Are sliding wardrobe doors better than hinged?

Neither is better everywhere. Sliding doors suit a room where the bed, a door or a radiator sits close to the wardrobe wall, because they need no space to swing. Hinged doors suit a room with space in front of the wardrobe, and they let you see the whole inside at once. We draw both at the design visit if you're unsure.

Can I see everything inside a sliding wardrobe?

Not all at once. Sliding doors run past each other, so you open one section at a time. That's why we plan the inside of a sliding wardrobe around the doors, so each opening shows a useful mix of hanging, shelves and drawers.

Do sliding doors cost more?

Aluminium-framed sliding doors with glass or mirror panels are a different system from hinged doors and usually cost more. Our price guide explains what moves the figure, and the quote after your design visit shows it in one price.

Sliding or Hinged Wardrobe Doors?

It’s the first decision most people make about fitted wardrobes, and the answer usually becomes clear once you look at the room rather than the doors. This guide sets out how the two compare, so you can walk into the design visit knowing which way you lean.

Start with the floor in front of the wardrobe

Hinged doors need room to swing. If the bed, a chest of drawers, the bedroom door or a radiator sits close to the wardrobe wall, a hinged door will catch it, or you’ll only ever open it halfway. In that room, sliding doors are usually the answer, because they move across the front of the wardrobe rather than out into the room.

If there’s clear floor in front of the wall, both work, and the choice comes down to how you like to use a wardrobe and how you want it to look.

What you see when the doors are open

A hinged wardrobe opens fully. Swing the doors back and the whole inside is in front of you: hanging, shelves and drawers in one view. That suits people who like to see everything at once.

Sliding doors run past each other, so you open one section at a time. That’s no drawback if the inside is planned for it: each opening holds a sensible mix, so you’re not sliding a door back and forth to reach the shirts and then the shoes. We plan the interior of a sliding wardrobe around where the doors stop.

How each one looks

Hinged doors can be any of the door styles on our finishes page. Framed styles such as Harrington or Contemporary Shaker look best as full-height hinged doors, and they suit period houses and cottages.

Our sliding doors have aluminium frames in silver, champagne, black, graphite, gold, olive or sage, with board, mirror or glass panels, including smoked or reeded glass. Run floor to ceiling across a wall, they make one clean plane, which suits a modern bedroom. A mirror panel can make a small room feel bigger.

The inside is the same

Whichever doors you choose, the furniture behind them is built the same way: an 18mm carcase with solid backs and tops, scribed to your walls and ceiling on site, with soft-close drawers. The layout inside is yours, with long and double hanging, shelves, drawer banks, pull-out shoe trays or pull-down hanging rails for the top of a tall wardrobe.

A quick way to decide

Bed or door close to the wall? Sliding.
Want to see everything at once? Hinged.
Period house, framed doors? Hinged.
Wide run, modern room, or a mirror wanted? Sliding.
Still unsure? Ask us to draw both. At the design visit Aaran draws your wardrobes in 3D while he’s with you, so you can see each version in your own room.

Read more about our fitted wardrobes, or see real rooms we’ve fitted.

Sliding or hinged wardrobe doors: which suits your bedroom?