Wardrobe Closets

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 the classic wardrobe closet. 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!