It is still a work in progress, but enough with the waiting!! When we moved a few years ago, I was lucky enough to be able to claim the extra room for myself. My clothes never fit in a standard closet, so I knew I would need the extra space. The room is 10' by 10', which is still small for all my stuff. It's been hard to stay within a budget while finding practical storage solutions. Ideally, those storage solutions need to be cute, but it doesn't always work that way. We are renting, so I can't use all the fancy closet organizing that I would like to. (But when we own our own home, you better believe that will be my first big undertaking!)
Jewelry
When you walk into the room, the first thing you see is my dresser in the middle of the opposite wall. This dresser is really old, owned by my mother-in-law's father, I believe. I love it because it is made so well and has so much room in the drawers. Most dressers just aren't made like that anymore. Eventually, I would love to paint it to match my dressing room colors of black, white, and fuchsia. Stored in the dresser are the typical things - bras, panties, socks, pajamas.
On top of the dresser, I have a necklace holder loaded with as many necklaces as it can handle. I bought some bracelet displays at the craft store for all my bracelets, and a hand display at Pier 1 for some of my rings. Rounding out the dresser area are some fun decor items. I bought a few plastic diamond paperweights, a mirrored frame, a sparkly "Diva" ornament, and a cute glass chihuahua ornament.
My jewelry armoire sits to the left of the dresser. I also did some DIY projects, making a picture holder and ribboned pin and brooch holder.
The necklace holder on the dresser can't handle any more necklaces, so I had to branch out to the walls now. I just used nails to hang my long and/or heavy necklaces up. It helps to be able to see it all when I am getting ready.
Clothing
To the right of the dresser, I have a small plastic drawer unit that holds my tiaras and hats. It also provides a space to store my radio and iron. I had to buy two garment racks because the actual closet is so small. The closet also has to be a storage room for extra clothes not in use, luggage, big bags, costumes, etc. Therefore, only my purple, pink, and red garments fit in the closet.
At $20 each (on sale), the zippered garment racks
do a pretty great job at holding all of my heavy clothes. The first one has dresses, skirts, blazers, knit cardigans, and hoodies, organized by category. The second garment rack holds black, grey, brown, coral, blue, and green clothing. I enjoy organizing my clothing by color because it helps me find things easier (and I love the way it looks).
On the opposite side of the room, I have a bookcase that holds belts, sweaters/cardigans, jeans, and all of my purses. It can sometimes look a bit disheveled. When I put the bookcase together, I made sure to cover the back of it with a pretty white and pink fabric that I wanted to incorporate in my decor. I love doing this for all my bookcases now because it adds some fun and color to an otherwise mundane item.
I used a fabric shoe rack on the back of the door to store my scarves. I just roll them up and stuff them in each section. The mesh allows me to see the colors of the scarves, so picking one out doesn't take forever.
Shoes
It was tough to figure out what to do about the shoes. I didn't want racks and needed varying heights of space for boots and the like. I already had the white plastic shelf that I piled everything on. I ended up finding a black and pink bin that I store all my flip flops in. For the rest of the shoes, I bought plastic shoebox containers, took pictures of all my shoes, and affixed the photo to the outside of the box. This has worked very well for me, but as you can see, I need to buy some more containers. lol
Decor and More
After all the racks, dressers, and shelves, I don't have a lot of wall space for decorations. I add fun odds and ends in where I can. I love artwork featuring chubby girls. I have a fun wall hook and a great hula-hooping pinup girl. (I used my Martha Stewart glitter to sparkle up the frame.) The "Diva" and chihuahua ornaments were picked up in various locations.
There is an awkward piece of wall between the closet and the light switch. I chose to dress it up with a rhinestone-accented chandelier wall decal. I also chose to display my other cute chubby girl decor. These are wall plaques from Hallmark circa 2003. I received one as a gift and have been trying to collect the others ever since. I found the other two on eBay (along with a coffee mug in another design), but they are very hard to come by.
I made a sign for my dressing room door with my extra crafting pieces. There is also an 8x10 canvas print of one of our wedding photos. And then I bought a nail polish rack
to organize my polishes. I hope this gets me in the habit of wearing it more often.
So there you have it. My dressing room is a fun space to call my own, where I can delight in the more fun aspects of being a girl. I am grateful to have a place to store my fashionable finds and display those things that make me smile.
What are some of your storage solutions for clothing and accessories?
