Long ago, dressing rooms provided medieval Ladies Of The Manor with a degree of privacy in houses teeming with servants and extended family.
During the 17th Century bespoke dressing rooms provided elite women with unprecedented private space. Dressing rooms became popular in middle-class Victorian homes, but gradually fell from favour in the 20th century.
With the emergence of the nuclear family, and the decline in the number of live-in servants, finding ‘a room of one’s own’ no longer meant retreating to a dedicated dressing chamber.
Not so in grand period houses however, where exquisitely imagined and designed dressing rooms are still objects of desire.
There are practical reasons for dedicating a room to clothes, shoes and accessories – we buy more clothes than ever before, and we need a place to store them.
However, in large period homes, a beautiful bespoke dressing room is much more than a practical storage solution, it is a graceful, stylish addition which becomes very much part of how a home is enjoyed – adding style and grace to the everyday life of a house.
We exceed our clients’ expectations, designing spectacular rooms that fit beautifully within the architecture of their home.
A dressing room is highly personal, so before designing anything, we spend time talking with the client to fully understand their requirements.
Do they prefer to hang or fold clothes? Do they roll or hang ties? What types of shoes and boots do they own? What kind of security needs are required for valuables? Do they like a glass of champagne as they prepare for an evening out?
We take the time to ensure we get these details right.
One of the quirks of this Georgian building was that the dressing room was on a lower floor than the master bedroom. Our solution was to link the two with a flight of steps, providing the client with direct access to her own personal space. The staircase was designed with a broad step and shallow rise to make it comfortable to walk on. The door panels are upholstered in padded fabric that matches the wall paper to bring the scheme together.
Artichoke specialise in creating bespoke dressing room furniture.
For this project in Hampstead we created a large wardrobe set that ran over 12 metres.
Veneered with crown-cut cedar and contrasting black walnut banding (unseen here), the effect is eye-catching and elegant. The dressing room was designed with no doors to free up space within the room and give it a boutique flavour.
