Wardrobes
There are basically two types of storage that can be used in a room: built-in custom wardrobes (also known as a fitted wardrobe) and freestanding storage units that can be purchased in various furniture stores. Freestanding storage may seem like a more convenient option since all you have to do is purchase the unit and have it delivered to your home. However, this convenience will easily lose its value once you start using the wardrobe – this is where its weaknesses start to become evident.
A must for any bedroom, wardrobes should be designed to enhance the decor and ambiance. A well constructed unit contributes in a significant way to the appearance of the room, as it would be the second largest, if not the largest piece of furniture of any bedroom, depending on the size of the bed. Most wardrobes are made of wood, the ranges of choice being from darkest ebony to blond pine and all the browns, reds and gold’s in between. The choice of wood depends on the color and shade of your preference, the grain that you find most pleasing and eventually your budget. You would also need to take some advice from your professional carpenter, as some timbers do not lend themselves to long paneling without warping or splintering. Painted units are also available, and are a more economical option.
The size of each wardrobe depends on the storage space required by the occupant of that bedroom as well as the dimensions of the bedroom. You could opt for a 7-foot tall unit with a 2-foot or 3-foot storage loft above it, if the height of your ceiling allows it, or you could have a 6½-foot tall 3-door unit, the third door enclosing the storage section if the dimensions of your bedroom accommodate more width than height. Wall-to-wall units are the most elegant and give a sleek finish to the bedroom, while supplying all the space you require for your clothes, linen, sports equipment and shoes.
The single door wardrobe is space-saving and versatile in that it can be moved around when you want to re-decorate your room. However, the post popular version is the 2-door unit. From here on, multiple doors, with widths of your choice, the selection is absolutely endless. Consider a 6-door wall-to-wall with the two central doors being mounted with floor length mirrors, for a spacious, elegant bedroom. In a long grained wood such as oak, finely crafted and well polished, it would be a coveted piece of furniture for any home owner. In a less expensive wood you could fabricate louvered doors or latticed doors to allow air circulation as well as being visually pleasing.
Wardrobes are also available in door-drawer combination, where the lower portion of the unit is similar to a chest of drawers while the top half is the regular 2-door cupboard. This is quite a versatile design, with the door lengths being variable and the number of drawers depending upon your requirement.
The interior of the wardrobes can be custom-built depending on whether you require more shelf space or more hanger space. The hanger section could be further modified to take up the entire width or just a section of it. It could be constructed above or below the shelves or even between shelves. For instance, you could have a shelf at the highest level to store items of occasional use, below which you would have a convenient hangar space followed by another two shelves or perhaps drawers.