitous feature in luxury homes,” says Hamish Brown of the design firm 1508 London (1508london.com). “If a property is big enough, clients will take dressing rooms to the extreme – specifying nail and hair salons, treatment rooms or even full spas.”
The 1508 team also designs elaborate handbag and shoe display cabinets, and often employs Hollywood-style open shelves. “Clients like their dressing rooms to have a boutique feel, with items neatly displayed and well-lit,” says Brown. “It means getting dressed isn’t a chore every morning, but an exciting way to start the day. People see their clothes and accessories as things of beauty, and want to display them, rather hide them away.”
In smaller properties, Brown has employed innovative solutions, such as a basement, vacuum-sealed unit where seasonal clothes and accessories can be kept.
Those of us who don’t have huge amounts of space and cash to spare can still have a smart dressing area with a little planning.
“Consider your wardrobe, and the various types of hanging space – short, medium, long – and how much of each you require,” says Helen Reekes, creative director at Neville Johnson (nevillejohnson.co.uk), which offers bespoke wardrobes from £3,000. “Many people underestimate the total amount of space required and don’t allow enough height for double hanging, which is a great space-saver.”
Neville Johnson offers clever extras, including roll-out shoe trays (made to the size of your feet), baize-lined trinket drawers and adjustable clothes racks.
According to Reekes, pale grey cabinet finishes are currently the most popular, providing an elegant, neutral backdrop for pops of vibrant colour. “Real-wood veneers always add a sense of luxury, as do velvet drawer inlays and plush carpet,” she adds. “We often line drawers with Cedar of Lebanon, which smells wonderful and repels moths.”
Jordan Cluroe founded the interior design company 2 Lovely Gays (2lovelygays.com) with his husband Russell Whitehead after rising to prominence on the BBC show The Great Interior Design Challenge. They specialise in colourful, contemporary homes “for real people”, with plenty of smart storage.
“A lot of our clients really want a dressing room, but struggle with the idea of sacrificing a spare bedroom and potentially affecting the value of their property,” says Cluroe. “But we believe in living in the space you have, rather than thinking about future profit. If it’s done in the right way, a dressing room can actually add value. People buy into the lifestyle.”
He suggests making the space multifunctional by adding a sofa bed for guests or buying a dressing table that can double as a desk if you work from home. To integrate a dressing area into a bedroom, he suggests creating a curtained nook behind a bed.
“Removing bulky wardrobes and chairs piled high with clothes from a master bedroom will make it look bigger and feel calmer,” he adds. “We are currently working on a vanity box in a bedroom and taking advantage of high ceilings to put a bed on top of it. It’s basically a room within a room.”
Cluroe favours open storage (“it encourages you to rotate your clothes more often”), and suggests arranging clothes by type and colour to keep things looking tidy. He also recommends installing a ceiling-height fitted mirror to create the illusion of more space. Spotlights provide targeted lighting and Cluroe uses pendant lights “like sculptural jewellery” in a room.
“Good lighting in a dressing room is crucial, as it is where you try clothes on and assess an overall look,” agrees Sanjit Bahra, director of the lighting specialists Design Plus Light (designpluslight.com). “While properly positioned downlights provide a focus on the cabinetry, we also like to bring diffuse light into the space to give a flattering light when looking into mirrors.”
Most importantly, Bahra ensures that any dressing tables have “good facial light” by way of table lamps and mirror lights, so that clients can check hair and make-up before they leave the house.
After all, having a well-appointed dressing room is all about ensuring you are ready to put your best face forward to the world.