Wardrobe Closets

Part Two

This is part two of two in article looking at both fitted wardrobes and stand alone closets. Take a look at part one of our article titled Fitted Wardrobes or Wardrobe Closets? to catch up to this post. Part one we looked at defining these two terms, taking into account how both wardrobe closets and fitted wardrobes are designed. Below we move past definitions to get into the reasons you’d want to choose one type of closet storage system over the other.

To understand which type of closet storage system is better, you need to look at what your needs are in relation to these products.

For instance, a fitted wardrobe with sliding doors is an excellent option for a home that needs a lot of storage space yet cannot afford to waste any space in doing so. A sliding door fitted wardrobe makes for an excellent choice in this situation for a number of reasons:

1. You can store about twice as much in it than a wardrobe closet of the same width.
2. Because the doors slide open, you need not reserve space to the left and right of the unit for the doors to swing open.
3. You can access and utilize the storage space that runs between the top of the fitted wardrobe and the ceiling of your home too.

Additionally, many people find the fitted wardrobe a more attractive option if they are seeking a more modern look for the closet storage system.

On the other hand, a wardrobe closet may be a better fit for those in a different situation. Consider a home with a large amount of space that seeks to use an armoire not just for storage but also as a decorative item. A country home with an antique flair that enjoys relishing in the solid wood wardrobe design would benefit most from the look of an antique closet over the flair of a fitted wardrobe.

Contrast this with someone who is the go a lot and needs a suitable solution for closet storage who might benefit the most from a portable closet, and you have yet another different reason to use one of the other of these two classes of wardrobes.

As you can see, it all comes down to what you want and what you need, as well as the home and living situation, in order to decide which is a better for you: a wardrobe closet or a fitted wardrobe!

Part One

If you have a decent budget and are in mind to spend it on a closet storage system, you will end up finding out that there are quite a few options out there that move far beyond simply a Rubbermaid closet organizer. Companies like John Louis Home manufacture complete closet systems that have to be installed from floor to ceiling that can completely transform your walk in closet to a closet storage room of massive proportions.

These closets are certainly nice and do the job as far as holding clothes correctly, but what if you don’t have a walk in closet? What if you need to create a closet with the space you have?

This leaves you with the option of buying either a stand alone closet or installing a fitted closet. Deciding which one of these is better is the question I want to look at today.

Fitted Wardrobes
A fitted wardrobe is a wardrobe closet that’s installed from floor to ceiling utilizing the homes design as part of its construction. This means that the design of the home is taken into consideration in a big way and the wardrobe is literally fitted around it. For instance, a fitted wardrobe may be installed that runs the length of the entire wall that the bed rests against, going from the floor to the ceiling on both sides of the bed and then connecting with a cabinet that runs over the length of the bed. Another example is that some fitted wardrobes will utilizing the walls of the home to function as the back wall of the wardrobe closet and even the side or sides of the closet, depending on the layout of the home.

Fitted wardrobe is very popular in the United Kingdom. In the United States, there popularity is not as great – perhaps due to percentage of homes designed built in closets or walk in closets that provide ample storage space from the start for their wardrobe clothes.

Stand Alone Closets
A stand alone closet can be defined as any free standing closet storage space. This definition takes into account both portable closets as well as wardrobe closets. Let’s look at these two types of stand alone closets.

A portable closet is a lightweight closet designed to be mobile and provide access to clothing. They are used often in guest homes, guest rooms, and in studio apartments and dorm rooms, as well as for anyone who is often on the go and needs a reliable closet. A portable closet nearly always consists of a light metal frame with cloth walls. They cost between $30 and $100 US.

A wardrobe closet, also known as a wardrobe armoire, is a heavy free standing closet, nearly always made of solid wood. Wardrobe closets often feature elegant designs, hand painted or hand carved engravings, and cost a bundle, with the price tag starting at the low end of about $200 US and going up into the $2,000 to $3,000 US range.

Stay tuned as tomorrow we complete part two of two in this article series comparing free standing wardrobe closets and fitted wardrobes!

