Built-in Dressing Table

The original house plan had a second linen closet in the master bathroom. I decided I would rather have a window. I really like some natural light in the bathroom.

Schumacher gave us a credit for deleting 40” of drywall and a door and charged us for the window and installation instead. We came out slightly ahead.

Revised Home Construction Quote

Credit to delete the closet $450.00
Additional Window $389.00

We came out a little ahead.

This left the space where the closet would have been.

I decided to put a dressing table in the space that was left. At first I was going to just put a shelf across the space, but then I thought of using a desk top, so that I would have the drawers.

I looked at a lot of desks. The size is not that unusual, so there were options. I decided on the  Lilasen from Ikea. It is bamboo, which seems kinda spa-like. If I decide to add other storage to the bathroom, bamboo is easy to find and coordinate with.

It is bamboo on all sides with a tough clear acrylic lacquer finish over it.

The size is ideal, 40.5” wide, 19.25” deep and 2.5” high. It fits perfectly.

We used four steel L angle brackets we already had. I measured, then screwed them into the studs with some long drywall screws I already had.

We added a couple of wall-mounted baskets. These are made by Spectrum Diversified. They come in a lot of sizes, are sturdy, easy to put up and Amazon delivers them right away. I’ve got them all over the house, inside cabinets, beside the tub, anywhere I need storage.

The drawers aren’t wonderful. There are three drawers, each 9” wide, 12.5” front to back and only 1.5” deep. It would be nice if they were deeper, but the desks that had deeper drawers didn’t fit well under the window and still leave plenty of height for my legs. I would also like it better if they could pull out farther, but it is nice that they won’t pull out enough to spill my stuff all over the floor. I put into them only what I actually use, and they work well enough.

While I was at Ikea, I found this Karmsund table mirror. It adjusts so I can easily see myself, fits below the window and I like the little tray at the bottom. And we found the little metal Raskog stool in the Clearance area. It is perfect at the dressing table and it’s also just the right height to be a little table by the tub.

I wanted to have some privacy, but let in light and see out the window. I used a sheerish scarf I already owned to make some simple curtains. There is a roller blind at the top, in case we need privacy. But, even at night you really can’t see anything through the window from outside.

It worked out perfectly! I have plenty of natural light to put on makeup, plenty of daylight in the bathroom. And I can add some other bamboo shelves if I ever need to.