Creating my Dream Beauty Station in a Small Space

Ever since moving into our house, we’ve been told that we have a lifetime to make it our own. Slowly, but surely, everything is coming together. One of the most important areas that I’m making progress on is my beauty station. This area has serve multiple purposes: makeup tutorial recording station, makeup application station, manicure station, office, and etc.

In my bedroom, I have the perfect little corner with a window, which served as the blank canvas for my beauty station. For months I’ve perused pinterest and beauty blogs for ideas on how my beauty station will be set up. A recurring trend in what I saw on the sites I’ve visited were pieces from Ikea. The pieces were either as-is or repurposed AKA hacked.

Seriously, what beauty blogger do you know that doesn’t have at least one Ikea piece? None, right? So, off to Ikea I went to pick up a white Malm dressing table, which would serve as my makeup vanity.

The Ikea Malm Dressing table wasn’t too hard to put together. It took me a little over an hour, which included stopping to tend to my four year old. Lord knows that once kids see you in the middle of something they need you for everything!

My makeup vanity cannot be bare. I picked up a few items to dress it up a little. I wanted a cuter way to showcase my perfumes, so I picked up a rectangular, mirrored vanity tray from Amazon that holds all 15 bottles of my perfumes with room for more, along with a three compartment brush holder. From TJ Maxx, I picked up acrylic trays to hold my brushes and skincare products. I also picked up two apothecary jars to house my cotton pads and q-tips.

From Ikea, I also picked up three Ribba Picture Ledges, one large, and two small. The large one I will use to display my beauty books from Iman, Scott Barnes, etc. The two smaller shelves will display all of my nail polishes. Now, I just need the husband to put them up. I also need to figure out how to organize all of my makeup items.

Since my beauty station is in an area with good lighting, I didn’t have to worry much about that; however, during cloudy days or during the evenings, I’d need brighter lights other than the recessed lighting that’s in my bedroom currently. While attending The Makeup Show New York, I picked up The Makeup Light starter package. The difference this light makes is amazing! Plus, it was so simple to assemble.

One bargain item I picked up for my beauty station was a chair. To set myself apart from the rest, I decided to forgo the acrylic seating as I’ve seen some other beauty bloggers use. Instead, I opted for a vintage style armchair in plum that I picked up from World Market for $74! It’s super comfortable, and is the perfect height for whenever I’m doing makeup or recording a makeup tutorial.

Although it sounds like my beauty station is almost complete, it isn’t. There’s one vital piece missing from my beauty station, a mirror. I have yet to find a mirror that’s both affordable and fits the vision I have for my area. I also want a cute rug.

I’m just happy that everything is finally coming together, and I will soon be able to be more productive in creating more visually pleasing photos, posts and videos. Oh, and check out what I’m doing with my dining room here.

What do you think of my beauty station/vanity setup so far?  I’d love to also hear your suggestions for things I should do and/or add.

New York City makeup artist, beauty and mom blogger . I immensely enjoy helping myself and others feel beautiful inside and out, which is why I started this blog and my YouTube channel. If you have a beauty or makeup related question, contact me. Your question could be featured on the site! I also accept guest post submissions, check the guidelines. ***Brands and PR firms sometime provide press samples of products for review consideration. These brands are not guaranteed a review on Makeup by Kim Porter Blog, nor do we accept payment of any kind for our reviews. For more on our disclosure policies, please see my terms .