Vanity is not a dirty word at my house…

…or in my house is more appropriate for this posting to the blogosphere!

As most of you know, I have redecorated (nearly finished) the master bedroom recently and it all was inspired by the beautiful quilt made by a dear friend. The whole process was fairly organic and many ideas I started with evolved into other things in my wish to keep the room from becoming too feminine. After all, the Fashion Mister has to feel comfortable there too. However, there was one concept that never changed. I wanted the top of my dresser/chest of drawers to be a place where I could keep my small collection of perfume bottles and the jewelry that I regularly wear at hand. But it couldn’t be messy.

I found this pic on Google when entering “messy vanity“. I’m sorry if this is your vanity…BUT…it would do my head in! You see, I’m sure I remain undiagnosed with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). When things around me get too messy my brain just shuts down. I would not be able to rest or relax in a room where the vanity looked like this. So that was part of my dilemma in creating a space for my things. How to have everything I wanted accessible yet tidy and somewhat beautiful.

The vanity on the left is far more organised and certainly beautiful and it is this kind of vanity-scape that inspired me when I was putting together my own.

You may remember that the quilt fabrics had a fair bit of gold, bronze and rusty colours in them. At first I struggled with whether or not to purchase a chest of drawers that I had fallen in love with because it was covered in a silver, antique metal skin. Not paint and not mirror but a thin layer of actual metal. I decided it would be okay because of the antique look and thinking that the reflection from the golds and browns in the room would provide further gold highlights to the chest. I had also found an amazing mirror on sale that went perfectly with the dresser. So I bought them both!

Then began the fun of accessorizing. I had contemplated going mostly with wood and other more organic materials, thinking this might warm things up and keep the space from being too reflective. But I couldn’t fight the fact that I am a bit of a magpie and like shiny things!

I wanted the space to be pretty but also useful. So I started with a number of items that I already had. The tall silver candle holder is one of a set of three. Other than the overhead light, we only have candles in the room, so the other two are in the room just not all grouped together. The shorter silver candlestick is one of a set of antique candlesticks I purchased when we first bought out home. The crystal compote is from my mother-in-laws collection. It had been in our crystal cabinet never getting used. I’m sure my mother-in-law would rather I use it and think of her everyday than keep it semi-hidden away. So I use it for my bangles and bracelets. The wooden tray has mother-of-pearl inlay and was a gift from friends for my 45th b-day and it is perfect for watches and rings. I have draped necklaces over the candlesticks and used these items to glam up the corner of the chest of drawers.

Next I have used another item from my mother-in-law that was hiding in the crystal cabinet, an antique silver butter dish. It’s perfect for earrings! Finally, because the silver chest of drawers and silver mirror weren’t enough, the silver serving tray is being used to keep perfume bottles, nail polish, lipstick and a few other bits and pieces tidy and under control.

Over all I am really happy with the look. It works for the room and it works for me. Everything is where it belongs, easy to find and access and looks pretty good too.

What do you think? Is vanity a dirty word at your house? How do you keep your vanity in check?

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