Transforming storage in a spare bedroom
Fashion and lifestyle blogger Josie, came to Sharps to help transform her small, spare bedroom in her South West London home, into the walk in wardrobe she always dreamed of. Read her story and watch her videos, which detail everything from the design and build, to exactly how she organises and displays her beautiful clothes!
As cliche as it sounds, having a walk in wardrobe is something that I’ve dreamt of since I was a little girl. Whether it was lusting over Carrie’s spectacular room built for her by Mr.Big or going googley eyed over the dressing rooms within the mega mansions I’d see on MTV Cribs, I knew that I needed one.
Using the small bedroom for clothes storage
As a fashion blogger and clothes hoarder – clothing storage has always been a bit of a problem.
In our 3 bedroom South West London home, we always used the smallest bedroom for storage. We had a couple of sets of drawers, and a large wardrobe that was always packed with my clothes. We also had a standalone rail in the second bedroom that would be used for my ‘overflow’ – it was far from ideal.
I found myself getting stressed about the lack of organisation, and started researching storage solutions for the smallest room. A walk-in wardrobe always seemed like a far-away luxury, something you only had if you owned a huge house with loads of bedrooms – but now I know that is not the case.
A walk-in wardrobe always seemed like a far-away luxury, something you only had if you owned a huge house with loads of bedrooms – but now I know that is not the case.
Sharps: The fitted wardrobe specialists
After much consideration of all of our options, we decided to bring in the professionals to help us analyse the best use of space for our third bedroom. We invited Sharps to come and chat to us about converting the room into a walk-in wardrobe.
The initial consultation was incredibly useful – with measurements being taken to understand exactly how much rail space we needed, and questions asked about how we’d like the room to look visually, and how we’d use it. The consultant even took note of the height of my ankle boots, to ensure that he allowed enough height when it came to building the shoe shelves!
Watch Josie's vlogs
Josie recorded her Sharps experience, from the initial home design visit to the final installation.
You can watch Josie's experience and build video and the wardrobe tour video on Josie's YouTube channel.
Designing my dream walk-in wardrobe
I had presumed that building a bespoke walk-in wardrobe would take months of planning and building, but in fact, once the designs had been approved, which took about 2 weeks, my installer would only take about 3 days to build the whole thing! During those two weeks, a surveyor visited the property to ensure the precise measurements are taken, so we had extra peace of mind that we'd made the right decision in choosing Sharps.
It was great to brainstorm ideas with the Sharps designer, playing with different solutions for rail space, shelving units and storage displays. When we’d spoken at length about our ideas, the designer bought it to life on his laptop and we began the fun task of choosing the finishes.
I wanted our walk-in wardrobe room to have a French Chic vibe, so chose fitted wardrobe doors in the Sherbourne range. We also opted for a cream satin cushion for the window seat.
We also discussed the finer details such as soft closure on the doors and drawers, which come as standard with Sharps, and spotlights that would automatically come on when the doors were opened.
The building process
Once the details had been decided, the building work could begin! The entire building process took three days and you can see some of the work in action in the design and build video above. The craftsmanship was completed to an extremely high level, and the finish - as you can see - looks absolutely beautiful!
It didn’t take me long before I was filling up the rails with my Autumn and Winter clothing, although it did take a little while before I made a final decision on where each style would be stored! The ‘main’ section opens up to reveal my most worn pieces, with a half-height rail displaying my silk blouses, lightweight knits and other favourite tops, under which are my shoes (in the perfectly measured shelves!). I also have a spacious section for long winter coats, and a double rail for skirts, shorter coats, folded trousers and dresses.
I’m so pleased we chose to have drawers at the end of the room too. Not only does the window seat area give the room a beautifully relaxed feeling, but the storage of the drawers is hugely valuable when it comes to folded tees, workout clothing and more jumpers etc!
Everything has its place
After a couple of weeks of making slight changes to where I stored things, the wardrobe room felt complete. I added small touches such as flowers, fragrances and decorative shoes (very uncomfortable to wear, but too beautiful to store away!) to the open shelving area, and the room was complete. It’s incredible the difference the room makes to my daily routine of choosing an outfit; having all of my clothes organised and clearly displayed means that dressing each morning is much more enjoyable task - I know where everything is and it’s quick and easy to select the perfect pieces.
Of course, it’s not just me that has a lot of clothes, but Charlie too! The other side of the room has been designed with his needs in mind; he has wider shelves for his shoes, a rack on the back of his wardrobe doors for ties etc, and plenty of storage space for his huge collection of knitwear and bomber jackets! Charlie’s side of the room is mirrored, which not only makes the room feel bigger, but it also makes the space much more practical when it comes to choosing and checking your outfit.
Turning our small third bedroom into a walk-in wardrobe was by far the best decision we’ve made since moving into our home, it suits our needs perfectly and the entire process was an enjoyable and seamless one.
I would recommend Sharps to anyone who is looking to transform storage in their home.
About Josie
Hello, Darlings! I'm Josie; fashion & lifestyle blogger, YouTuber, writer, photographer, business owner and lover of all things fabulous.
After graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Fashion Management from the London College of Fashion, I established my career in the luxury British fashion house; Mulberry. Working in the marketing department I was constantly infatuated with the world of fashion and luxury, as well as my love for beauty, food and travel so I spent my evenings searching endlessly through Pinterest and Instagram for visual inspiration.
I craved all things stylish and so in August 2014 at the age of 19, I decided to start Fashion Mumblr, this creative outlet that I'm now head-over-heels in love with! Alongside my YouTube channel, Fashion Mumblr is now recognised as one of Europe's most influential fashion blogs with an engaged and loyal audience and readership.
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An elegant design that works perfectly in a property with character and period features.
The Sherbourne range is gracefully designed to bring charm and elegance to any room. It can particularly complement period features such as alcoves, sculptured skirting, coving or panelling.
