How To Design Bespoke Built-in Wardrobe
In almost every interior design project that I make I have a need to design built-in furniture. Fitted wardrobes are popular storage solutions in our homes. There is no surprise as usually we have to deal with limited space and made to measure wardrobes allow us to use every centimeter at its maximum.
Designing your first custom wardrobe can seem as a daunting task to do, and the only recipe to master this skill is to practice, practice and practice. In this post I want to describe my algorythme of work and I hope it will be useful for you.
- Start with taking measurements of the space. It also has to be done by furniture makers so if there are any discrepancies later you won’t be responsible for them. However, I always take my own measurements of the niche as well to double check the drawings with sizes that furniture manufacturer will send later to me.
- Client brief. Some of the things that I ask during my meeting with client:
- style of the wardrobe (it has to be matching with the overall style of the room unless you are going for an eclectic look)
- wardrobe color
- materials (for example, natural veneer or painted MDF)
- storage needs (ask client how much clothes they have, if they prefer to store it on hangers or folded, if there are any large items to store, like suitcases, for example)
3. Look for some inspiration. Designing custom furniture doesn’t mean that you have to reinvent the wheel – so it is good to look around before you start.
4. Think with your pen – sketching always helps me to explore various ideas and come up with different solutions. I usually make around 4-5 different versions of 1 item.
5. In the meantime constructor from the furniture company prepares the technical drawings:
We show it to the client and discuss if any changes need to be done.
6. Final stage is 3D renderings. Visualizations help to refine the design and also try various textures and colors to pick the one that works best. So here are the wardrobes that I designed for my current project:
7. The last but not the least – don’t forget to sign all the drawings with client before sending the items for manufacturing.
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