Before buying a hinged door wardrobe, the ten questions worth answering are: how much clear floor is in front of it, how deep is the interior, how tall can it be, how many doors suit the space, what is the internal layout, how are the hinges specified, how is the carcass built, how will it be fixed to the wall, how will it get into the room, and how will it match the rest of the bedroom. Work through those and the purchase is straightforward.
Hinged wardrobes remain the most popular type in UK homes because they give complete access to the interior in one movement and tend to cost less than sliding equivalents of the same size. The trade off is the swing, and that is where most regretted purchases begin.
A hinged door needs roughly its own width in unobstructed floor to open fully. A 50 centimetre door needs about 50 centimetres of clear space, and the arc it sweeps must be free of the bed, a radiator, a laundry basket or a bedside unit.
Measure this before anything else. Mark the arc on the floor with masking tape and live with it for a day. If you find yourself stepping around the tape, the layout will not work.
Where clearance is genuinely tight, narrower doors are the answer. Four doors at 45 centimetres need far less clearance than two doors at 90 centimetres for the same total width.
Clothes need around 58 to 60 centimetres of internal depth to hang square on a standard front to back rail. Below that, garments sit at an angle, shoulders crease and the doors become harder to close cleanly.
Manufacturers usually publish external depth. Subtract the back panel and the door thickness to get the real internal figure, or check whether the internal dimension is listed separately.
If your alcove or available depth is only 40 to 50 centimetres, a wardrobe with a side to side pull out rail is the better solution, since it hangs clothes parallel to the wall.
Taller units almost always make better use of a small bedroom, because the space above a standard wardrobe is otherwise wasted. The practical limit is your ceiling height and your ability to reach the top section.
Watch for coving, sloped ceilings and light fittings. Also check that the unit can be tilted upright in the room once assembled, which needs a diagonal clearance greater than the height of the wardrobe.
If full height is not possible, choose a piece with a clean top that you will keep clear rather than one that invites boxes on top.
Door count affects access, clearance and appearance. Two door wardrobes suit single occupancy and smaller rooms. Three and four door units serve shared bedrooms and allow separate zones for each person.
More doors also mean narrower doors, which reduces the swing needed. On the other hand, each extra door adds another pair of gaps that need to align, so build quality matters more as the count rises.
Our range spans modern 2 doors wardrobe UK options for compact rooms through to wider configurations for main bedrooms, which makes it easier to match door count to available clearance rather than to total width alone.
Look past the exterior and check what the interior actually offers. The default in many wardrobes is a single rail with one shelf above, which wastes a metre of vertical space if your clothing is mostly short.
Ask whether the unit includes internal drawers, adjustable shelving, a second rail or a shoe section. Adjustable shelves matter, because fixed shelves lock you into one arrangement for the life of the piece.
If the interior is basic, factor in the cost of adding a second rail and dividers. It is inexpensive and it changes how much the wardrobe actually holds.
Soft close hinges are worth having, both for comfort and because they reduce the impact that eventually loosens fixings. Check the adjustment range as well: hinges with three way adjustment let you align doors precisely after assembly.
On tall doors, the number of hinges matters. A door above around 180 centimetres should have at least four hinges to prevent it twisting over time. Two hinges on a tall door will sag.
Board thickness of 15 to 18 millimetres for the sides and top is the sensible standard. Thinner panels flex, and flex in a tall unit means doors that will not stay aligned.
Check the back panel too. A thicker back, or one that fits into a groove rather than being pinned to the rear face, holds the carcass square. Squareness is what keeps door gaps even, and even gaps are the main visual marker of a well made wardrobe.
Look for a plinth or adjustable feet if your floor is uneven, which is common in older UK properties. A unit that can be levelled will hang its doors correctly.
Every tall wardrobe should be secured to the wall. This is a safety matter, particularly in homes with children, and it also prevents the carcass racking.
Check what the wall is made of. Solid masonry takes a plug and screw easily. Plasterboard on dot and dab needs a suitable hollow wall fixing or a fixing into a stud. Locate the studs before assembly rather than after, when the wardrobe is against the wall.
Flat packed wardrobes solve most access problems, since the panels travel individually. Pre assembled units do not, and the usual failure points are the stairwell turn, the landing width and the bedroom door frame.
Measure the narrowest point on the route and compare it with the largest single panel or the assembled dimensions. For assembled units, remember that a wardrobe must also be tilted upright once inside.
A wardrobe is the largest object in a bedroom, so it sets the tone for everything else. Decide early whether it will blend with the walls or contrast with them, and buy the surrounding pieces accordingly.
Matching across ranges is difficult, since wood tones and whites vary between manufacturers. Buying the wardrobe alongside coordinating pieces avoids near misses. Our modern bedroom collections UK group matching items so the finishes are consistent.
If you already own a chest of drawers you intend to keep, a deliberate contrast is safer than attempting a match. Choose a wardrobe in a clearly different tone and tie the two together with textiles.
It is also worth thinking about how the wardrobe will be used rather than only how it looks. If two people share it, agree the split before it is filled, since an evenly divided wardrobe stays organised far longer than one that fills from one end. If you dress in low light early in the morning, plan for an interior light. And if the room doubles as a dressing area, leave enough clear floor in front of the doors to stand and turn comfortably.
Storage that sits alongside the wardrobe deserves the same thought. A bench or ottoman at the foot of the bed gives somewhere to sit while dressing and holds bedding out of sight, and our modern blanket box UK sale options are sized to suit standard bed widths.
Once the wardrobe is in place, three small actions improve it noticeably. Adjust the hinges until the gaps are even, which takes fifteen minutes and makes the biggest visual difference. Switch to a single style of hanger throughout. And add a light inside if the interior is deep, since even a battery powered strip transforms how usable it is.
Taking measurements seriously before ordering is the part that matters most, and it is the advice we give most often to customers planning a bedroom at Furniture in Fashion. A well chosen hinged wardrobe should serve for a decade or more, so the half hour spent measuring is well spent.
Roughly its own width in clear floor. A 50 centimetre door needs around 50 centimetres of unobstructed space, free from beds, radiators and bedside units.
They give full access to the interior in one movement and generally cost less for the same size. Sliding doors are better where floor clearance is limited, so the right choice depends on the room rather than the product.
Doors above around 180 centimetres should have at least four hinges. Fewer than that allows the door to twist and sag over time.
Flat packed is easier to get into an upstairs bedroom and usually costs less. Pre assembled saves time but needs a clear route through the stairwell, landing and door frame, and room to tilt upright.
Around 58 to 60 centimetres. If your available depth is less, look for a unit with a side to side pull out rail, which hangs garments parallel to the wall.
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