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Teenager's wardrobe .

General description

The   brief  and  overall design were  determined by Stephi  16yrs. My task was to convert her ideas into a working wardrobe. A complication, although not obvious from the photos is that the wardrobe has been built in front of and around an offset chimney breast.

The design had to include a "dressing table"  with  plenty of light along with storage for:  jewellery, shoes, hats,  handbags etc. The wardrobe is made from pine and finished with a satin polyurethane finish.

Click each photo for a larger image

Photo 1 above . A view of the entire built in  unit.

Photo 2 and 3  below left and  right:  Left hand  and right hand units.

The centre section of the wardrobe (the dressing table) from two different views.

The lights set into the "ceiling" are of a type that do not radiate much heat. Therefore sitting at the dressing table for any period of time will not be made uncomfortable by "top down" heat.

These lights can be adjusted by the touch switch (more of which later) just visible on the left hand side of the unit.

Photo 5&6: below

To the left and right of the dressing table are  recessed and lit shelf units. In these  recesses, essential "perfumery"  is  set out and easily accessible .

Not only do the lights illuminate  perfume bottles but,  it adds to the available light without creating shadows.

These lights can be adjusted by the touch switch on the right hand side.

Photo 7... Below left, jewellery.....

The lower rack is for ear rings. Here they have been set out so that choices can be made and by virtue of hanging , do not become entangled one with another.

Above the earrings are the bangles.

Hanging over the mirror (made from hickory for a subtly different colour of wood) are necklaces.

Photo 8 ... above right.

Touch switches on various household appliances  are beginning to appear in the high street shops (UK at least). Sold  with a sense of magic about them,  they work through some clever electronics. 

Now,  you want to know how it works don't you ???  If not skip the next bit.....

The metal plate you see in the picture is connected via  a wire to a  small "programmable chip"  (within which are a series of  of logic gates) in the transformer casing. Touching the plate causes  - through the capacitance within your body -  a tiny capacitor in the plate to charge up, this "switches" the circuit . By definition the chip operates logically and "knows"  the status of the lights. If the lights are off, one touch brings the lights on. If they are on, one touch  turns the lights off.

In addition,  if you touch  and keep touching  the metal plate  the electronics sense the increased period of "touching" and the lights  will either dim up or down depending upon their initial status  and, hey,  you have your own light show....

Photos 9 and 10 below ...

The right hand side of the wardrobe is for long garments and shoes.

Photo 9 l/h , shows the shoe racking  shortly after installation.  Photo 10  r/h shows the same racking some time later.  Notice the off set divider so that boots can be accommodated.

On the inside of the l/h door is a full length mirror. The door is on traditional butt hinges and will   - by design - fold back against the wardrobe.

Photos  11 and 12 below ...

The left hand side of the wardrobe is for accessories and includes a chest of drawers.  There is also racking for shorter garments Below, you can see the chest and above that,  facilities for handbags belts etc...

Photos  13  and 14 below....

Running along the top of the unit are cupboards for additional storage.

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