We bought our apartment in Paris almost twenty years ago when I was pregnant with my oldest son. It’s a beautiful Parisian apartment in a building that’s about 150 years old. It has all that you would expect to find in a classic French apartment from the Haussmann era: high ceilings, herringbone floors, five sets of interior French doors, gilded mirrors, floor-to-ceiling windows, paneling, crown molding. What it didn’t have, when we first moved in, was a SINGLE closet! Can you imagine? What’s a girl who likes to shop to do?
Well, armoires in the bedrooms did the trick for a while until we managed to carve out some actual closet space when we undertook a renovation a few years ago. Even still, storage space is limited. Apartment living requires you to make your belongings fit into the space that you have. You’re forced to edit, which is a good thing. The most stylish Parisiennes all seem to have a “uniform”. They know what works for them and stick to it.
Despite its one major shortcoming I still love our beautiful apartment. So what if I’ll never have a proper dressing room, that doesn’t stop me from daydreaming about what mine would look like if I did. Aerin Lauder’s dressing room, pictured above, is about as close to perfection as you can get.
Here are some of my dream dressing room musts:
A vanity with a lovely big mirror for putting on make-up and accessories.
A beautiful view would be nice too.
A plush rug or carpet to keep my bare feet warm.
Shelves for shoes!
Lots of storage for handbags and accessories.
A spot to sit and relax and enjoy my private retreat.
Fantasizing about my dream dressing room got me thinking about how I’d pull this all together if I had an extra room to devote to my clothes.
I’d start with a beautiful backdrop like this breathtaking wallpaper from Gracie Studio. I’m not sure if this is the exact one that Aerin Lauder used in her dressing room but it’s quite similar.
The ultra-feminine wallpaper is the obvious star here. To keep things from looking too froufrou I’d add streamlined accents and plenty of white to ground the space: white linen drapes, a plain plush white rug (no shoes allowed!).
I’d want lots of built-ins like these.
With these knobs.
Touches of brass add a bit of glamour and warmth to a space and the clean lines of these pieces lend a modern vibe.
Pretty hooks for planning my outfits.
Lighting is key when getting ready and natural light is a plus, but the sky is often gray in Paris so I can’t always count on that.
I’d use these sconces.
And this pendant. I always find a pendant to be the best option for lighting a space from overhead. This one is really special thanks to its brass rod and rim. I wish I could find one here in France!
Vanities are always much too small so I’d choose a writing desk instead to have more tabletop space.
And add a simple and comfortable slip-covered chair.
An oversized mirror for my vanity.
And lastly, this wonderful chaise.
It’s a good thing this is just a daydream, I’d never want to leave!
Cedar Shakes and Chiseled Stone 