My dream walk in wardrobe by blogger Josie

As a fashion blogger, and fashion 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; with a couple of sets of drawers, and a large wardrobe always overflowing with my clothes, as well as 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.

After much considerations 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, and 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 Sharps consultant even took note of the height of my ankle boots, to ensure he allowed enough height when it came to building the shoe shelves!

The design & building process

I had presumed that building a bespoke walk in wardrobe would take months of planning and building, but I was told in fact that once the designs had been approved (a process that takes around two weeks, during which a surveyor visits the property to ensure the precise measurements are taken) it would only take around 3 days to build. It was great to brainstorm ideas with the Sharps designer, playing with different solutions for rail space, shelving units and storage displays - and when we’d spoken at length about our ideas, the designer bought it to life on his laptop before we began the fun task of choosing the finishes. I wanted the room to have a French Chic vibe, so opted for a , with  and a cream satin cushion for the window seat. We also discussed the finer details such as soft closure on the doors and drawers, and spot lights that would automatically come on when the doors were opened.

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 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 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 #ootd!

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, and I wholeheartedly would recommend Sharps to anyone considering switching up their storage in their homes too. Xoxo