From the start of the design process of our house, a wardrobe for us to tuck away bags, jackets, shoes and brollys was a must have. As someone who suffers from anxiety, clutter isn't good for my mental health and also makes it difficult to focus with too much around. Also, with the entryway giving the first impression of how we live when a guest arrives, it's best to have these things behind closed doors.
Together with our architects we were able to build in the perfect wee nook to have some cabinets and a bench to take shoes and jackets off. A popular look you see on Instagram and Pinterest are these open wardrobes. While they do look nice when they're finished, you inevitably end up with a 'Pinterest vs Reality' once they're stuffed full of jackets and all your bits and pieces.
For this reason we are doing some custom doors on the wardrobes to keep everything neat and tidy. The plan is to buy four 50cm pax wardrobe carcasses and fit them on top of a more structurally sound bench. We will then build some doors, facings and drawers to fit within this frame.
For our built in Pax wardrobes upstairs, we went for the plain white Forsand doors. For the entryway we wanted something a bit more impressive, as we are having a beautiful Florence style tile floor with a custom made Oak door by Gavin's Dad. We didn't want to cheapen the stunning door with simple Ikea doors, so here we are! (The following pictures are the door in progress... The timber frame will be painted black, with brass door furniture on the front and black iron furniture on the oak back.)
We want to borrow language from the front door design without taking away the limelight from it. We decided the materials would be limed oak and black hardware. Even with this direction the possibilities are endless. It's taken a while to feel inspired for this project. I started reflecting back on spaces I've been that gave me a sense of calm, and of course I remembered our visit to Zen Gardens in Japan. The interiors are minimal and tasteful; the shoji blinds and screens are quintessential to traditional Japanese interiors.
I knew using rice paper on the doors for our wardrobe would be incredibly impractical with a young family. Gavin and I have always tried to focus on texture within the house. We are going to upholster panels of wood with a heavy duty tweed or basket weave fabric and frame them in limed oak to child proof this look. Tweed feels a bit more at home in a Scottish cottage, too!
Our cottage was built in the 1920's so we've always been keen to incorporate some Art Deco elements into the interior design. The stepped look of the bench and the upholstery gives a nod to the Art Deco era while still keeping the design clean and modern. We decided to go for a stepped bench so it doesn't protrude too far out into the hallway, but still big enough for two people to sit on it at once to take their shoes on or off.
We have only just finalised the general design for this. We still need to take final measurements, order hardware, and settle on fabric for the upholstery. Check back in a few weeks for a step by step tutorial on how we completed this project!
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