If you are looking to optimise the space in your bedroom, look no further than fitted wardrobes.

With so many designs, colours, and styles to choose from, they have come a long way from the shiny magnolia wardrobes of old.

With so many fitted wardrobe ideas to choose from, how do you find the perfect design for your space?

Planning your fitted wardrobe interior

There are many factors that come into play when designing your fitted wardrobes and hundreds of built in wardrobe ideas to choose from.

You need to consider the size of the space, what will go in the wardrobes, how the design will look and the cost. 

Before you start planning your fitted wardrobes, the most important thing is to assess what will be stored in them.

This can help determine the size of your wardrobes (which are also dependent on the size of your room!).

Fitted wardrobe planning checklist –

• Divide what you need to put into the wardrobes into items such as jumpers, jeans, belts, hats, t-shirts, dresses etc. This will help you decide how many sections you will need and what type of storage
• Decide where your shoes are going. Will they need their own section in the wardrobe? If so, keep the area low and away from clothing items.
• Analyse the space available so you can divide it into sections if possible. You will need a higher rail for items such as dresses and coats and shorter rails for jumpers and t-shirts. If you don’t have enough room for multiple rails, look at putting in shelves above to fold up and store your jumpers and t-shirts.
• If you want to hang up most of your clothes, think about how many single rails you’ll need for dresses, suits and trousers. If you can’t fit in multiple rails, get clever with how to store the rest of your clothes. 
• If there is room, decide whether you can put shelves in the wardrobes and drawers for your smaller items like belts, underwear and shorts.
• If the fitted wardrobes are going into awkward spaces, analyse how you can best use the space. Maybe put smaller items that you don’t use on an everyday basis like ties, hats and handbags into this awkward area.
• Think about how you can utilise the space for maximum storage. Hang hooks on the back of wardrobe doors so you can hang belts, bags and ties up out of the way. If you only have room for one rail, keep the longer items to one side and install drawers under the shorter clothing items like jackets and jumpers.  

You should have a better idea of how to organise your built in wardrobes if you follow the above steps.

Next, you need to decide what style of fitted wardrobe is best for your bedroom.

Here are some of my favourite designs from door designs to a fitted wardrobe for small bedrooms. 

Fitted wardrobe ideas

Designing the perfect fitted wardrobe isn’t just about how the storage, shelves and rails are laid out, it is also about the doors and how you integrate them into your room.

We tend to overlook our wardrobe space and how it looks when we are buying furniture or looking for fitted wardrobe ideas.

They take up a lot of room in our bedrooms so why not turn them into a feature themselves? 

Panelled fitted wardrobe ideas

4 panelled wardrobes in Forest Green – Online Bedrooms

Panelling is all the rage at the moment. It is a timeless design and relatively easy to do.

If you are not keen on panelling a wall, how about choosing panelled doors for your fitted wardrobes?

The panelling can be designed to go from floor to ceiling, providing a contemporary backdrop to your bedroom and staying in style for years to come.

The hardest choice is deciding what colour to go for.

Upgrade old doors

If you already have built in wardrobes in your bedroom that don’t need replacing, but the doors are old and dated, why not look at replacing the doors?

When we moved into our new house, our old fitted wardrobes were extremely dated.

However, the wardrobe carcass itself was in good condition and exactly what we needed. I started researching built in wardrobe ideas and came across wallpapering the doors. 

Instead of ripping out the whole thing, we replaced the wardrobe doors to make them look contemporary and more in keeping with the room.

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Use mirrored doors

If you are looking for fitted wardrobes for small bedrooms, using mirrored doors is the perfect way to make the space feel bigger (and free up some wall space where a mirror would have gone!)

How about adding a Crittall-style frame to the mirrors to give them a modern and fresh look? This is a contemporary twist on the old mirrored fitted wardrobe.

Using mirrors in a bedroom can help bounce the light around the room, so mirrored wardrobe doors are perfect for a room that is dark or north facing.

Just try not to place them directly at the end of the bed, or you are in for shock every morning!

Paint your wardrobes to match your walls

If you don’t like the idea of making your fitted wardrobes the focal point of a room, how about painting your wardrobes the same colour as your walls to give them a seamless look?

