Freestanding Or Fitted?

Freestanding wardrobes are designed to fit in an average alcove, but always check measurements first. They will give a room a far more relaxed, individual style, while fitted wardrobes will make a room look more streamlined and formal – but of course give you lots more storage space. What you choose will very much depend on what your room’s style is – and, crucially, its shape. For example, in a room with sloping ceiling or no obvious place for a freestanding wardrobe, fitted may be your only choice. Fitted will also give you more storage space because they use every inch of space. If you have to have fitted but don’t want them to overwhelm the room, choose reflective, mirrored or white-painted doors to help them bounce light around the room.

Will It Suit Your Clothes?

If the wardrobe you like has a fixed rail, check out its height before you buy. If it’s fixed at half the height of the wardrobe there’s probably plenty of shelving above, but you won’t be able to hang up your full-length dresses, or that posh suit. If two of you are sharing one wardrobe, ensure there’s plenty of space for a variety of clothes types – for example, look for drawers, hanging space and shelves. Equally, if two of you are sharing matching wardrobes, ensure the company can cater to the different needs of the interior. Men need less space for longer length hanging than women, but tend to need more shelving.

Is It Good Looking Enough?

Appearance is everything. Wardrobes are the most important item of furniture in your bedroom, bar the bed, so they must look good. Most high street stores now do a good range of wardrobes that have a fashionable look, but if you want something extra special think about buying an antique, or you could get one custom made.

On A Budget?

Of course flat-pack wardrobes will be the cheapest option, but they’re never going to be as tough as factory assembled or hand-made designs. When shopping for either, check out the quality of the hinges and how well they’re attached. Also investigate the drawer mechanisms – if they’re awkward in the shop they’ll be impossible in a few years’ time at home. With any large piece of furniture, you tend to get what you pay for. Cheap furniture won’t last over time, while well made pieces should stand the test of time.

In its movable form as an oak “hanging cupboard” it dates back to the early 17th century where it was an early export product to England from America since English Forest lands were over forested or reserved for the navy. Consequently, these were sometimes referred to as an Oakley. 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.

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.