Basically you can choose from two types of fitted wardrobes. You either can save your money by constructing a Do It Yourself wardrobe or make a contract with a professional company for installation of a bespoke wardrobe. You are friends with a drill and a hammer, and an extra hundred of bucks matters to you, you may prefer to invest your time into own constructed wardrobe. With other criteria in mind such as a professional look and absense of trouble with hand work, you would rather choose a bespoke option.

You will be offered different types of wood as a material for your fitted wardrobe as well as plenty of accessories. You have  to think twice about the color and forms, so that they agree with other pieces of furniture in your room. You may consider installing sliding compartments for more effective use of space, easiness to reach to things that otherwise could be lost in the back area. You can distinguish between areas for different clothes, according to their purposes, such as evening or casual clothes, work clothes and suits. Drawers with clear fronts will come in handy if you need to see what is inside your wardrobe.

Of course, you should set a budget for a custom made wardrobe. Basically it is considerably higher than the home-made option as here you pay for professional advice, construction and installation of your wardrobe. Price can be too high if many extra options and accessories are included, so you would better stick to your budget whatever sales representative tries to persuade you in. Thus you will avoid a huge bill.

In case you want to go shopping in a hardware shop and spend a lot of time drilling and hammering, you select from ready-made options of wood, like oak, beech, white wood, etc. You may prefer to install sliding doors. Even though they can be quite expensive, they would fit when all types of wood fail to agree with the style of your room.

Any way a fitted wardrobe, either homemade or custom-made bespoke one, is a great solution as a home furniture and a wise use of space for organizing your clothes and linen.

fitted wardrobe

Bedroom Fitted Wardrobe

If your room is not very large, and space matters a lot, you should understand that a fitted wardrobe can eat quite a bit off your territory depending on its depth. Part or all of one of your walls will be gone, too. In the case that you have a larger room, you can choose a wardrobe that will serve to your storage needs with handing space, drawers or shelves. There are additional options of cubbies for accessories and shoes. You can have a freedom of choice as far as fitted wardrobes options are concerned.

Bedroom Standalone Wardrobe

For a limited space a standalone piece would fit perfectly well. There is just no other option for certain types of rooms. The obstacles can be ceiling slopes, doors or windows, yet for a standalone you can place it into smaller niches or corners or move it around depending on your needs. There is no such luxury for a fitted wardrobe.

Your storage needs are of great priority, too. If you only need some extra space to keep your clothes, a standalone wardrobe would suffice. Yet if there is no other place for your belongings, you would rather choose a fitted wardrobe that can solve all the problems and offer a wide choice of options.

The cost is an important factor, too. With bedroom fitted wardrobes you always need to keep in mind the cost of installation. If you are not a master, and need a help of a professional, it could cost you a lot. On the other hand a standalone wardrobe can be purchased and installed singlehandedly.

Formerly homes were not built with storage needs in mind, so you would consider buying and installing a fitted wardrobe to solve your problems. They are offered in a whole range of styles and designs, materials and storage options.

Consider all pros and cons of standalone versus fitted furniture to perfectly fit your design and form of your bedroom. In many cases it is a matter of personal taste and preference that is independent of room requirements and size. This article is a little guide that can help you make a wise decision based on facts.

Color

What color do you prefer? If you have never delved into this contemplation, maybe the time has come to think it over. Having a favorite color in mind is the first step to make your wardrobe organized. Maybe you have three colors or your choice, then you can gradually add more one by one to expand your wardrobe. For example, you like white, blue and green.

How do you know what color will suite you best. Usually the best ones are based on skin tone, eye color or hair color. If you require someone’s help in defining your favorite colors, you can approach color analysis specialists.

Starting at the bottom

You would better start from the bottom, not from the top. Choose shoes and garments that you put on your feet and legs – that is pants or skirt, capris, shorts, colored according to your choice mentioned above.

Coordinate

You have to have a system to coordinate your clothes, and you basically have four methods.

The simplest is to match a top to the bottom as described above. If you have three matching pieces in each of your favorite colors, then you have advantage over other people. To complete your general look and outfit, you add a third piece such as a jacket, a shawl or a cardigan.

Another method is to choose a top, such as a blouse, a sweater or a T-shirt, in an opposing color to the first and third piece. You only have to match the top piece to the bottom.

Then the third choice is to couple the coordinated top to the third piece – making a matched set.

This does not necessarily need to be a sweater set. As long as the second and third pieces match, it is a match set. Example: navy pants, red top, red jacket. If you cannot find two pieces to match exactly, one could be lighter or darker than the other.

Your final choice is to match nothing. This means the bottom piece, top piece and third piece are all different colors.

If you chose your favorite three colors above, each piece would be a different color.

This method will surely work with any three colors of your choice. The formula is mistake proof.

You cannot get it wrong. Practice will make it perfect. Have fun!

Fitted Wardrobe

This philosophy can also be applied to getting a fitted wardrobe in your bedroom, as opposed to a cheap, free-standing wardrobe; you will use this wardrobe everyday, so it is well worth getting the right one and sparing no expense on it!

Just to convince you of why you should go for a fitted wardrobe as opposed to a free-standing one, this article will provide three key advantages to getting a fitted wardrobe, leaving you no doubt as to what the right choice is for you to make.

A fitted wardrobe can complement an already well-furnished room by blending in with its décor, or can become a key feature in a more sparse room, providing a colour and texture style for the rest of the furniture to follow.

