Bedroom Design
There is no such thing as "the right way" to design fitted bedroom furniture - so much depends on your individual circumstances - but your bedroom design should at best:
- exceed your storage requirements
- look stunning without crowding the room
- be affordable
Tip! - before starting your bedroom design please revisit your storage requirements - we cannot over state the importance of designing to suit your required need - please remember the following ...
- It doesn't matter how good your new room looks
- It doesn't matter how much your bedroom costs
- It doesn't matter how long your guarantee lasts
- If you can't fit your clothes into your wardrobes
... you have wasted your money!
Now is the time to get out the notes you made back in step 2. - which identify the types of things you need to store - and we will run through the best way to store them.
Long Hanging ...
This is the standard wardrobe interior,
used almost exclusively by free standing
furniture manufacturers ... as you
can hang any item of clothing in it.
However,
to maximise your storage this type of
wardrobe should be used solely for hanging
Dresses, Coats, and other items of clothing
that require a "drop" of over 1000mm.
You
are likely to be surprised by the relatively
small amount of long hanging you actually
require ... on average one double robe
is more than enough for any couple ... check
again the length of hanging space you really need
for long clothes.
Shoe Racks ... Try to position shoe racks in the bottom of long hanging wardrobes. (The top shelf position is usually set at 1700mm from the base, and long clothes will not hang down this far.)
Generally you can use the depth of the wardrobe to stagger the position of the rails and provide storage for up to 12 pairs of shoes in each double wardrobe.
Double
Hanging ...
Two sets of short clothes
(trousers, skirts, shirts, blouse's
etc.) hanging one above the other
allows you to store twice the
amount of clothes in a wardrobe.
However, don't be tempted to place additional shelves into either "drop" zone ... as this will impair the "comfortable"hanging space.
As a rule of thumb you will find that you will need roughly four times the amount of short hanging, as long ... and this type of wardrobe is perfect for achieving this ... use them wherever you can!
Shelving ...
Shelves can either be the full width
of the wardrobe, or part width "pigeon
holes".
Try to utilise at least one set of "pigeon hole" shelves, as these are the perfect way of storing jumpers and sweatshirts - avoid using drawers for storing bulky items like jumpers.
More of men's clothes tend to be folded, so position shelving accordingly.
Large "full width" shelving is particularly useful for storing hats, photo albums, family paperwork etc. - and as these are items that are not normally needed that often, put the shelves in the top of the wardrobe.
Combination Wardrobes ... (also known as "gentleman's wardrobes" or "linen presses") should be used sparingly.
The lower drawers restrict the length of clothes that may be hung above them ... we believe that wardrobes should be purchased primarily for hanging clothes not as drawer space.
However they can be an attractive way of breaking up a standard run of three or more wardrobes - particularly if the centre section is positioned forward of the other section (known as a "break front").
Although usually supplied with one shelf and hanging rail, the top section of the wardrobe can be fully shelved to accommodate spare linen.
A simple example of 3 double robes shows
the sort of interior plan to aim for
Our top 10 tips about how and where to store your items
Tip
1. As a rule of
thumb you probably have insufficient
hanging space, but loads of drawers
scattered around your room ... the
most successful bedroom layouts achieve
the opposite to this.
Aim for loads of hanging space for clothes,
loads of internal shelves for jumpers, bridging
units for bulky items, and a few drawers
for underwear ... however it should be
noted that you are unlikely to need more
than three double wardrobes.
Tip 2. Most of your clothes will hang into "short hanging space" but you will require hanging space for three quarter length and long items ... don't over estimate the hanging space you need for long items (on average most couples require only about 600mm of long hanging space).
Tip
3. The following
ratio of hanging rails works well:
60% short hanging, 25% 3/4 hanging, and 15%
long hanging.
Tip 4. Where as most women clothes "hang", about half of men's clothes are better stored folded. Try to position "pigeon hole" shelving in men's wardrobes to store jumpers, sweatshirts, T shirts etc. ... you will achieve more storage space on shelves than you ever will trying to cram these items into drawers.
Tip 5. If you can, avoid placing drawers inside wardrobes as they will reduce the useful amount of hanging and shelving space. If this is unavoidable try to limit the number of internal drawer units to one each for storing underwear.
Tip 6. It is generally preferable to place "bedside cabinets" next to a bed, however if space is limited the use of a "boxed headboard" can improve the design opportunities.
Tip 7. A "dressing table" is a personal item - some people use them to sit at and some don't ... if you do not sit at a dressing table do not include a "knee hole drawer" as the space under it will be wasted.
Tip 8. You will need some drawer space for underwear, a "lowline chest" each is sufficient ... by substituting these for one "tallboy chest" you may be able to increase the space available for wardrobes.
Tip 9. "Lowline cabinets" (with internal shelving) are an often overlooked means of storing jumpers.
Tip 10. Bridging cupboards over the bed will provide the equivalent storage space to a complete single wardrobe
Lastly ... the first thing you need to place in your design is the biggest item in the room, namely the bed - here's some good and bad places to put the bed:
This is a good position
for the bed, it allows you to:
1. Plan a run of robes opposite the bed
2. Plan an "over bed" layout
3. Plan an over bed layout with dressing
table
4. Plan an over bed layout with wardrobe
return
This is a bad position for the bed
because:
1. Entry to the room is restricted by the
bed
2. Wardrobes can only be positioned in the
far right hand corners, and severely restricts
the design opportunities
This is also a bad position for the
bed because:
1. The headboard will interrupt the opening
and closing of curtains, and stick up over
the window sill
2. Wardrobes could only be positioned in
the top left hand corner, severely restricting
the design opportunities
This is a good position
for the bed as you could design the
following layouts:
1. Run of wardrobes opposite the bed
2. Run of wardrobes with dressing table return
3. Run of wardrobes with corner wardrobe
return