Wardrobe Hunt

Part of our grand plan for our master bedroom is to eventually cut out the bulk of this wall (the one opposite the bay window), move it a few steps into the next room (the second bedroom), and create a lovely giant built-in wardrobe in that space (I already mentioned this plan here). That way the doors would be in line with where the wall used to be, and we wouldn't be encroaching on the floor space in the room.

Considering that this house is pretty small, we're not exactly gearing it towards being a family home, so we figure making the master bedroom suite larger (and thereby creating a smaller second bedroom) is probably more appealing to DINKS than two ok-sized bedrooms with no built-in storage.

So! Now that we've got the painting of the master bedroom very nearly finished (only trim remains), I've characteristically mentally moved on to the next steps - decorating! We're not going to cut out that wall any time soon. Plenty to do before that becomes a priority! But we will be in dire need of some storage space when we finally move back in (fingers crossed that we get our power reconnected later this week after last week's saga), so I figured it couldn't hurt if I did a little online second-hand shopping to see what was available in the wardrobe department.

We've got a couple of options here. The first is to go the carpenter way and construct built-in wardrobes from scratch to perfectly fit the space. Poor Tom has already had is carpentry patience stretched with our kitchen extension, so the prospect of having to build something from scratch doesn't exactly fill him with glee. Plus, if we're to get the right measurements etc, we'd have to be incredibly creative with recycled materials or willing to fork out the dough for brand new materials, neither of which are particularly attractive options.

So, that brings me to the second option - to find second-hand already-built wardrobes, and build in and around them to make them look built-in. Less effort, less time, and potentially less money. I like it!

So I hopped on Gumtree to see what I could see. And I found these!

Yes, that is a glossy laminate finish you see on the doors.

And yes, the hinges are rusty and old and really ugly.

And yes, the knobs on the doors are gold and black plastic...classy.

But it cost me $40 for the pair, and they have heaps of potential!!!

Here's what I'm thinking at this point (please forgive the dodginess of this drawing, I just whipped it up in Paint):

The two wardrobes will go on either side, and then we'll fill the space in the middle with a dresser and maybe a little baby dressing area with a mirror (and small chandelier even?), and depending on how much room we have, perhaps little cubbies for shoes, ties, etc on either side of the dresser. Plus, we'll add another layer of cupboards on top, to make use of the height of the ceilings in this house. I haven't figured out the easiest way to make those yet.

Perhaps we could even have a ladder on wheels attached to a bar above the ground level of wardrobes to use to access the higher area, like this (although not with a curvy rail):

sourced from Design Sponge

That would be kinda cool.

A big concern that's only occured to me now I've seen the two wardrobes sitting in the room is the fact that they will be off-centre, because of the bedroom door. So the lovely symmetry of the two wardrobes flanking the dresser is kind of ruined by the fact that the arrangement won't be central in the wall, meaning that the dresser bit won't line up with the bed that will go in the bay window opposite (which is almost central in the wall).

I really don't know what to do to solve that problem, so I'm going to have to keep thinking, and perhaps request some suggestions from you guys?

In the meantime, to get rid of that terrible glossy yellow marble-look laminate finish on the doors of the wardrobes, I'm thinking of trying to emulate something like this:

sourced from Southern Exposure

Although it looks pretty complex, this woman managed to DIY most of it using a splash of paint, mirrors cut to size and little pieces of timber molding glued on top. In reality, although fiddly, it doesn't sound all that difficult. Hehe. What do I know? Anyway, I'm willing to give it a go.

And of course a few changes in hardware to make the hinges and doorknobs look a bit better wouldn't go astray. Perhaps glass knobs to add a bit of chic-ness?

So any thoughts about my symmetry dilemma?

I'll leave you with a picture of the only other piece of furniture currently in the master bedroom. My Louis. Again, really sorry about the dirty floor!