Materials: GRUNDTAL rail, S-hooks, spice jars, cutlery caddies; NORBERG drop leaf table; SPONTAN magnet board; LOTS mirror; FRANKLIN bar stool; HEMMA lamps with RENATE shades
Description: I'm a mess in the morning. I have ADHD, which makes digging through drawers, baskets, and piles a nightmare, and I have to compete for one of two bathroom vanities: my husband shaves in the en suite bath while my daughter primps in the other. Our condo is tiny and our bathrooms are tinier... no room to share!
I often forgo 'beauty' altogether instead of digging through random shoe boxes for cosmetics while looking at myself in the next-best mirror (which is in the kitchen).
[I do have a proper dressing table. It was repurposed into a aquarium stand for our turtle long ago. Heh. It's not IKEA or I'd tell you more.]
My ADHD coach/organizer has been encouraging me to use vertical storage wherever possible. I tend to only use regularly the things I can actually see; vertical organization prevents the piling-up that makes my needed items go out-of-sight-out-of-mind. Every object needs a specific home. A home that I can *see* into. No doors, drawers, boxes, baskets, or cabinets.
But how can vertical organization work for a dressing table?
IKEA to the rescue! I decided to use GRUNDTAL as the solution. I had already tried some BYGEL rails and buckets for the wall just above the commode and it's really cut down on the bathroom clutter. GRUNDTAL is nicer, and this wall is visible from my bed.
I had intended to buy a picture shelf to set items currently in use, but I saw the NORBERG table in the IKEA showroom and instantly knew that I could give it a dual purpose on a currently wasted bedroom wall, conveniently near the en suite bath.
My husband hung the NORBERG at "pub/bar table level" (get "molly" bolts if you can't attach to at least two studs). Then he hung the GRUNDTAL rail high enough to allow for the stored items to hang underneath.
I used the double-sided tape that was supplied with the LOTS mirrors to affix a LOTS tile to the SPONTAN board. I suggest marking the placement of the mirror on the board and of the board on the wall before making the mirror permanent!
I prefer to apply make-up standing up and very close to the mirror (yay, myopia!) so I have it placed pretty highly on the wall. One could easily lower the whole shebang and use a stool or chair of regular height. I actually decided on my mirror height by using a dry erase marker to draw a 12 X 12 square (LOTS size) around my face in my full length mirror and then measuring from the floor to the square.
I used GRUNDTAL doo-dads to finish it out:
I used one S-hook and a large binder clip to hang the hairdryer, curling iron, and straightening iron by their cords. (By the way, I also looped the cords through the NORBERG assembly to keep them out of sight. I had to momentarily un-assemble the arm, pull the cords through, and pop it back in. It was well worth the 90 seconds it took.)
S-hooks are also holding my brush, elastics, rings, and earrings. I hung my necklaces, bracelets, and my watch directly to the rail.
The cutlery buckets are holding skin care products and make-up brushes/pencils. I love this because I can see what I've got quite easily and there isn't a risk of knocking over a cup of brushes in my pre-caffeinated stupor.
The magnetic spice jars are fabulous. I can see what's in there without any digging and I've got my cosmetics organized by the order in which I apply them. I have make-up on one side and skin/hair on the other. Brilliant.
The bonus feature might be my favorite... when the table leaf is up, I've got a nice place to pull up the barstool and set my laptop. Dual use of furniture in a tiny condo is always an epic win.
Thoughts after completion: I wish I had used the longer GRUNDTAL rail. I used the 30.5" length which lines up nearly exactly with the NORBERG. Overhang on either side would have been nice. I need another cutlery caddy or two. A reason for a trip back...
~ Shannon, Austin, Texas
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