Walk-in wardrobes, from the space you have.

01 Where it fits

Finding room for a walk-in.

In London, few people have a spare room to give over to clothes. But a walk-in wardrobe needs less space than most expect — and it often frees up the bedroom itself.

The most common places we find room for one:

• A box room or small third bedroom next to the main bedroom
• The end of a long bedroom, closed off with a partition or sliding doors
• A loft conversion, using the low space under the eaves for shelving and drawers
• A wide landing or hallway in a larger house

A walk-in works with as little as about 1.5 m of width for storage on one side, or around 2 m for storage on both sides with a walkway between. Larger rooms can take an island of drawers in the middle.

Because everything is made to measure, the shelving, rails and drawers are arranged around what you actually own — counted at the measure — rather than a standard layout.

A walk-in wardrobe works or fails on a few dimensions. These are the figures we plan around — your room and your clothes decide the final ones.

• Hanging depth. Clothes on hangers need about 550–600 mm of depth. Shelving and drawers can be shallower, around 350–450 mm, which saves walkway in narrow rooms.
• Walkway. Around 700–900 mm between storage on facing walls lets one person move and open drawers comfortably. If two people dress at the same time, allow more.
• Around an island. An island of drawers needs about 900 mm of clear space around it, so it only suits larger rooms.
• Short hanging. Shirts, jackets and folded trousers need about a metre of height, so two rails can sit one above the other.
• Long hanging. Coats and dresses need around 1.5–1.7 metres.
• Shelf spacing. Around 30–35 cm between shelves for folded clothes, more for bags and boxes.
• Drawer height. The top of a drawer unit at around waist height doubles as a surface for folding and for putting down a watch or a phone.

At the free measure we check these against your room, then draw the layout in 3D so you can see the walkway and the storage together.

If you have a long bedroom but no spare room, part of it can become a walk-in. It is a good option in larger London flats and family houses where the bedroom is long enough.

The dressing area is separated from the sleeping area by a wall of storage, a stud wall built by your builder, or a sliding-door front that we make as part of the furniture. Inside, storage runs along one or both sides, with the walkway leading from the bedroom.

A few things make it work well:

• Light. If the window is in the sleeping area, the dressing area needs good artificial light — LED strips along the rails and shelves rather than a single ceiling light.
• A mirror. A full-length mirror at the end of the walkway or on the back of the partition.
• Somewhere to sit. A small bench or a drawer unit at seat height for putting on shoes.
• The bed’s position. The bed should not end up facing straight into the storage. We plan the whole room, not only the walk-in.

The partition itself can hold storage on the bedroom side too — bedside shelves or a headboard wall — so no space is lost. For a bedroom where a walk-in does not fit, a full wall of fitted wardrobes or sliding wardrobes usually gives similar storage.

Shared walk-ins work best when each person has a clear zone — and the shared things have their own place too.

• One side each. In a galley layout, each person takes one wall. Each side can have its own mix of hanging, shelves and drawers.
• Different needs. One person may need more long hanging, the other more drawers or shoes. The sides do not have to be identical inside, as long as the fronts and heights match.
• Shared storage. Suitcases, bedding and seasonal clothes go at the top or at the far end, where both can reach them.
• Space to pass. If you dress at the same time, the walkway needs to be a little wider so two people can pass.
• Separate lighting. If one person gets up much earlier, lights on each side that work independently mean nobody is woken by the whole room lighting up.

At the measure we ask both people what they keep and how they use it. A shared walk-in that suits only one of you is a common regret, and an easy one to avoid at the design stage.

A walk-in wardrobe follows the same process as all our furniture, with one extra step at the start: deciding what the room needs to hold.

1. Enquiry. Tell us which room you are thinking of and its rough size. Photos help. We reply within one working day.
2. Free measure. Our London fitter measures the room and talks through what you own: how much hanging, how many shoes, what you fold and what you rarely use.
3. 3D design and fixed price. You see the layout from inside the room, with the walkway, the lighting and the mirror, and get a fixed, itemised price. Change it until it is right.
4. Preparation. If a radiator, a door or a socket needs moving, or a stud wall is needed, your builder or electrician does it now.
5. Manufacture. Every panel is made to the drawings in our own workshop.
6. Delivery and fitting. The walk-in is delivered and installed by the same fitter who measured the room. Typically 4–6 weeks after you approve the design.

See our process for more detail on each step.