I personally like this when the colour is unusual or dark. This coordinated look works particularly well in small bedrooms as the continuous colour makes the room feel bigger.

Keep wardrobes open

If you like to organise and have quick access to all your clothes and shoes, how about installing fitted wardrobes with no doors?

These PAX wardrobes were created with open plan in mind and although they aren’t strictly built-in, you can make them look fitted. 

Creating an open-plan wardrobe space is perfect if you love to colour-code your clothes and admire your organisation.

Leaving the doors off can give it an element of luxury and create your own dressing area without having to dedicate a whole room to it.  

If you don’t like to organise and use doors to hide a multitude of sins, this style isn’t for you!

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Bespoke fitted wardrobes built into a bedroom alcove

A lot of period properties have chimney breasts in the room (one of my favourite features in an old period house!), so the bedroom will have alcoves which are ideal for bespoke fitted wardrobes.

To make the most of this space, built-in wardrobes will help you maximise the space and give the impression they’ve always been there!

You can either paint them the same colour as the walls or make them a feature in their own right and use a contrasting colour.

Sliding doors

Is your bedroom a bit short on space? How about installing built-in wardrobes with sliding doors, the perfect fitted wardrobe for small bedrooms. 

These are perfect if you have a long wall to play with and can help you optimise a small space. Your fitted wardrobe interior can then include a mixture of rails, drawers and shelves.

Cordon off an awkward space with sliding doors

Bespoke fitted wardrobes are perfect for loft or attic conversions and make great use of the eaves space in the room.

Clever planning will give you more than enough space to place all your storage behind these doors.

Hang a rail at the tallest part of the roof to hang your clothes from and use the lower part of the loft space to put drawers, shelves and storage boxes for your shoes, bedding and other bedroom items.

Use wardrobe doors to conceal areas of a room

If you have a period property, but like so many homes I see, the fireplace is no longer there, how about cordoning off the whole chimney and alcoves to give your room a modern makeover?

If you prefer the sliding doors or panelled door look of fitted wardrobes, you can still create this with a chimney breast.

Fit the wardrobe space in the alcoves on either side and use the shallower space of the chimney breast to insert shelves for toiletries, makeup and jewellery.

Dedicate a corner of your room to create an open-plan dressing room

We all dream of having a dressing room, but often we don’t have the space to give it its own dedicated area.

If you have a corner space crying out for some wardrobes, or an awkward space that doesn’t allow you to put in furniture, why not use open-plan wardrobes to create a dressing area we all dream of?

IKEA PAX wardrobes are ideal for this. You can easily plan the fitted wardrobe interior to suit your needs and use all the space given to give your dressing area a luxurious look!

All there is left to do is to get colour-coding your clothes!

Mix it up!

If you are lucky enough to have space for several wardrobes, why not mix it up?

Fitted wardrobe interiors can include rails, drawers and shelves and provide a seamless look in the bedroom. It will provide all the storage you need.

This is also perfect if you are looking for a fitted wardrobe for small bedrooms.

If you are short on space, squeezing as much storage as possible onto one wall will help free up space in the bedroom for your bed, bedside tables and a desk or chair.

Update bespoke fitted wardrobes

If your bedroom has fitted wardrobes but you don’t like the colour, paint them! Fitted wardrobes are extremely popular and most wardrobes that are installed will probably be just one colour – magnolia!

Instead of ripping the doors off or replacing the wardrobes themselves, it is amazing what a lick of paint can do.

Decide on the colour scheme of the bedroom first (you don’t want to be painting the doors again if you decide to change your mind!) and paint your doors accordingly. Easy!

Storage is always a good idea!

Storage is extremely important when planning a room so having fitted wardrobes installed is always a good idea.

Try to fit in as much storage and wardrobe space as possible, you will never regret putting in too much space for your clothes, shoes and bedroom items!

In fact, storage and fitted wardrobes are one of the top priorities when people are looking to buy a new house, so having bespoke fitted wardrobes will benefit you in the long run.

They might be costly to put in, but choosing the right design will stand you in good stead for years to come. 

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