How to measure for a fitted wardrobe
Nothing in a bedroom is square, level or plumb. Measuring as though it were is the single commonest cause of a cupboard that will not go in.
A fitted wardrobe is built to a set of numbers taken once, often by somebody who will not be the person installing it. Get them wrong by fifteen millimetres and the carcass either will not enter the opening or leaves a gap you will be looking at for a decade. The good news is that measuring properly takes about ten minutes and needs a tape, a spirit level and a pencil.
The three-point rule
Never take one measurement of anything. Measure the width at floor level, at mid height and at the top, and take the smallest. Measure the height at the left, the centre and the right, and take the smallest. Measure the depth at both ends. Walls bow, floors slope and ceilings are rarely parallel to them; the smallest number is the one the cupboard has to fit through.
- Write down all three readings, not just the smallest — the spread tells the carpenter how much scribing to expect.
- A spread over 10 mm means a filler strip, not a fight.
- Check the floor with a level. A sloping floor means the carcass gets packed, and the packing eats height.
- Check the diagonals if you are building into an alcove. Unequal diagonals mean the alcove is not square and a full-width carcass will bind.
Standard wardrobe dimensions, and when to leave them
These are the numbers most Indian and UK joinery works to. They are conventions, not rules, and the configurator will let you leave any of them.
| Dimension | Standard | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Standard wardrobe depth | 600 mm outer, 550 mm internal | A shirt on a hanger is about 520 mm across the shoulders. Below 550 mm internal, clothes touch the door. |
| Standard wardrobe height | 2100 mm, plus a 450–600 mm loft | The top rail stays reachable; the loft takes the rest to the ceiling. |
| Hanging bay width | 900 mm typical, 600 mm minimum | Below 600 mm a hanger will not turn. |
| Long-hang height | 1400–1500 mm | Coats and long dresses. |
| Short-hang height | 1000–1100 mm | Shirts and folded trousers; two of these stack in one bay. |
| Shelf depth | 500 mm | Deeper and the back of the shelf becomes archaeology. |
| Plinth height | 75–100 mm | Clears skirting and a mopped floor. |
The clearances people forget
- Door swing. A hinged shutter needs about 600 mm in front of it. Measure to the bed, not to the middle of the room.
- Skirting board. The carcass either scribes over it or stops in front of it. Both are fine; neither is free.
- Switches and sockets. A socket behind a wardrobe back is a socket you have lost.
- The ceiling fan. A full-height shutter and a fan blade have met before.
- The diagonal. A tall assembled carcass has to be tilted upright inside the room. Check that the room diagonal allows it, or build in sections.
- Door frames and the route in. If the carcass is assembled in a workshop, it has to get through the bedroom door.
Put the numbers straight into the drawing
Enter your smallest width, smallest height and depth into the configurator and it will produce the carcass, the cutting list and the quantity of board — and tell you what changes when you adjust any of them. Open the design tool.
Common questions
What is the standard wardrobe depth?
Six hundred millimetres outer, giving about 550 millimetres internal once the back panel and the shutter are accounted for. That figure exists because a shirt on a hanger is roughly 520 millimetres across the shoulders, so anything shallower means clothes press against the door and crease.
What is the standard wardrobe height?
Twenty-one hundred millimetres for the main carcass, with a loft of 450 to 600 millimetres above it taking the unit to the ceiling. Twenty-one hundred keeps the top hanging rail within reach without a stool, and the loft absorbs whatever the actual ceiling height turns out to be.
How to measure for a wardrobe accurately?
Measure the width at floor level, mid height and top, and use the smallest. Do the same for height at the left, centre and right. Measure depth at both ends and check the floor with a spirit level. Walls bow and floors slope, so the smallest reading is the one the carcass actually has to fit through, and the spread between readings tells you how much scribing or filler to allow.
How much clearance does a hinged wardrobe door need?
About 600 millimetres in front of the shutter to open fully, measured to whatever is actually there — usually the bed rather than the middle of the room. If that clearance does not exist, a sliding system is the honest answer, at the cost of 80 to 100 millimetres of internal depth and never having more than half the wardrobe open at once.
Design it yourself, free. Interior Studio draws the object in 3D and returns the cutting list and the bill of quantities, using your own dealer rates. No account, no sales call. Open the design tool.