How to Measure Your Room for a Wardrobe with Drawers in 8 Easy Steps

Measuring for a wardrobe with drawers takes about fifteen minutes and requires eight measurements: wall width at three heights, ceiling height at the exact position, available depth including skirting, drawer pull out clearance, door swing clearance, diagonal assembly clearance, the delivery access route, and the position of any sockets, radiators or vents. The drawer clearance is the one people forget, and it is the one that causes the most regret.

A wardrobe with drawers needs more floor space in front of it than a standard wardrobe, because you need room to stand while a drawer is fully extended. Work through the steps below in order and you will know before you order whether a given unit fits the room in practice, not just on paper.

Before You Start

Use a steel tape measure rather than a fabric one, since fabric tapes stretch and give inconsistent readings over longer spans. Work in millimetres throughout. Mixing centimetres and millimetres is the most common source of ordering errors, and product listings in the UK use both.

Write every measurement down as you take it, and note where it was taken. A list of figures without labels is useless a week later when you are comparing products. A quick sketch of the wall with the measurements marked on it is worth the two minutes it takes.

Step 1: Measure the Wall Width at Three Heights

Measure the full width of the wall or alcove at floor level, at around one metre, and near the ceiling. Walls in British homes, particularly older ones, are rarely parallel, and differences of ten to twenty millimetres are normal.

Use the smallest of the three figures as your working width. If the wardrobe is going into an alcove, subtract a further ten millimetres to give yourself tolerance during installation. A unit that fits exactly on paper cannot be manoeuvred into place.

Step 2: Measure Ceiling Height at the Exact Position

Measure from the floor to the ceiling at the precise spot the wardrobe will stand, not in the middle of the room. Floors slope, ceilings dip, and coving reduces effective height near the wall.

Take the reading at both ends of where the wardrobe will sit. If the two differ, use the smaller figure. In loft rooms and converted spaces this difference can be substantial, and it determines whether a tall unit is possible at all.

Step 3: Measure Available Depth Including Skirting

Most wardrobes with drawers are between five hundred and six hundred millimetres deep. Measure from the face of the skirting board, not from the wall itself, unless the wardrobe has a recessed plinth that clears skirting.

A unit pushed against a skirting board sits forward by the skirting thickness, usually fifteen to twenty five millimetres, and may lean very slightly. That lean affects both door alignment and drawer running. Either allow for it in your figures or plan to notch the plinth, which is straightforward on most units.

Step 4: Allow for Drawer Pull Out

This is the step that distinguishes measuring for a wardrobe with drawers from measuring for any other wardrobe. A drawer extends roughly its own depth when fully open, so a five hundred millimetre deep drawer needs five hundred millimetres of clear floor in front of it, plus room for you to stand.

In practice, allow around nine hundred millimetres of clear floor in front of the drawer section. Measure from the planned front face of the wardrobe to the nearest obstacle, which is usually the bed, a radiator or the opposite wall.

If you cannot achieve that, consider a unit where the drawers sit to one side rather than across the full width, so the pull out zone falls where the room is more open. Alternatively, separate the functions and pair a slim wardrobe with a modern chest of drawers UK placed where there is more space.

Step 5: Check Door Swing Clearance

Hinged doors need around six hundred millimetres of clear swing to open fully. Measure the arc, not just the straight line: a door swings outward and sideways, so an obstacle positioned near the hinge side matters as much as one directly in front.

Check what the door will strike at its widest point. Radiators, window reveals, bedroom doors and light switches are the usual culprits. If clearance is tight, check whether the hinges are reversible or consider a sliding design instead. Our modern wardrobes UK range covers both hinged and sliding options across most widths.

Step 6: Work Out Diagonal Assembly Clearance

Most flat pack wardrobes are assembled lying down and then raised upright. The diagonal of the assembled frame is longer than its height, so a unit two metres tall may need over two metres ten of clearance to tilt into place.

To calculate it roughly, measure the height and depth of the unit and use them as the two short sides of a right angled triangle. The longest side is your required clearance. If your ceiling is lower than that figure, you will need to assemble the unit upright, which is possible on many designs but requires a second pair of hands.

Check this before ordering, not on the day. It is the single most common cause of an assembly stalling halfway.

Step 7: Measure the Delivery Route

Measure your front door width, the narrowest point of any hallway, the width and turn of the staircase, and the bedroom doorway. Then compare those against the packaging dimensions listed on the product page.

Flat pack boxes are long and rigid, and a tight ninety degree stair turn is where deliveries most often fail. If the turn is tight, measure the ceiling height above the staircase too, since a long box may need to be tilted to get around the corner.

Plan where the boxes and panels will sit while you build. A wardrobe with drawers arrives in more pieces than a plain unit, so clear enough floor to lay out the components before you start.

Step 8: Note Sockets, Radiators and Vents

Mark the position and height of every socket, switch, radiator, pipe and air vent on the wall. A wardrobe placed over a socket makes it unusable and can trap heat; a wardrobe pressed against a radiator dries and damages the timber over time.

Allow at least one hundred and fifty millimetres between a wardrobe side and a radiator. Where a pipe runs up the wall, you can often notch the back panel or the plinth, but you need to know the pipe position before you buy so you can judge whether that is realistic on the design you have chosen.

Record airflow requirements for any vent. Blocking a vent in a room with a history of condensation will create a damp problem behind the wardrobe, which is expensive to resolve.

Putting the Measurements to Use

With all eight figures recorded, compare them against the specification of any unit you are considering. Check external dimensions against your wall and depth figures, the packaging dimensions against your access route, and the drawer depth against your clear floor space.

Also check internal hanging height against your longest garments, since a drawer section reduces the hanging area above it. A wardrobe with drawers often offers around one hundred and ten to one hundred and thirty centimetres of hanging, which suits shirts and jackets but not full length coats. If you own several long garments, look for a design with one full height section alongside the drawers. Where the room cannot accommodate a combination unit, a plain wardrobe paired with a separate modern bedside cabinets UK arrangement can spread small item storage more efficiently across the room.

If in doubt, mark the footprint on the floor with masking tape and live with it for a day. It costs nothing and reveals problems that figures alone will not. Complete specifications for every unit are listed on each product page at Furniture in Fashion, and full bedroom ranges are grouped by finish so matching pieces can be measured for at the same time. We offer free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes, and Returns are available up to 30 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much space do I need in front of a wardrobe with drawers?

Around nine hundred millimetres of clear floor. A drawer extends roughly its own depth when open, and you need room to stand comfortably in front of it while it is extended.

Should I measure the wall in more than one place?

Yes. Measure at floor level, waist height and near the ceiling, then use the smallest figure. Walls in most UK homes are not perfectly parallel.

What is diagonal clearance and why does it matter?

It is the space needed to tilt an assembled flat pack wardrobe from lying down to standing upright. It is always greater than the finished height, so a unit that fits your ceiling may still be impossible to raise in place.

Can a wardrobe be fitted over a skirting board?

Only if it has a recessed plinth designed to clear skirting. Otherwise the unit sits forward by the skirting thickness, which affects both alignment and appearance. Notching the plinth is usually straightforward.

How close can a wardrobe be to a radiator?

Leave at least one hundred and fifty millimetres. Direct heat dries timber and painted panels unevenly and can cause shrinkage at the joints over time.