Elfa story | At home with Jessica

“From a dark cellar space to a sparkly dressing room”

Thanks to Elfa Décor, Jessica Frej has transformed her lacklustre cellar space into a sparkly new dressing room. Functional, cosy and nice!

Charming, charismatic cookbook writer and TV personality Jessica Frej moved into a house on Lidingö with her partner in November last year. Once all the rooms in the house had divided between the couple and her partner Christian’s nine-year-old son, there was one room left over. “We had a space of over twenty square metres with only basement windows. It had previously been a bedroom. I thought it was a good space to set aside for our clothes,” says Jessica.

By Charlotta Flinkenberg Photos Lina Eidenberg Adamo

Before and after, Jessica’s side

Jessica, who had an Elfa system in a walk-in closet in her previous apartment, liked the concept of having everything in one place, including space for a dressing table. Like me, my partner is interested in clothes, and we both thought it was important to make this room as smart and functional as possible. Even though the room is relatively big, it needs to fit a lot as there are two of us. So our goal was to get in as much storage as possible. That’s why we chose Elfa, as the system allows you to make use of the entire wall from floor to ceiling.”

“Our goal was to get in as much storage as possible”

Before and after, Christian’s side

Many choose to store certain pieces of clothing in different places, for example based on the season. This, however, was not for Jessica; instead, her requirement was that everything be together in one place – this room. “I didn’t want to spread my storage across several places in the house. Partly because of space, but also because of the time it takes running around looking for things. In this dressing room we keep everything from glamorous dresses to sailing gear like life vests. Ski clothes, everyday clothes, party clothes – it’s all here. Some things are stashed away in hidden drawers, but everything is in one room. The amazing thing is that once we had unpacked everything there was still space left over. Some empty shelves, which was lovely.”

Did you need to adjust things like hanger space while installing the solution?

“Yes, we had to modify some of the rails. At first I think we both expected to need more short hanging space. But it turned out that my dresses are quite long, and Christian has some long coats but not so many shirts. Needs and clothes can also change over time, which is why it’s so important to have the type of flexible system that Elfa offers.”

The dressing room is also where the family’s clothes end up after coming out of the laundry, which is in the room next door. “Most families need somewhere to hang their laundry and fold their clothes. In our dressing room we’ve set aside one metre of rod/clothes rails for wet clothes alone. Like an extra laundry space.

“I wanted to bring out the cosy cocoon feel”

“The dark grey makes my colourful clothes pop even more”

What do you think about the result?

“I’m so pleased with the cosy feel in here. It’s really snug and amazing. In the mornings I’ll get a coffee, do my makeup and hang out in the dressing room while getting myself ready. And in the evenings it’s lovely to have a glass of bubbly in here!”

What advice would you give to other couples planning to create a shared storage space for their clothes?

“My advice would be to find a space of this size in your home and set that aside for clothes. Many keep their clothes in their bedrooms, but bedrooms don’t actually have to be so big – they’re only where you sleep. It’s better to have a separate space just for clothes, as then you avoid having to disturb a sleeping partner when you’re getting up and choosing what to wear.”

Jessica’s tips for creating a cosy dressing room

Lighting is important! LED strips in the shelves give a nice effect. We’re looking into fitting them in here once we’re completely sure where we want to have all our clothes. If you have a dressing table in your dressing room then you need good lighting there, otherwise you won’t be able to do your makeup. Remember that you need to have white light from every side!
Decorative details like a nice rug or a comfy armchair make it a nice place to hang out. View it as a room like any other in the home.
Cut flowers or other plants in a beautiful vase are a lovely touch. You can also make use of other decorative pieces. I have a beautiful glass bowl with lavender inside. Potpourri and reed diffusers are amazing and give off lovely scents, which is useful nowadays as it’s better to go without detergent – for the environment as well as for the clothes.
If the room lacks natural light then work with, not against, that. Dare to go for slightly darker, more muted colours and create a cosy atmosphere.