Additionally, the fact that you can choose and alter the different styles of doors for your fitted wardrobe means that you have an infinite amount of options at your fingertips, every time that you wish to alter the look of your room, meaning that you aren’t tied down to one style being dictated by your free-standing wardrobe for eternity!

Finally, when you do choose to get a fitted wardrobe, due to the fact that you can choose the style and shape of the fitted wardrobe, then you can design your wardrobe to fit in exactly with whatever look you want from the start; you will get a wardrobe that suits your needs and possessions exactly.

So. if you are convinced by all of this, then check out some of the generous offers that some of the online companies are making available to the customers that utilise their services through their website. Don’t forget, you will be using your wardrobe everyday, so make sure that you make the right choice, as changing it isn’t as easy as just shaving your head!

Typically, these units feature a bookcase, either with or without doors, above a low cupboard or cabinet. The main benefit of fitted alcove units is that they provide valuable storage space in a recessed part of the room, so they don’t get in the way.

A TV can either stand on top of the cabinet or be concealed within it. The base cupboard of the alcove unit can conceal all the electronic boxes that accompany a TV or sound systems, or it can provide storage for plates and crockery.

Alcove units come in many designs and finishes from classic traditional to modern. The traditional Victorian style has mouldings, fluted columns and recessed panel doors.

Traditional options also include a cornice top, side columns, fixed or adjustable shelves, mouldings and recessed panel doors with or without mouldings or flat doors with planted mouldings, usually a small recessed plinth or skirting.

Contemporary or modern style units might have plain doors with touch catches and ‘floating’ shelves with invisible fixings. The finishes can be spray painted, hand painted or natural wood, oiled, lacquered or French Polished. Any alcove unit can be delivered ‘raw’ for your own painter or French Polisher to finish if you so prefer.

Our natural wood finishes include Oak, Mahogany, Beech, Maple, Walnut, Cherry and others to order. These can either be oiled to a light satin finish or lacquered with a highly durable satin or gloss surface.

Paint options include hand-painting for an eggshell satin finish or spraying for a perfectly smooth satin or gloss result.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the design options for attractive bespoke alcove units for your home.

You can decide how wide, tall or deep you want your wardrobe and you don’t have to spend days looking for one that fits.

We can custom build your wardrobe to fit your room exactly the way you want. And because you can design it yourself you can ensure the fitted cupboards and drawers are large enough to hold all your clothes and accessories.

Not having enough storage space can mean your bedroom always looks untidy and unorganised but with spacious bespoke wardrobes and shelving you can wake up each morning knowing that everything you want to wear is neatly organised.

Since 2002 we have tailor-made hundreds of high quality fitted wardrobes to help our customers make the most of their bedroom space.

We also make every size and type of fitted bedroom furniture in a wide range of traditional and contemporary designs. Dressing tables, Bedside cabinets and high-level cupboards can easily be added as required.

Our wardrobes also have enclosed backs and sides to ensure your clothes are fully protected. The wardrobes are built with a small gap between the wall and the cupboard so that damp or condensation in the wall does not get transferred into the wardrobe, which aviods the damp musty smells and mould found in some bedroom furniture.

When you have well-designed fitted wardrobes you can be sure that your clothes, shoes and accessories are stored neatly and efficiently allowing you to keep your room tidy. Cleaning with the vacuum will no longer be a chore.

We can either supply your bedroom furniture in a natural wood finish (oak, walnut, cherry, maple, beech, mahogany, and many others) or in a painted finish. Hand-painting will give a very traditional look while spray-painting in either matt or gloss sheen will give a sleek contemporary look.

Whatever your requirements, we can come up with the designs and finish that will help make your fitted bedroom comfortable and inviting.

History of a Wardrobe

A Chinese Ming Dynasty compound wardrobe made of rosewood, latter half of the 16th century.
Intricately carved French Oakley style Tallboy with under cabinet instead of a chest of drawers.

In the United States, the wardrobe in its movable form as an oak “hanging cupboard” dates back to the early 17th century. At that time it was an early export product from America to England, because English Forest lands were over-forested or reserved for the navy. Consequently, the item was sometimes referred to as an Oakley[citation needed]. For probably a hundred years such pieces, massive and cumbrous in form, but often with well-carved fronts, were produced in moderate numbers; then the gradual diminution in the use of oak for cabinet-making produced a change of fashion in favor of the more plentiful American walnut. (Ironically, the virgin American forests became successively Oak, then Maple with successive deforestation episodes.)

Walnut succeeded oak as the favourite material for furniture, but hanging wardrobes in walnut appear to have been made very rarely, although clothes presses, with drawers and sliding trays, were frequent.

During a large portion of the 18th century the tallboy was much used for storing clothes.

Wardrobe size: A common feature was to base future size on the eight small men method. A considered good size double wardrobe would thus be able to hold within its capacity, eight small men.
A modern fitted wardrobe.

In the nineteenth century the wardrobe began to develop into its modern form, with a hanging cupboard at each side, a press in the upper part of the central portion and drawers below. As a rule it was often of mahogany, but as satinwood and other hitherto scarce finely grained foreign woods began to be obtainable in considerable quantities, many elaborately and even magnificently inlaid wardrobes were made.

Where Chippendale and his school had carved, Sheraton, Hepplewhite and their contemporaries achieved their effects by the artistic employment of deftly contrasted and highly polished woods.

The first step in the evolution of the wardrobe was taken when the central doors, which had previously enclosed merely the upper part, were carried to the floor, covering the drawers as well as the sliding shelves, and were often fitted with mirrors.