Wardrobe capacity is decided by a small set of internal dimensions, and most of them are fixed by the clothes themselves. A hanging rail needs roughly 55cm of internal depth because that is the span of a standard coat hanger plus the garment on it. Everything else in a wardrobe is planned around that number.<\/p>\n
Set the rail heights correctly and a standard wardrobe holds noticeably more without changing its external footprint. The three measurements that matter most are the drop required for each garment type, the internal depth needed to close the door on hanging clothes, and the shelf depth beyond which folded items become inaccessible. This reference sets them out for UK homes.<\/p>\n
Hanging space divides cleanly into short and long. Short hanging suits shirts, blouses, folded trousers, skirts and most jackets, and requires around 100cm to 110cm from the rail to whatever sits below. Long hanging suits dresses, coats and full length garments, and needs 150cm to 180cm.<\/p>\n
The planning consequence is significant. An internal height of roughly 210cm to 220cm in a full height wardrobe can be arranged as one long hanging section with a shelf above, or as two short hanging rails stacked in the same bay. A wardrobe holding mainly shirts and jackets gains a great deal from double hanging, while a household with several coats and long dresses needs at least one dedicated long bay. Most homes need both, in different proportions, which is the first question we ask when someone is choosing between layouts across our modern wardrobes UK<\/a> range.<\/p>\n Internal depth is where most disappointment originates. A wardrobe advertised at 55cm external depth may offer only 48cm to 50cm inside once the back panel, door thickness and frame are accounted for, and at that depth hanging garments touch the door. The result is creasing along the shoulder line and doors that will not close cleanly on a full rail.<\/p>\n Sliding door wardrobes need slightly more external depth than hinged designs because the door tracks occupy space at the front, commonly adding 8cm to 10cm. In return they need no floor clearance to open, which in a narrow bedroom is often the deciding factor. Where the room cannot spare the depth at all, a shallow unit with a pull out rail running front to back allows garments to hang perpendicular to the wall, at the cost of some capacity and a more complex mechanism.<\/p>\n The table below sets out internal dimensions by storage type. These are specification figures based on standard garment sizes and hanger dimensions.<\/p>\nDepth, doors and the problem of the crease<\/h3>\n