A standard UK wardrobe is around 58cm to 60cm deep. That figure exists for a simple reason: an adult coat hanger measures roughly 45cm to 50cm across, and a wardrobe needs a little clearance behind and in front of it so garments hang square without pressing on the back panel or catching the doors.
Slimline and compact wardrobes drop to about 50cm to 55cm. Sliding door wardrobes usually run deeper, commonly 62cm to 70cm, because the doors overlap and sit in front of the interior rather than swinging clear of it.
Work backwards from the hanger and the arithmetic is obvious. A shoulder to shoulder hanger takes up 45cm to 50cm. Add a few centimetres so shirts are not squashed against the back board, and a similar allowance at the front so sleeves and lapels clear the closing door, and you arrive at roughly 58cm to 60cm.
Anything shallower forces one of two compromises. Either garments sit at a slight angle, which creases shoulders and makes the doors difficult to close, or the rail has to run front to back rather than side to side.
Where depth is genuinely restricted, below about 50cm, the answer is a front facing rail. The rail runs from the back of the wardrobe towards the front, and garments hang facing you like files in a cabinet rather than side on.
This works, and it is common in narrow units. The trade off is capacity: you see only the front garment, and a front facing rail holds considerably fewer items per metre of width than a conventional side to side rail. Very shallow units under about 40cm deep are really shelving cupboards rather than hanging wardrobes.
Hinged doors swing outwards, so the full internal depth is available for hanging. Sliding doors run on tracks in front of the carcass, and because two or three panels must pass each other, they consume 8cm to 12cm of depth before you reach the interior.
That is why a sliding wardrobe advertised at 68cm deep may offer a similar internal hanging depth to a 60cm hinged unit. Always check whether a stated depth is external or internal. Our modern sliding wardrobes UK sale listings give full external dimensions so you can allow for the track properly.
The compensation is significant: sliding doors need no swing clearance at all, which in a narrow bedroom is often worth more than the extra depth costs.
British bedrooms are not generous. A typical new build second bedroom might be 2.6m to 3m across, and a box room can be under 2.2m. Put a 60cm wardrobe on one wall of a 2.2m room and you have used more than a quarter of the width.
Then consider circulation. You need roughly 60cm to 75cm of clear floor in front of a wardrobe to stand and reach inside comfortably. For hinged doors, add the door swing on top, which for a 45cm wide door is another 45cm of arc.
Chimney breast alcoves are another common constraint. Many measure 40cm to 55cm deep, which is short of the standard. In that situation, either accept a front facing rail or bring the wardrobe forward of the alcove and box in the sides.
Take the depth measurement at floor level, at hip height and near the top of where the wardrobe will stand. Skirting boards are the usual surprise: a 20mm skirting pushes the whole unit forward by that amount unless you notch the back panel or plinth.
Check for radiators, pipe boxing, window reveals and door architraves within the footprint. Then mark the depth on the floor with masking tape and walk the route past it. Doing this reveals awkward pinch points that a tape measure alone will not.
Do not forget the delivery route. The panel diagonal, not the finished depth, is what has to turn on a staircase.
If the room allows it, standard depth is worth having. Full side to side hanging is more efficient and easier to live with, and it takes bulky winter coats without a fight.
In a narrow room, a shallower unit that leaves a comfortable walkway usually beats a deep one that you have to edge past. Two slim units placed either side of a chimney breast can hold as much as one deep wardrobe while feeling far less imposing. The modern 1 door wardrobe UK sale options are useful for exactly that arrangement.
For a main bedroom with space to spare, going deeper than 60cm adds little to hanging capacity but does allow shelving behind or beside the rail. Wider is generally a better investment than deeper, which is why the modern 4 doors wardrobe UK designs work well on a long wall.
Where depth is simply not available, take pressure off the wardrobe instead. Moving folded items into a modern chest of drawers UK sale unit means the shallow wardrobe only has to handle hanging clothes. You can compare depths across the whole modern wardrobes UK sale range at Furniture in Fashion, where every product page lists the measurements in full.
Fitted units can be made to any depth, which is their main advantage in awkward rooms. In practice most fitted wardrobes are still built at 60cm for hanging bays, with shallower sections used for shelving, drawers or shoe storage.
A sensible fitted layout mixes depths: 60cm where clothes hang, less where they do not. If you are planning a build rather than buying a unit, that mix is where the real space gain comes from.
Around 58cm to 60cm, which allows an adult hanger of 45cm to 50cm to sit square with clearance at the back and front.
About 55cm for a conventional side to side rail. Below roughly 50cm you need a front facing rail, which holds fewer garments per metre of width.
Yes. Sliding doors typically add 8cm to 12cm because the panels sit in front of the carcass and must pass each other, so external depths of 62cm to 70cm are common.
Allow 60cm to 75cm of clear floor to stand and reach in. With hinged doors, add the door swing, which for a 45cm door is a further 45cm.
Often not. Many alcoves are only 40cm to 55cm deep, so you either use a front facing rail or set the wardrobe forward of the alcove and box in the sides.
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