Laurence advises

Our interior design expert Laurence Llewelyn-Bowenoffers help with creating a chic boudoir in a spare room

 
'I'd love inspiration for my dressing room I'm fortunate enough to have a spare room that I use purely as a dressing room. The trouble is, I don't know how to give it a glam boudoir look. Do you have any suggestions? I don't want to do anything permanent, as I'll need to demonstrate its bedroom potential should we ever want to sell. But with a little inspiration I'm sure it could look better than it does at the moment. It's a reasonably sized room with very high ceilings.'

Amanda Foster, Leeds

 

Laurence says:

There's nothing of the ‘boudoir' about your dressing room at the moment. In fact, it looks more like a home office. Your dedication to storage has led to a rather ordinary aesthetic, but you can certainly invigorate the room into a jewel box of a space.The simplest, most obvious change could be made by painting the walls a rich, strong colour to unify the loose arrangement of storage furniture, especially given the high ceilings. Dark colours will knit together odd collections of furniture or objects.

Once painted, give the room a more glamorous identity. The proportions of your room inspire me to suggest a brave, oversized chandelier that will be an eyecatching, decorative focus.

There's something very controlled and clinical about a dressing room that celebrates its storage rather than its dressings. Let your most gorgeous bits and pieces out into the wild. I'd be tempted to show off your nicest bits of costume jewellery on busts or figurines arranged on the surfaces. If I were you,

 

 

 

I'd also invest in a Victorian tailor's dummy, which you could re-cover in a bright floral fabric and use as a display for scarves or shawls.And finally, consider treating yourself to a prettier, flirtier, more girly chair.
It'll be the perfect place to sit while you try on your newest, most daring pairs of evening shoes.

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