Mirrored wardrobe doors usually sit at the upper end of wardrobe door options, and the reason is simple: glass is heavy, it needs a safety backing, and it demands stronger runners or hinges to carry it. A mirrored door on a ready made wardrobe adds to the overall cost of that piece, while a made to measure mirrored door for a fitted run costs considerably more again because it involves surveying, cutting glass to size and installing a track system that can take the load. If you want the effect without the outlay, a single mirrored door within a run of plain doors gives you most of the visual benefit for a fraction of the extra spend.
Because so much depends on the size of the door, the type of glass and whether the wardrobe is free standing or fitted, it helps to understand what you are actually paying for. Below we break down each factor so you can judge where your money goes and where it is worth spending.
Glass is priced by area, so the height and width of the door matter more than anything else. A tall full height mirror on a sliding wardrobe uses a large single sheet, and large sheets are harder to cut, handle and transport without damage. That handling risk is built into the price.
Thickness comes next. Thin mirror flexes and distorts your reflection, which is why quality wardrobe mirrors use a heavier gauge glass bonded to a backing board. The backing does two jobs: it stiffens the panel so the reflection stays true, and it holds the glass together if it is ever struck. Doors that carry a safety backing or toughened glass cost more than a plain mirror tile stuck to a door front, and they are worth the difference in a bedroom.
Then there is the mechanism. A hinged mirrored door needs three or four heavy duty hinges rather than two, and soft close hinges are almost essential because a slamming mirrored door is a short lived one. Sliding doors need a top hung or bottom rolling track rated for the weight, with dampers at each end of the run. These parts are unglamorous but they are where a well made wardrobe separates itself from a cheap one.
Finally, the frame around the glass affects the total. Aluminium framed mirrored doors are common on sliding designs because the frame protects the glass edges and gives the runner something solid to fix to. Frameless mirrored fronts look cleaner but the glass edges must be polished and the fixing has to be done properly, both of which add labour.
The biggest single decision is whether you buy a wardrobe that already has mirrored doors or commission fitted doors for an alcove. A ready made unit arrives as one piece of engineering. The doors, the carcase, the runners and the interior have all been designed together, tested together and priced together, so you pay once and you know what you are getting. Browsing a range of modern wardrobes UK sale options is usually the quickest way to see how much the mirrored version of a design adds compared with the plain version.
Fitted doors are a different proposition. You are buying a survey, a bespoke glass order, a track system cut to your opening and a fitter’s time. The result can be beautiful in an awkward room, particularly under a sloping ceiling or in a chimney breast alcove, but it is a project rather than a purchase. In most standard UK bedrooms a free standing design does the same job for less.
Sliding mirrored doors cost more per door than hinged ones because the track carries all the weight and has to be engineered accordingly. What you get in return is floor space. A hinged door needs roughly its own width in clear floor in front of it, which is a real problem in a bedroom where the bed sits close to the wardrobe. If you have ever had to shuffle sideways between a bed and an open wardrobe door, you already know why modern sliding wardrobes UK designs have become the default in smaller rooms.
Hinged mirrored doors suit narrower openings and rooms where you want to see the whole interior at once. They also let you fit a mirror to the inside face rather than the outside, which is a quieter look if you do not want reflective surfaces dominating the room.
You do not have to choose between all mirror and no mirror. Three approaches sit between the two extremes, and each has a different cost.
A mirror inset within a panelled door uses less glass and keeps the door lighter, so standard hinges cope. A central mirrored door flanked by plain doors gives you a dressing mirror at the point you actually stand, without turning the whole wall into glass. A strip mirror down the centre of a sliding door reads as a design detail rather than a full length mirror, and it is the least expensive way to introduce the material.
If your main goal is somewhere to check an outfit, a separate mirror is often the cheaper and more flexible answer. A cheval or wall mounted piece from a selection of bedroom mirrors UK sale can be angled properly and moved when you rearrange the room, which a fixed wardrobe door cannot.
Delivery and handling deserve a thought. Mirrored doors are heavy and awkward, and a two person lift is normal. Measure your stairs, landing and any tight turns before you order, because a door that will not go up a Victorian staircase is an expensive mistake. Where a wardrobe is supplied flat packed, check whether the mirrored panels are fitted last, which is usually the case, and give yourself a clear floor area to work on.
Wall fixing matters too. Any tall wardrobe should be strapped to the wall, and a mirrored one even more so because the doors shift the weight forward when they open. The right fixings for your wall type cost very little and prevent the worst outcome.
Then there is upkeep. Mirrors show every mark, so factor in a decent glass cloth and the discipline to use it. That is the entire ongoing cost, which is one of the quiet advantages of glass over painted or gloss fronts that can chip.
In a typical UK box room or a second bedroom, mirrored doors earn their keep in three ways. They bounce daylight from a single window across the room, which matters in terraced houses where bedrooms often have one modest window. They remove the need for a separate full length mirror, freeing a wall or a corner. And they visually push the wardrobe back, so a large storage piece feels less like a wall of furniture.
The trade off is honesty. A mirror reflects whatever is in front of it, so a cluttered room looks twice as cluttered. Mirrored doors work best when the floor in front of them stays clear, which nudges you towards better habits and towards keeping smaller items in drawers. Pairing a mirrored wardrobe with a modern chest of drawers UK sale is a practical way to get folded clothing off surfaces and out of view.
If you like the reflective look but not a full wall of it, mirrored detailing on smaller pieces is a gentler route. Our range of mirrored bedroom furniture UK shows how the material behaves on bedside cabinets and dressing tables, where the panels are smaller and the effect is more decorative than architectural.
When you are weighing two mirrored wardrobes against each other, look past the door fronts. Check the carcase thickness, because thin panels twist under the weight of glass doors. Look at how the doors are hung and whether soft close is included or an extra. Count the hanging rails and shelves, since an interior with one rail and one shelf will need supplementing later. Ask yourself whether the width you are considering will still let the bedroom door open fully.
Comparing across a broad modern bedroom furniture UK selection rather than looking at wardrobes in isolation also helps you see whether a matching set gives you a more useful mix of storage than one very large wardrobe on its own.
We stock mirrored and plain designs side by side at Furniture in Fashion, so you can see exactly what the mirrored version of a design adds before you commit. There is free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes, and Returns are available up to 30 days.
Choose doors with toughened glass or a bonded safety backing, fix the wardrobe to the wall and avoid free hanging mirror tiles. Sliding doors are generally the safer option in a child’s room because there is no door edge swinging out at head height.
They make it look brighter and more open rather than literally larger. The gain is greatest when the mirror faces a window or a light wall, and least when it faces a cluttered surface.
Sometimes, but only if the carcase and hinges can take the extra weight. Fitting a heavy mirrored panel to a light door usually causes sagging and misalignment. Replacing the whole door, hinges included, is the more reliable route.
Both show fingerprints. Mirror is easier to bring back to a flawless finish with a glass cloth, while gloss can hold smears and is more prone to fine scratches from abrasive cleaners.
Not always. Top hung systems keep the floor clear, which suits carpeted bedrooms. Bottom rolling systems carry weight on the floor track and tend to feel more solid under a very large mirrored door.
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