Friday, December 17, 2010

An Ikea Vanity

Each day begins and ends at the same place for me. At my vanity. It's wear I put in my contacts, fix my hair, apply and remove makeup, and decide what jewelry to wear. My vanity gets more attention than any other spot in my room (except my bed of course). When I talk about a vanity, I'm referring to an entire space, not just a piece of furniture. And it's important to keep the space clean and organized. Makeup especially can hold and grow bacteria, so I definitely do not keep it in the bathroom where bacteria is attracted like a magnet.

Ikea is one of my favorite stores. As a designer, I find myself constantly experimenting with layouts and decor and furniture. Shopping at Ikea makes my habit less expensive and I still walk out with a good quality product. Today I have put together a moodboard of Ikea products to create a great vanity space. All prices will be listed below the image.

perfume bottles, $9.99 for 3; stockholm tray, $19.99; musik lamp, $14.99; hangers, $3.99 for 2; lillholmen mirror, $14.99; drawer dividers, $4.99 for 2; nine drawer dresser, $119; dressing table, $129; gasgrund trashcan, $12.99; henriksdal chair, $79.99

Most of these things are pretty explanatory but some are acting out of their typical use. I would love to empty some of my favorite scents out of their ugly bottle and into these beauties. Set them on the tray on the dressing table or on top of the dresser set. Use the drawer dividers inside the dresser drawers to separate your makeup. I'm a bit of a makeup junkie so I have a couple drawers for each area of the the face: skin care, foundations/concealers/powders, cheeks, eyes, lips. The divider that is is for pencils and pens is perfect for lip gloss organization. These plastic dividers are easy to wipe out, too.

I love this dressing table because it's perfect to layout everything you are using. Your curling iron can be warming on one end of the table and still have room for your makeup and other hair products. And the laminate top can easily be wiped down after each use.

The hangers are perfect to attach to the wall for your necklaces and bracelets to hang. Having them on the wall keeps them close but doesn't take up any of your tabletop.

I hope you like this combination of furniture. A couple of ways you can really personalize the space is to add drawer pulls to the dresser. They have some gorgeous knobs at Hobby Lobby, like these below, all under $5 each.



What does your vanity area look like? How do you organize your makeup and jewelry? Let me know in the comments below!


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