Creating a dazzling dressing room

14 Feb 2023

Need your own space? Trudi Brewer did, and when her oldest son moved out, she turned the spare room into her dream dressing room, a space to herself in an all-male home. With some Resene colours and wallpapers, this space went from drab to fab, where she now has the space to get ready for a night out or read a book in a peaceful, pretty room.   

“I love painting. I also love DIY design, and this dressing room was my greatest project, in a small but perfectly formed room that needed some DIY love,” says Trudi. “Originally my youngest son’s room for many years, the walls had the marks of rough and tumble games, indoor basketball sessions and sticky posters and pin marks littered the walls. I needed inspiration for the look and feel, and a mood board was required.” 

The first step to creating your own dressing room or special space, is to start with a mood board. You can get colour charts from your local Resene ColorShop, and begin to play around with colours you might like. You can even grab some swatches of Resene wallpaper and trinkets you might like to include in your colour scheme or theme.  

Trudi’s mood board inspiration with her chosen paint colour Resene Corn Field, from the Resene Multi-finish palette card R24, and Resene Wallpaper Collection E358004. 

Moving away from Resene Half Black White on the walls, the perfect backdrop for a boy’s room, Trudi wanted to add more hints of feminine colour. After perusing the Resene fandecks for many hours, she realised that sunny yellow was calling to her, and chose the pale lemon of Resene Corn Field.   

Trudi felt the room itself was too small for a feature wall, and she had the bright idea of adding wallpaper to the sides of a tall free standing wardrobe, originally built by her husband. They used Resene Wallpaper Collection E358004, which was part of her mood board, so she knew it would look great with Resene Corn Field. Along with the gold finish down the mirror doors, this dresser is now an elegant piece of furniture for the room.  

The elegant and classy wardrobe with Resene Wallpaper Collection E358004 down the sides and gold touches on the frame. You can achieve a gold finish on a wide range of your own projects with Resene FX Metallic Gold Dust paint. The walls are painted in Resene Corn Field.  

“Yes, this was a DIY project. But for me, it was a labour of love,” Trudi says. “Life changes when your teenage kids start to leave the nest. Apart from having more time on my hands and the space to reinvent a family home we have lived in for over 20 years, this project was all about me.” 

“Three coats of paint, some serious DIY to repair windows that had not been painted for a decade, with those pretty finishing touches, and my dressing room is my sanctuary. This room is also filled with memories. Once upon a time, it was a new baby’s room, then the bolt hole for a growing teen, and now a girly space, a pastel oasis, where I can sit and dream about my next fashion purchase.” 

“If you don’t have a dressing room but have the space, I highly recommend creating a room that is yours and yours alone.” 

The finished dressing room with all its dazzling touches and trinkets, walls painted in Resene Corn Field and wardrobe sides in Resene Wallpaper Collection E358004. 

Finally, a couple of vintage touches, Trudi found a ‘60s dressing table with drawers on Trademe to keep her smalls and jewels, and two vintage cane chairs for a cosy place to sit, contemplate and use as a clothes holder when in a hurry.  

If you don’t have the furniture at home or want to buy new, you can always upcycle and refurbish an old piece. All it takes is some sanding down, a couple of coats of Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer as an undercoat and some paint of your chosen colour to match your colour scheme. If you’re opting for a natural look, try a Resene Colorwood stain that would suit the space where you are putting it.  

Once you have your mood board and colour palette, finding things for your special space can be easy by taking your chosen Resene colour swatches out to stores and choosing items that match the scheme. Trudi found the perfect pastel blue and yellow wool rug and other finishing touches like the lamp, cushions and flowers. 

“I love my new dressing room, it’s the forever home for my shoe and handbag collection.” 

For Trudi’s full story on her dressing room visit: How to create a feminine dressing room 

Have you recently renovated a room in your home? We would love to see your work! Send us some photos by emailing editor@habitatbyresene.co.nz.  

Published: 14 Feb 2023