Savvy homeowner transforms awkward bedroom alcove into a Hollywood-style dressing room

This dressing room makeover is worthy of an Oscar, with lashings of A-lister sparkle and a roomy make-up area that we reckon any celeb would be happy to have in their home.

When Mel Hamblett was home hunting it was the large attic master bedroom that sold her on her house, however, its awkward shape made it difficult to work with. 'It had tons of space,' says Mel, 'but when we moved in I struggled to make it work with my existing furniture, because of the sloped ceilings.'

Mel decided to solve the problem by transforming the sloped ceiling alcove into a stunning dressing room area, which she documented on her Instagram account @awholenewbuild.

Dressing room makeover

Before

The sloping ceilings made it awkward to have any tall storage, so Mel used some small cheap canvas wardrobes to begin with, while she saved up for fitted designs.

'Eventually we had a local independent company fit wardrobes and storage cupboards,' says Mel. 'They created them from MDF, which we painted ourselves to save money.'

Here they are having just been built – and you can see how they fit the space perfectly.

After

Ta-da! Just look at the difference some clever planning and good-fitting furniture makes. On the walls, a rich teal colour works well against a soft beige, creating a striking look that's the perfect backdrop for plenty of pattern and print.

'I actually came across this teal colour when we stayed at a cottage in the Cotswolds,' says Mel. 'It was love at first sight!'

The existing dark grey carpet was replaced with herringbone-style laminate. 'The flooring was the most expensive part of the project as our bedroom runs the entire length of the house, so it's quite a large space,' says Mel.

Mel painted the wardrobes and cupboards in a deep grey colour and then fitted some industrial-style pipework handles, which she bought from eBay. 'In total, the wardrobes cost about £1,300, including all the paint,' she says. 'It was significantly cheaper than getting fitted ones from the high street.'

'The Hollywood-style light-up mirror was one I already owned, but it was originally black high gloss,' says Mel. 'I lightly sanded the frame and then painted it to bring it in line with the other tones in the room.'

Around the mirror, Mel hung lots of artworks, using a mix of prints from artists on Etsy and framed greeting cards and postcards that she'd saved. 'The dressing table is from VIDA XL and is a dupe of a well-known style, but around a third of the price,' she says.

'I used Google reverse image searches to find different stockists of similar style furniture to try and track down a bargain.'

In total, the dressing area cost about £1,500 (plus the flooring) and considering it's such a large area, we think it's been worth every penny.