Besides “I love you”, there are three other words that children just love to hear:  “clean your room!”

Well, they don’t exactly love to hear this, but they simply must.  Children need a clean, tidy space for rest, relaxation, play and often, for studying. Oak wardrobe armoires are a clever storage solution for their bedroom dilemma!

Dressers are great pieces of furniture, but they often fill up quickly with things stuffed in them and on top of them. Wardrobe closets are a great way to expand children’s bedroom furniture space to keep clothing and such neatly tucked away. Oak wardrobe closets are perfect for hanging clothes, storing linen, books and more.

Cleaning and organizing juvenile bedroom space doesn’t have to be a painstaking chore any longer. The Prepac Oak Juvenile TV/Wardrobe Armoire will give you the added space you need to get the job done. The wardrobe closet has versatile dimensions and can be easily assembled. This oak wardrobe is a simple, all-in-one bedroom storage center in one box!

There will be no excuse for clothes and other bedroom items lying all over the room. Prepac Oak Wardrobes are well made with engineered wood that is made to last. Three drawers on the bottom of the oak wardrobe move with ease and have child-friendly, built-in safety stops. This armoire is well recommended and reasonably priced on Amazon.com for $197.00.

The Prepac Oak Juvenile TV/Wardrobe Armoire looks classic and polished with a clean, attractive appearance. The light brown oak has simple detail and will fit well with any bedroom theme. The wardrobe contains generous hanging space and shelves for children’s clothes, bedroom items and a small TV. You will be glad that your children can finally have a place to store their things!

The glitter and glamour of designer fashion is attention-grabbing and attractive.  People love to mix and match styles and accessories to create that “wow factor.” Why not give your bedroom that same kind of center stage look that is inviting and attractive? Fitted wardrobes are a clever way to give your bedroom a distinguished, classy look for relaxation and enjoyment.

Fitted wardrobes are wide, spacious and visually appealing space solutions, especially for master bedrooms. These elegant bedroom fixtures have plenty of space to go around to meet store all of your shoes and attire.  Fitted armoire wardrobe closets will turn any decent sized bedroom into a hotel-style living space.

The Milan Fitted Wardrobe aligns perfectly with your wall to give your room a discreet, roomy look. The Spring Birch is a pleasant neutral color that is adaptable for any bedroom color and style. You’ll have more than enough room for your clothes, shoes and accessories. The style is formal and stylish and accentuates the bedroom with class and flair.

There are a myriad of designer knobs to choose from to customize the drawers and closet handles according to your specifications. Play a part in creating the bedroom makeover that you love and deserve with a Milan fitted wardrobe.  This spacious centerpiece is a one-stop storage center that will set your bedroom in a class all by itself. There is a place for everything in your bedroom, and everything can be in its place!

This high-end wardrobe closet is available online through Spacemaker.  They will craft your armoire to look just the way you want it to. You can feel like a star and enjoy the bedroom makeover you’ve always wanted. Create a stylish bedroom look that is classy and timeless with beautiful fitted wardrobes.

Someone once came up with the slogan “a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind.” In other words, clutter can be maddening to deal with, especially when there isn’t sufficient space to store your bedroom items. Even the best organizational efforts can be frustrated without sufficient storage space to get the job done. Pine wardrobes are a great solution for your bedroom storage dilemmas.

When creating a spacious bedroom, clothing and shoes are often the biggest hurdles the get over. After deciding what to keep and not to keep, the clothes that remain need a place to call home. Beautiful pine wardrobes are attractive, spacious and practical space savers that fit nicely in traditionally styled bedrooms. The smooth, golden brown wood will look great with any color scheme for a stylish, practical look.

The top-selling English Heritage Wardrobe Triple Armoire is made with beautiful solid pine that is visually appealing and long lasting. There is no lack of space with this huge wardrobe that more than suffices to provide needed storage space. These beautiful pine wardrobes have fine detail on the panels and a lovely mirror right in the center. Behind the left and center doors there is plenteous hanging space. The remaining door has several shelves for shoes, vanity items and accessories.

