In short
Dressing rooms and laundry rooms are working rooms. Plan them from what they must hold and the tasks done in them: lengths of hanging rail, drawers and shelves, a place to sit and a mirror with good light in the dressing room; water, drainage, ventilation, folding space and storage in the laundry.
Key points
- Count what must be stored before drawing: long and short hanging, folded clothes, shoes, bags, abayas and kandoras.
- Light the dressing room for seeing colour: even light at the mirror and inside the wardrobes.
- A laundry needs water, drainage, power and ventilation planned early, before the walls are built.
- Give the laundry a folding surface and a place to hang clothes; machines alone don't make a laundry.
A dressing room or a laundry room is judged every day, by how easily it does its job. Both are working rooms, and both are planned best from what they must hold and the tasks done in them.
The dressing room
Start with an inventory. How many metres of long hanging for dresses, abayas and kandoras? How much short hanging for shirts and jackets? How many drawers, how many pairs of shoes, how many bags? A dressing room designed from a real count rarely runs out of space.
Plan the movement. A clear walkway between facing wardrobes, doors that do not collide, a place to sit and a full-length mirror away from the walkway.
Light it for colour. Even light at the mirror and inside the wardrobes lets you see true colours. Integrated lighting in shelves and rails is a detail to decide on the joinery drawings, not after installation.
Think about air. Wardrobes in a closed room need ventilation, especially in humid months.
The laundry room
Services first. Water supply, drainage, power for the machines and ventilation for the dryer must be planned before the walls are built. Moving them later means breaking finishes.
More than machines. A practical laundry has a folding surface, a sink, a place to hang clothes to dry, storage for detergents and baskets, and space for ironing.
Location. A laundry near the bedrooms saves carrying, but on an upper floor it needs waterproofing details, a floor drain where possible, and attention to noise and vibration.
Designed with the rest of the house
Both rooms are detailed on the joinery and ceiling drawings like any other room. Our interior work on a private residence in Abu Dhabi includes dressing room and laundry designs alongside bedrooms, bathrooms and the kitchen.
Questions
Should the dressing room be inside the bedroom or separate?
Either works. A separate room keeps the bedroom calm; it needs its own light and ventilation. A walk-through between bedroom and bathroom is a common and efficient arrangement.
Can the laundry be on an upper floor?
Yes, close to the bedrooms is convenient, but it needs a floor drain or waterproofing details and good sound and vibration control. Decide early so the structure and services allow it.