You could add cabinetry and make it a nice linen closest/storage area, along with a nice rug, table with a lamp on it, bench, as artillery suggested which were also my thoughts when I looked at it. Maybe a fold-down table for laundry folding.

You could do a vanity area. I like the large dressing mirror idea aktillery9 suggested. Some artwork would really make the space inviting. You have room for a dresser if you'd like to free up space in you closet. You have room on the long wall for a vanity and on the wall near the bathroom, a dresser. I personally wouldn't use it as a hang out spot. You'd be staring into the doorway of the closet.

You could also do a wardrobe style unit near the bathroom for linen storage if you need more of that.

Tibbrix has a great idea with the fold down laundry area. You are already using the space for laundry so it would keep everything neat and tidy and hidden when not in use. You could have the fold down table inside an amoire type cabinet.

I would first "furnish the walls" with color. Or at least some of the walls. It's the best way to cozy up a space without any floor space. Without windows, I don't see this as becoming a "sitting area".

While I like the idea of a folding area from a practical point of view, is there a risk it will become an area for accumulating laundry? That would not be good feng shui. You don't want to be thinking about doing laundry every time you go to the bathroom or go to get dressed.

We have a dressing area and I got 3 large mirrors from IKEA and used piano hinges to put them together and make a 3 way mirror which we hung on the wall. That would work in the angled corner between the bath and closet. I use ours a lot...great for seeing outfits from behind.

Would you also perhaps use a bench to sit on to put shoes and socks on and such? That would work on the 116" wall.

If it's going to be largely decorative for you to enjoy as you pass through, then look into artwork, maybe a bombay chest for extra clothing storage with a picture over top on the 66" wall next to the bath.

I would also furnish the area with a runner rug just to soften the walk.

This space has numerous issues. Here's a quick possible layout. I think a very flat area rug would begin to anchor the space. The problem is the location and size. This placement has perhaps the fewest issues. Next I would recommend some type of 3D element to be placed on the curved wall to draw you into the space. There are a variety of items that might work depending on the style of your home and your budget.

Next I would reiterate the curve with a demilune table on the wall with large mirror above and buffet lamp to add depth and warmth to the space. Across from that would be some type of accent chair, carefully selected for size with a small round table next to it. Finally a triptych of art on the long wall to add color & texture.

Possible 3D items for curved wall, plaster trees, leaves etc.

thanks everyone for your super thoughtful responses!

aktillery and littlemonkey, I do like the idea of having a little dressing area to change. i agree, it probably wouldn't be an ideal hang-out spot to just be a sitting room.

Annie, the three-way mirror idea is brilliant for that angled wall. we have little ones running around, so I am a little worried about having large mirrors around.. maybe i can find some decent shatterproof ones.

tibbrix, a fold-down table for laundry would be good, and maybe somewhere to hide the laundry baskets. do you think doing built-in is better than just buying a standalone?

beverly, thanks so much for the mock-up of the room. i really like your rug placement and your artwork choices.

wanted to know what you guys thought if i could do something like bookcases and that small blue sofa or maybe a narrower bench along the long 116" wall ? would that be too monolithic? i could only do 12" deep bookcases though.

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It wouldn't be my choice to do.

How about something furniture-like for a folding/utility table. You can store extra laundry detergent/toilet paper, etc., in the big drawers and on the bottom shelf. Add open shelves above it on which you put folded towels, sheets, etc. Put in a fold-down recessed ironing board, in a wall behind a little door.

The thing about putting seating and rug like beverly posted, is it leaves you feeling like you are or have to walk through a "room" to get to the closet, bath, etc. I would treat it like a art gallery with several large and over-sized pieces and a runner instead of an area rug in the "dressing" area. Not a narrow runner, more like a rug that's wide and long. Kalaty for example has 4x8 and 4x10... though I can't really tell how wide/long the space is. You wouldn't necessarily need a rug at the entrance to bedroom suite. I do like the idea of the demilune table and lamp.

Where do those double doors lead? How often are they used?

And if you can narrow that archway you make more of a room and not a leftover space.

beverly, thanks! after seeing your mockup, i agree, the sofa/bookcase probably would not look good since the sofa stares straight at the closet door, lol.

tibbrix, that table you showed is really lovely. do you know how much wall you have to cut to put in the iron? i might do that in my closet instead. thank you!

lazygardens, the double doors are basically for the master suite. outside is a short hall that goes to the laundry room and a kid's bedroom. we use the doors all the time. narrowing the archway is an interesting idea. i'll have to ask how easy that might be and how much mess that would entail.

allison, i like the idea of an art gallery and wide runner, though maybe along the curved wall. i keep feeling like the other long wall should serve more function though. maybe a table or built-ins and art on top?

what do you all think of this idea? if i cannot enclose the doorway more, my drawers would only be 12". do you think shallow 12" drawers would be functional?

