Swedish Interior Design

We looked previously at what to do with an under-used room and used our own Swedish Interior Design guest bedroom as an example of the thought process.

We’ve looked at making the settle, the antique lace bolsters and finding the right antique dressing table to fit both the space we had and the use I needed from it.

Next up – I needed a wardrobe.

As UK ambassador to Ewa I Walla the Swedish fashion label, I’m lucky to have lots of Ewa’s beautiful clothes but where do I keep them?

I have an armoire in the main bedroom full of Ewa Walla dresses  but I had run out of space.

This time I wanted something less imposing. We didnt have the right armoire for my space in our Swedish Antiques stock so I pondered on what to have.

Did we need to go to the expense of making another bespoke wardrobe? It would take up a large amount of space and make the room feel quite overshadowed. No. I had a better idea.

Why not instead make the whole room into the full on walk-in wardrobe that I had always dreamed of.

We created an 10′ long shelf with detailed carved edging along the inner wall of the bedroom. This allowed us to still keep the settle against the adjacent wall and set it opposite the dressing table so guests would stayed could still sleep in the pop out double bed settle & feel welcome in the room.

We then took an antique gold Swedish Gustavian cornice we had as the central detail on the centre of the shelf and added 2 antique french cherubs at each end that we had found in our friend’s local antique store 3 Angels in Hove , just beautiful. Thanx Susannah!

Under the shelf we hung 10′ of rail to take the Ewa Walla dresses and I tied several pairs of muslim curtains along the entire length with tie backs in case I wanted to hide the clothes during a photoshoot or when someone was staying.

Of course normally I wanted all the beautiful Ewa I Walla dresses and skirts that I proudly owned on show!  Part of my job as Ewa Walla ambassador is to introduce new customers to their clothes and the walk in wardrobe …..  well this served this purpose very nicely too … what a great showroom for both clothes are our own design idea… many a changed woman had passed through its doors.

One final thought – any girl that loves Ewa I Walla would know you need a special place for bloomers in your collection… a crucial part of the romantic  layered look …. So I found a old ladder, painted it white and placed it leaning at the entrance of the dressing room to show off my bloomers. I also added a few dusky pink roses that I picked up in a brocante  in France  … more tomorrow

 
Madeleine Lee is Creative Director of Swedish Interior Design