The English Heritage Wardrobe Triple is expertly crafted and hand waxed for a great look and a maximum lifespan for your bedroom storage needs. In addition to the abundant space inside the wardrobe armoire closet, there are also drawers underneath to store items such as papers and books. These wardrobe armoire closets will help to cover all the bases for your comprehensive space saving efforts.

This English armoire comes partially assembled for ease and mobility as it is transported and delivered to your front door. It is rather large, so remaining assembly for the wardrobe closet should be completed in its designated bedroom space. These lovely English furniture centerpieces can be found at PineSolutions.com for about $1119.00.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Children of all ages have adored this classic fairy tale for decades, especially our little girls. After all, little princesses want to be the ones to cry out with a resounding “I am!” as they pretend to be royal maidens in search of prince charming. Mirrored wardrobes add a royal, dainty touch to any girl’s bedroom décor.

These lovely mirrored wardrobe armoire closets will take center stage for your princesses to bask in for years to come. Mirrored wardrobes will be one piece of furniture your daughter may even want to haul off to college! The Enchanted Kids Mirrored Wardrobe is mesmerizing and delightful for sweet, feminine look girls will love at any age.

This attractive antique white armoire features a large oval mirror encapsulated by detailed solid hardwood accents. The mirrored door opens up into a discreet storage space with a pull out drawer for girls to store their vanity items, books or even a 23-inch TV! This attractive centerpiece has very nice features and serves as a great storage option for your space solutions.

In addition, there are two spacious drawers at the bottom of the mirrored wardrobe for additional space options for all the girl stuff! The Enchanted Kids Mirrored Wardrobe is featured on Amazon and available for your purchasing pleasure for $590.00. This is not cheap, but it’s a priceless investment in a little girl’s memory bank.

This Victorian style wardrobe armoire closet also has such safety features as nice round edges and corners with drawer stops for every drawer. The Enchanted Kid’s Mirrored Wardrobe’s sophisticated look, attractive finish and timeless style will be a mainstay for a girl’s bedroom space. Take a step back into fairytale land with this quaint, feminine wardrobe closet for your little princess.

Someone once said that your bedroom should be a little taste of paradise. Beautiful bedroom furniture invites one to relax, put their feet up and unwind. There is nothing like having a neat, organized bedroom to go home to and to relax in during the day. Beautiful dark wood bedroom wardrobes are attractive and classy looking centerpieces for versatile storage options.

Dark wood has a very durable, appealing look and looks great in almost any furniture style. The lovely dark finish looks shiny and unblemished for your practical wardrobe storage needs. Dark Alder bedroom wardrobes are a part of the Brookstone Collection of furniture and are available on Amazon.com for about the affordable price of $145.00.

This beautiful piece of furniture has wide, spacious shelves to store grooming items and bedroom various items. This attractive two-door wardrobe closet opens up for a neat, concealed space option. There are also two adjustable drawers cleverly concealed behind the doors for added space options.  These lovely bedroom wardrobes are easy to assemble with metal runners and safety stops for the drawers.

You can store bulky items such as sweaters and thick attire without taking up too much storage room. The dark Alder wood has a traditional, impressive look that is in a class by itself. You can easily find this wardrobe armoire closet on Amazon.com in the Home and Garden section.

In addition to a sleek, dark wooden finish, you can enjoy the practical design that features a big pullout drawer at the bottom to store such clothing as shirts and slacks. This armoire is priced right, looks great and is a great showcase for your bedroom décor. It can serve you well as a great storage piece that is stylish, sleek and attractive for years of enjoyment.

Black armoires can be absolutely beautiful in the right room. Just like the white armoires that were reviewed yesterday, black armoires definitely have a place in today’s more modern homes. Many of the new designs are totally black and white and the right piece can totally set off the room. An armoire is often the focal point of any bedroom, so you want to make sure that the right one is purchased.