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I have a console chest 12" deep 36" wide with 3 full width drawers under a pair of half drawers, and over the years have found the size perfect for so many things that are on the smaller size such as gloves and hats, socks, etc. Anything!

micho, I think you can go as deep as you want into the wall for an ironing board cabinet. Some aren't even recessed. It's not difficult, though. Just cut between two studs (obviously looking out for electric wiring). You also want it near an outlet for the iron. Not sure if, legally, you can have an outlet actually inside the ironing cabinet.

Here are pics of different examples, one recessed, one not. You also want to place the outlet strategically, i.e.: on the side of the board you'd be ironing and with the open door not in the way of the cord. So have the door open on the opposite side you'd be ironing.

What is this concept of ironing? I thought that's why they make wrinkle free. LOL

You have 21" depth in front of the bathroom door which is definitely deep enough for baskets. I think custom would be the way to go for you. Since you are already using that space as a laundry area why not hide it?

If you did a tall built in look, you could have enough room to have an open shelf (behind doors) on the bottom for a basket. Or do two even, one on top of the other. The rest of the shelve could be a shorter height and you could store extra linens, your iron, special ironing waters, etc. There should be enough space given the width of that wall to do a narrow slot that runs the height of the cabinet if you want a full sized ironing board that pulls out. Or do a fold down one over top of the shelves for the laundry baskets.

The only caution I would give is that if the laundry room isn't right in that area as well, the next owners may not want to fold laundry in their suite. So make sure that the built in can easily be converted into plan storage without an ironing board.

We have a built in ironing board in our dressing area and it works very nicely. Ours is hardwired in with a switch that automatically shuts the power off when the thing is closed up so there's no fear of accidentally leaving the iron on...and it's deep enough to store the iron in the unit, so it's always at the ready. I wouldn't worry about the next owners...

I think the biggest issue here is one of function....what is it you need that you are lacking and can this space be used for it? Do you need more storage? Do you need an extension from the laundry room? Do you need a "dressing" area with mirrors and a place to sit and put shoes on and such? Or do you not need this space at all except for pass thru, in which case you just want to make it good looking? Once you decide that, then the rest will more easily follow.

gramarows, thanks for your feedback. it is good to know that even a 12" drawer is useful. how deep are your drawers?

annie, thanks! that is a great way to structure how i want to plan the space. i think it was hard for me to organize exactly what i wanted without that framework in mind.. after thinking about it, i think i would want these 3 things in the space:

1. place to fold laundry

2. more storage for linens, jewelry and misc clothing items

3. place to sit and do make-up, and now that you mentioned it, i really would love to have a 3way mirror..

do you think i can accomplish all of this and still make it look pretty?

tibbrix, thanks for all the ironing info. i am with littlemonkeys and try to avoid it though, lol. but that said, it would be nice to have on hand on the occasion that i wear nice clothes. i am leaning towards just sticking all the laundry inside a big cabinet. maybe an armoire-type?

I almost never iron, but I have one when I need it, and those closets for them are great. Out of the way when you don't need it, but very utilitarian when you do.

I think a dresser, vanity and armoir would be quite a bit going on in that space. You have the wall space for it, just I think too much big furniture for that space. I definitely think you could get away with the armoir near the bathroom and the vanity across from the closet. Choose a vanity that has drawers rather than open. Open would feel less closed in, but with the drawers you would have that extra clothing storage you want.

If I were to do a built in small ironing board in the wall (for the 2x a year I iron LOL) I would put it in the dressing room, not in that hallway.

On the long wall, you can do built in storage and vanity. This may not be your style, and I don't like that the vanity area is proud of the storage....I'd make it all one depth, but just to give you the idea. With the added lighting, it's a very pleasant place to put on make up. You've got 10' of space there so you could easily do 36" storage on either side with 30" vanity space in the middle. That gives you both storage and make up space.

I'd probably keep the 3-way mirror in the angled corner between the bath and closet.

On the 66" flat wall by the bath, you could put a drop leaf table, so you could fold the leaf up for folding laundry when needed, then out of the way when not. Put pretty art work above it so when not in use, it looks attractive. And that way, it won't accumulate laundry as you'll need to fold it in to keep the bathroom accessible.

If you want more jewelry storage, you could get a tall, free standing jewelry chest on the 36" angled wall.

On a 10 ft long wall, a vanity like above would impede the doorway to the bedroom slightly. You'd have to do smaller than 8 1/2 feet. It is a large door opening but I don't think 1 1/2 feet in front of the door would be enough. It would look very imposing.

