Is a Wardrobe with Drawers Right for Your Home? Here’s How to Decide

A wardrobe with drawers is the right choice when your bedroom has no room for a separate chest, and the wrong choice when you need maximum hanging height. That is the trade off in one sentence. Every drawer built into the base of a wardrobe takes between twenty and forty centimetres away from the hanging area above it, so the decision comes down to what you own and where it currently lives.

Work through the questions below and you will have a clear answer within a few minutes.

Question one: what proportion of your clothes hang?

Open your current wardrobe and estimate the split. Most people fall into one of three groups.

Mostly hanging. Dresses, coats, shirts, suits and tailored trousers. If this is you, protect the hanging height and choose a wardrobe without base drawers, then add folded storage elsewhere.

Mostly folded. Jumpers, sweatshirts, jeans, leisurewear and underwear. Folded items need shelves and drawers, not a long rail. A wardrobe with drawers earns its place immediately.

An even split. The most common situation. Here a wardrobe with drawers works well provided you check the remaining hanging drop, which is the measurement to look for in the specification rather than the overall height.

As a benchmark, allow around one hundred and ten centimetres of clear drop for dresses and long coats, and around ninety centimetres for shirts, jackets and folded trousers on a hanger.

Question two: is there room for a separate chest?

Stand in the bedroom and look for a clear stretch of wall at least eighty centimetres wide with nothing in front of it. If you have that, a separate chest of drawers is almost always the more efficient solution, because a standalone chest gives you deeper, wider drawers and a usable surface on top for a lamp, a tray or a mirror.

If the only clear wall is taken by the bed, a radiator or the door swing, the drawers need to go inside the wardrobe. That is the point of the format.

Where space is genuinely tight, compare a wardrobe with base drawers against a slimmer wardrobe plus a narrow chest from our modern chest of drawers UK sale range. The second option often gives more total storage in the same wall length, because a chest uses its full depth for drawers while a wardrobe reserves depth for hanging.

Question three: how high are your ceilings?

Ceiling height quietly decides this for many homes.

In a room with ceilings around two and a half metres, there is usually enough height for a tall wardrobe with both a full hanging section and base drawers. Victorian and Edwardian houses often have more generous heights still, which makes the format very workable.

In a new build with lower ceilings, or a loft conversion with a sloped section, the wardrobe has to be shorter. Once the height comes down, drawers start eating into hanging space you cannot spare. In those rooms, choose hanging inside the wardrobe and put folded clothes in a low chest or under bed storage.

Who benefits most from built in drawers

Single bedrooms and box rooms

Where there is room for exactly one piece of furniture, a wardrobe with drawers is the obvious answer. It covers hanging, folding and a small amount of accessory storage in one footprint.

Children’s bedrooms

Children have short garments, which means the hanging rail can sit higher and the drawers below lose nothing useful. Drawers are also easier for a child to manage independently than a high rail.

Guest rooms

A guest room rarely needs much hanging space. Two or three drawers and a short rail is usually enough, and it keeps the room uncluttered between visits.

Rented accommodation

Fewer pieces of furniture means a simpler move. One wardrobe that does two jobs is easier to transport than a wardrobe and a chest.

Who should avoid them

If you own long coats, formal dresses or a lot of tailoring, base drawers will frustrate you. The same applies if you already own a chest you intend to keep, since you will end up with duplicated drawer space and reduced hanging.

Also consider the room layout. Drawers in the base of a wardrobe need clear floor space in front of them to pull out fully. If the bed sits within about seventy centimetres of the wardrobe, you will be stepping around it every time. In that situation a wardrobe with internal shelves rather than drawers may be more practical.

What to check on the drawers themselves

Not all built in drawers are equal, and the specification tells you more than the photograph.

• Runners. Metal runners are considerably more durable than plastic channels, particularly on wide drawers carrying heavy jumpers or jeans.
• Full extension. A drawer that only opens two thirds of the way makes the back section awkward to reach. Full extension runners cost more and are worth it on the drawers you use daily.
• Depth. A drawer under fifteen centimetres deep suits underwear and accessories. Around twenty centimetres suits jumpers. Deeper than thirty and items get lost at the bottom.
• Base support. A thin drawer base without a central support will bow under weight over time. Look for a reinforced or thicker base on wide drawers.
• Soft close. A comfort feature rather than a necessity, but it reduces wear on the carcase over years of use.

Layout options worth knowing

Base drawers are the most familiar arrangement, but there are alternatives.

Side column drawers run vertically down one side of the wardrobe, with full height hanging beside them. This preserves long hanging in the main bay, which is useful for coats.

Internal drawers behind doors keep the exterior clean and the drawers dust free. They are slightly slower to access because you open a door first, but they suit a minimal scheme.

Drawers in a separate low unit designed to match the wardrobe. Effectively a chest, but coordinated. If the room allows it, this is often the best of both, and our modern clothes storage UK sale range includes pieces intended to sit alongside wardrobes rather than compete with them.

Making the most of what you choose

Whatever format you settle on, a few habits make a large difference to capacity.

Fold vertically rather than stacking flat. Filing items upright in a drawer lets you see everything at once and stops the bottom layer being forgotten.

Use shallow dividers for socks, underwear and belts, so small items do not migrate across the drawer.

Keep heavy items in the lowest drawer. It reduces strain on the runners and lowers the centre of gravity of the whole piece.

Reserve the top shelf of the wardrobe for seasonal items in one or two matching boxes rather than loose bags.

Store out of season clothing under the bed. An ottoman or under bed drawer releases a surprising amount of wardrobe capacity, and our modern ottoman beds UK sale options combine that storage with the bed itself.

A quick decision summary

Choose a wardrobe with drawers if the bedroom has space for only one piece of furniture, if most of your clothes are folded, if the ceiling height is generous, or if the room belongs to a child or a guest.

Choose a wardrobe without drawers if you need long hanging space, if you already own a chest, if the ceiling is low, or if the bed sits close to the wardrobe front.

If you are still balanced between the two, measure the clear hanging drop quoted for the wardrobe with drawers and compare it against your longest garment on a hanger. That single measurement resolves most of these decisions. Full internal dimensions are listed on every wardrobe at Furniture in Fashion, so the comparison takes a minute. We offer free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes, and Returns are available up to 30 days.

Frequently asked questions

How much hanging space do drawers take away?

Typically between twenty and forty centimetres depending on whether there are one or two drawer rows. Always check the quoted internal hanging height rather than assuming from the overall dimensions.

Are built in drawers as good as a separate chest?

They hold less, because they are limited by the wardrobe depth and by the space left below the rail. Their advantage is that they occupy no extra floor area, which in a small bedroom outweighs the capacity difference.

Can I add drawers to an existing wardrobe?

You can add freestanding drawer units or fabric hanging organisers inside the base of most wardrobes. It is a low cost way to test whether the format suits you before committing to a new piece.

What should go in wardrobe base drawers?

Folded knitwear, jeans and leisurewear work best. Keep underwear and accessories in shallower internal dividers, and avoid using base drawers for very heavy items unless the runners are metal.

Do drawers make a wardrobe more stable?

They add weight low down, which helps, but they do not remove the need for the anti tip fixing. Always secure the wardrobe to the wall with the bracket supplied.