Sonoma Black 2-Door Armoire, Prepac, $150
This very modern and very stylish armoire was once priced much higher, but for some reason people did not find it very attractive. While it may not be the perfect piece for a high-end adult room, it is perfect for the teenager that is just starting to grow up. It has very clean lines and a simple, yet elegant look about it. For the price, this is an absolute steal right now. Check out Amazon.com and various other online retailers for this armoire.

Camden Black Armoire, American Drew, $775
This is just a classic and very sharp looking black armoire. It is perfect as either a bedroom armoire or as the center piece in the dining room. There are not enough good things to say about this product as it truly a beautiful piece of furniture. The elegant bottom drawers and the long door top section set this apart from just about anything else in its class.

Series 200 Armoire, Status, $750
This piece wins out because of the very unique look that it has. It totally gets away from the traditional look and has an open space at the top where something could be displayed and then two very long doors that open into the wardrobe closet. While the space that is taken by the top features restricts this armoire to only one bottom drawer, the look is worth the sacrifice. It may not be for everyone, but whoever has this in their home has something truly special.

When we generally think of armoires, a picture of traditional stained French style armoire will pop into our heads. Shockingly enough, not all bedroom sets have stained oak furniture or are antique hand-me-downs. Believe it or not, there are bedrooms sets that this traditional look would clash with and be totally unacceptable. For those with a more modern look, perhaps a white or black armoire would do nicely. Here is a quick look at a few white armoires to fill a variety of needs.

Cotton Candy Pure White Armoire, South Shore Furniture, $300
South Shore Furniture has several models available in this price range and color, but this one is recommended mostly because of the lower drawer space. If the wardrobe armoire is being used solely for clothing storage, this will more than do the job. It features an inside mirrored door with large shelving units that are ideal for sweater storage, a side hanging closet and 2 large pull-out drawers on the bottom of the cabinet. It is pretty tough to beat for right around $300.

Vista White Armoire, Sorelle, $770
This is obviously a much more expensive model, but it is quite stunning. Designed in traditional French Fashion, it can be used solely for clothing or in combination with a TV stored in the top compartment. The drawers are high and deep and the hanging space is perfect for a large television or to hold all of your finer garments. If shopping for children look elsewhere, as this is definitely an adult piece of furniture.

Children’s Products Shaker White Armoire, Delta, $200
White is a very popular color for children’s rooms and it would be unjust to leave them totally out. Delta has a simple, yet very cute white armoire that is perfect for the kids. It features three pull-out drawers on the bottom and actually sacrifices very little space in the top compartment to make this happen. The space that is available is perfect for small TV or to house some action figures or dolls.

Knowing full well that white will not go with all modern styled bedrooms, tomorrow will feature some of the best black armoires. This is something that you will not want to miss because these pieces are absolutely stunning.

There are many different types of armoires on the market today. Some are designed specifically for use as a wardrobe armoire and others are made for different purposes such as jewelry or as an entertainment cabinet. So what classifies a wardrobe armoire as French/European style?

One of the reasons a wardrobe armoire is considered French/European is the way it is made and constructed. The classic French style of wardrobe closet will feature multiple drawers on the bottom of the armoire and a hanging closet as the top portion. While many people today will use this to house their televisions, it is actually meant as a place to hang their finer clothing.

Remember, when armoires were first created, homes more than likely did not have the closet space that is present in the houses that we live in today. Because of this, these large cabinets were used as a way to keep clothing organized and clean. Over the years, higher end models were made and actually considered a type of status symbol. The fancier and more expensive the armoire, the more likely that the owner came from class and wealth.

They can either be made in a simple style but typically they have carvings and embellishments that are made out of wood to decorate them. These can be purchased either as antiques or brand new ones are being made in the same French/European styles that were so popular centuries ago. Those who have a new one can easily make theirs look like an antique with just a few tricks that they can find online.

When looking for a wardrobe armoire that fits the French/European style, look for those that are made of wood. They should also have drawers on the bottom with a cabinet at the top. New ones can be made to look antique with just a few tricks that can be found online which are quite easy to do.