Maybe you should consider reconfiguring the walls to make the space work better for you & locate the vanity inside the master bath.

littlemonkeys makes a good point, but with 5' opening, certainly that can be closed up some to make room for built-ins.

hmm all good points. I am really tempted to fill in the doorway more, but am hesitant to do so since we are just now getting settled. i think i have to work with just doing either shallow built-ins and/or furniture placement.

i found a really beautiful armoir on CL that I am making DH go pick up for me tomorrow. yay!! anyway, i think i can hide laundry stuff inside of it, and maybe install a pulldown table inside there too.. so that wall by the bath is spoken for now. i will post pics of it once it is home :-)

annie, i like the vanity on the long wall, but i do think that sitting there will impede the flow to and from the closet and bath, which is a busy path. what do you think about on the angled 36" wall next to the long wall? i don't need a big area.. just a shelf even..

or i could do a tiny vanity in front of the 3 way mirror area..

if i do built-in on the long wall, i think i would have to go with 12", or stagger it somehow. if i so a dresser that is shorter on the long wall, maybe i could get away with 16" depth there if it is sufficiently far from the doorway..

i will play around with some layouts and post for your thoughts shortly!

I don't see the vanity there as a problem...you have close to 7' width. If the cabinetry takes up 2' that leaves 5' which is very generous. If it's a concern, you can have a pretty little stool to sit on rather than full blown chair, and it will only be pulled out when you're sitting on it. Rather, I think the traffic is around the inside corner from the mbr to the bath so something on the angled wall would be more in the way. The way to try it is to take an existing chair and measure what you think might work and put a chair there and see if it's a problem to get by. Nothing better than doing a mock up in the existing space to see what works or not.

so i incorporated lot of your feedback into my furniture plan. and after discussing with DH i think we are leaning towards furniture rather than built-ins, so we can move it around in case we change our minds.

i am happy with most of the layout with the exception of the vanity console. not sure if i should place it next to the dresser or not.

also, should i shrink the dresser? or do you think it is the right size?

so here is the new layout . please let me know what you would change!

here is the view walking in from bedroom

and here would be view walking in from double doors

Nice rendering. If you want to use the vanity for make up and store jewelry, you might consider a tall, narrow chest that you can stand at to put make-up on rather than a sitting one. Then the chair in the way of the hallway becomes less of an issue too. You can still put a mirror above it.

Annie Deighnaugh That cabinet is gorgeous.

As far as putting a vanity and a dresser on the same wall, I'm not a fan of it as it would be a lot going on for what is really a hallway. However, who is going to see it other than you and your husband?

What a nice space to have! I love the idea of a transitional space before the bedroom, and I'm quite envious given my teeny tiny master bedroom :-)

I think your plan looks very nice, with the exception of the little vanity and mirror on the angled wall. I don't think it's a spot where anyone would really use a vanity. I'd either leave it empty, or put a large painting, or a tall narrow curio cabinet or bookshelf there.

Annie, thanks for the cabinet idea. it is really lovely. i don't have that much jewelry though, but maybe i could use those other drawers for gloves and socks, lol.. i am leaning towards getting rid of the vanity now, i agree with everyone, it seems funny to place it next to the dresser.

what do you think of putting it in the 3-way mirror space? i have seen some 3-way mirrors sitting on top of vanities. they would not be full-length.. kind of like this pic

Acme 06552 3 Pcs. Espresso Makeup Vanity Set with Tri-Fold Mirror · More Info

which would you choose: 3-way full-length mirror, or vanity with smaller 3-way mirror in that corner? i can also just find another place for the vanity in my bedroom area, since i don't yet have a end table by my bed. maybe it is better since i think you are supposed to have natural light, is that right?

so sad, we were not able to get the armoire i wanted today.. after DH drove 2 hours to pick it up, found out it was mis-measured and was way too big for our minivan. so the search continues...

I think it's very clever to put a 3-way mirror in that little nook area. The area looks like it was designed for it. Maybe it was? And, the poof ottoman would function great there with it.

That being said, the right vanity would also work great there.

The plan is coming along nicely!

Thanks Steph2000! I am leaning towards keeping the 3-way mirror and finding some space in my bedroom for a vanity.

Annie, I was looking online at prices and wow, those 3-way mirrors are a lot more pricey than I had imagined! Which ikea mirrors did you get to make yours? thanks!

We used these...or similar ones....it was a few years back. We used full length piano hinges (lots of screws!) Then we wall mounted them using a french cleat on the wall. We did need help to lift it and mount it as it does get heavy. Though our situation was different...we mounted it on an angle into a square corner...you already have the angled wall so it should be easier.

If it was mine.... it isn't but if it was.... Id do the art gallery - but art as in real art, not "wall accessories" from a department store.... maybe with a freestanding sculptural piece or 2. Or something like a family history gallery.... things with personal meaning, things to cherish vs just stuff to fill up space. That would make it into a real "place" instead of just a pass-through.

Or since it was designed and labelled as a dressing room.... then maybe that it shall be?

Thanks Annie! I am off to ikea this weekend to check it out for sure!

Kashka_kat. yes i agree. i have to find meaningful and personal art. otherwise it will just look like a dept. store.. it may take some time to fill up my art walls.

so, now that the layout is coming together, for some more fun stuff.

what style do you recommend for my dresser and armoire?

this is the platform bed we have in the adjoining bedroom area

I was thinking not to do matching armoire and dresser. but wanted to stay in the general style direction of our current bedroom furniture, and our house in general. thanks for suggestions!