Tips To Organize & Style An Elegant Vanity

I grew up the oldest of six children, with three brothers and two sisters.  I always shared spaces with sisters and the sharing continued as I went off to college and had roommates.  It continues as a married woman (and that is the sharing I love), however, my beautiful vanity is a space of my very own!  Today I’ve partnered with Pottery Barn to share tips with you to organize and style an elegant vanity.

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I love those old Hollywood movies where the movie stars are sitting at their vanities and using their talc poufs, applying lipstick, and putting on their diamonds.  Don’t you want that to be you?  Instead, the reality is sometimes having your vanity turn into a “hot spot” or landing area for junk and clutter.  It becomes a place to to set your things at the end of the day.  It may even be a place where you think you need to store every single piece of makeup or every pair of earrings you own.

WRONG!

If you’re like me right now (and the rest of the world), you’re probably loving the Tidying Up “movement” going on and you’re organizing every inch of your home.  Besides the the closets and the drawers that are getting attention to organization, it’s important to organize and beautifully style the spaces that you look at every day also…..like your vanity!

Here are my simple tips.  Follow these and you can easily create an elegant vanity also!

GET RID OF THE CLUTTER & DON’T DISPLAY EVERY PIECE

First off, make things easier and sort through the good and bad.  Go through all of your perfumes and through out what you don’t use or what’s expired.  Go through your cosmetics and do the same.  Through out your hair and cosmetic brushes that are no longer useful.

I love perfumes but, while I have my signature perfume that I’m known for wearing, I always change it up depending on my mood or the weather or seasons or the event.  However, I don’t need to display every single bottle that I own.  It would look so cluttered.  Right now it is spring and so I’ll keep a couple of spring/summer scents displayed and put away my heavier scents or scents that I might tend to wear more in fall/winter in my closet or in a special drawer.  Make the few things you have out feel “special”…ha!

If you’re displaying some jewelry, choose the few pieces beautifully that also coordinate with your room.  Think of them like a piece of decor as well.  Don’t display all your compacts of brushes or lipsticks…again, choose just a couple or a few that coordinate with and compliment the space.

Less is more in this case. You also want enough space to bring out and set down your makeup case or hair tools while you’re getting ready.  A vanity shouldn’t be over-crowded before you even sit down to use it.  It needs to be functional!

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX WHEN STORING/DISPLAYING YOUR PERFUME & COSMETICS

I’ve had this darling vintage-style cake stand with crystals and have displayed my perfumes on it for several years now but I’ve also thought that I wanted to find a pretty way to hold my favorite Scentbird perfume vials (the others are in the vanity drawers below or I’ve given them as gifts) on it also.  I also have a ton of makeup brushes and I like keeping my newest ones displayed as well as some of my prettiest lipsticks.  I’d repurposed old candle jars before and that was darling BUT when I thought of really taking it a step up and giving my vanity an even more elegant look, I knew exactly what I needed from Pottery Barn!

I already own one set of these around my home but I grabbed another set of these White Eclectic Mercury Votive Holders to use for storage on my vanity.  The largest votive was absolutely perfect for my perfume vials/rollers that I pick from on a daily basis.

The other tall votive holder with the fleur de lis medallion was so darling with the new set of brushes that I just received.

ONLY CHOOSE A FEW SPECIAL PIECES OF JEWELRY TO DISPLAY

I have drawers and boxes of jewelry.  I’ve owned a boutique for over 11 years so I’m always getting in new, pretty pieces.  I keep them organized in my dresser and in my closet, depending on what they are.  However, for my vanity, I wanted to bring out some treasured pieces that I adore and wear often.  So look at what you wear most and what you love most and then ask yourself…
Would it look beautiful if it was displayed on my vanity?
Would it go with the look I’m trying to achieve?

HOW TO DISPLAY SPECIAL JEWELRY ON VANITY

These are bracelets I wear often but also are reflective of my style.  I chose Pottery Barn’s stunning Glass Cloche Jewelry Storage pieces and this watch/bracelet cloche is just precious!  The few pieces you choose to display under each cloche feel even that much more special when displayed like this.

The ring cloche is really neat because it holds a few of my favorite rings and then it also has some extra space along the bottom so I decided to just grab a few of my special pairs of earrings that I wear more often and put them there also, including my grandmother’s pearl earrings.  Doesn’t that look so pretty?!  There’s also something else of my grandmother’s that I have displayed in another cloche below.

Isn’t this necklace cloche the most gorgeous thing you’ve ever seen?!  I’m telling you…this set just takes your vanity to the next level.
I chose some meaningful pieces and some that I wear a little more often than others, like my monogram or initial necklaces.  The most special piece to me is the Young Woman medallion (hanging on the right) that my grandmother received for accomplishing some goals that she’d set for herself in church in the Young Women’s Program.  I have the same one that I earned so it’s really neat to have them both hanging in this cloche.

With your jewelry displayed like this in these glass cloches, there are a few things I really love about it:

First, they also double as decor for your room and look so elegant and luxurious. Second, you don’t have to dig for those intricate pieces and they don’t get tarnished or tangled as they normally would.  Third, those sentimental pieces, like my grandmother’s necklace and earrings, bring so much joy when you get to see them every day and think of the person that they belonged to.

I can’t believe what a difference these pieces have made!  I’m so in-love with the storage and organization of my vanity and the elegance and added glamour that they’ve brought to my bedroom.

To choose a vanity, mirror, or stool….see THIS POST for so many beautiful ideas and links of beautiful finds.

I’m linking the items I used below as well as other gorgeous jewelry storage and organization pieces from Pottery Barn for your shopping convenience.  Please click on the arrows to scroll right and left and click on the picture of the item to shop.

A huge thank you to my friends at Pottery Barn for collaborating with me today so that I could share this pretty space with you!  They have so many other solutions for storage and organization so make sure to browse their site as you thoughtfully plan out each space that you need to tackle next!

I hope you’re feeling inspired to reorganize and style your vanity and make it a luxurious and elegant space of your very own!  On a silly note…one of my sisters is coming to visit next week with her kiddos and I may even share my vanity with her for a few days {like the good ‘ole days} and let her sit there and feel like a queen while she gets ready (wink).   I think she’ll love it!

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