Fitted Wardrobes or Freestanding Wardrobes: Which are Best?
Two specific types of bedroom wardrobes are those which are freestanding and those which are fully fitted and customised to suit your room size and style. Both these types of bedroom furniture complement your home in numerous ways, with each wardrobe offering its own advantages.
Unflatpack specialise in both fitted bedroom furniture and flatpack assembly services, so we know all the IKEA hacks, tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your furniture. We’ve created this short guide to help you understand the key differences between fitted and freestanding furniture, explain what makes each one unique and hopefully help you decide which is suitable for your home.
Fitted Wardrobes vs. Freestanding Wardrobes
If you’re taking the time to renovate or redecorate your bedroom, you may have started looking at whether your bedroom storage and flatpack furniture is due for an upgrade.
There are several options available, such as IKEA flatpack furniture or custom-fitted wardrobes, so you may be weighing up the pros and cons of both these choices. While both these types of furniture serve a practical purpose, you have to take the aesthetics into account and consider which one will be most suitable for you. Do you want something easily transportable and simple to install, or do you want something fixed to the wall, which takes advantage of awkward and empty spaces?
Hopefully, reading the pros and cons of these bedroom furniture solutions below will help make your decision slightly easier.
Advantages of Fitted Wardrobes
- Space-saving – There are many benefits of fitted wardrobes, but the main will be that a fitted wardrobe allows you to maximise the space available as the frame is custom built to your storage requirements. Fitted IKEA wardrobes offer more space than freestanding wardrobes.
- Efficientstorage solutions – These wardrobes can fill up any empty spaces in walls, with plenty of above wardrobe storage options. They can also be fitted in rooms with awkward spaces such as alcoves or sloped ceilings.
- Stylishdesign – It’s straightforward to find fitted furniture that complements your chosen room style.
- Bright and vibrant – They maximise the natural light, particularly with reflective doors or mirrors added onto the wardrobe which can give rooms some radiance and glow.
- Improve house value – They can add value to your property, which helps when it comes to letting or selling it.
Disadvantages of Fitted Wardrobes
- Can’t be transported or repurposed – These wardrobes aren’t easily portable or reusable as they bespoke fitted furniture, so they can’t be easily taken with you when moving house.
- Cost – They generally come with a higher upfront cost; however, an IKEA fitted wardrobe should be an investment that lasts for a long time.
Advantages of Freestanding Wardrobes
- Portable and reusable – Like most freestanding furniture, a wardrobe is fairly easy to transport between homes and offices should they be needed come moving day.
- Match other furniture – It’s quite common to find wardrobes that match other furniture (such as the chest of drawers or bedside table you bought two years ago), which gives your bedroom consistency at a competitive price.
- In good demand – Most flatpack furniture is readily available either in-store or online. Also, preowned IKEA bedroom furniture is regularly re-sold and replaced, which is convenient for many homeowners.
- Self-assembly – Generally speaking, flatpack wardrobes can be assembled by yourself. However, Unflatpack have a dedicated team who can visit your property and take care of all furniture assembly tasks if you need help.
- Cost – There is a certain cost-saving benefit with using freestanding furniture; however, it does come with a time, energy and effort consideration.
Disadvantages of Freestanding Wardrobes
- Not all space is used – When assembling flatpack freestanding wardrobes, sometimes those awkward or empty spaces still remain, as they’re not fixed between walls, or from floors to ceilings.
- Not as space-saving – Freestanding wardrobes stand independently, which means that they can feel slightly more intrusive in your room, as opposed to fully fitted ones.
- Storage – Often, depending on room sizes, there’s less storage space than what you’d find inside a custom-fitted wardrobe. Those few extra inches of space make all the difference.
- Limited on sizes – While there are several to choose from, you don’t get the same flexibility on sizes as you do with bespoke, modern fitted wardrobes.
- Dependant on ceiling height – You always need to ensure that your freestanding wardrobe is slightly shorter than the height of your ceiling, otherwise, it will not fit.
- Time – While the upfront costs may be lower, you do have to consider the time, energy and effort that you have to spend building your flatpack wardrobes. It can be very time-consuming and strenuous.
In summary, if you are looking at longevity, practicality and flexibility as your main advantages, consider investing in fitted wardrobes