Top Tips for Building Your Own Wardrobes

If you are willing to take the job on, then building your own wardrobes could save you some money in the long term, especially if you are thinking about buying new wardrobes. It might seem like a daunting task but taken one step at a time, some basic DIY skills should see you through the job comfortably.

Let’s just take a step by step look at the basics as you consider the pros and cons of building your own wardrobe.

Planning – What sort of wardrobe are you hoping to end up with? Are you looking for something that just has lots of hanging rails or are you hoping to incorporate drawers and shelves too? It’s a good idea to get a pencil and paper and try to sketch out what you are hoping to achieve. Will you be storing lots of hats and shoes in the wardrobe? If so, it’s worth considering a shelf unit above the hanging rails, where all the relevant bits and pieces can be stored.

Measuring – You won’t really get very far without some accurate measurements and every aspect of your wardrobe, from the various interior components (shelves, rails etc.) , the doors and the overall structure itself needs to be carefully measured out and matched up with the measurements you have made in your bedroom.

Materials – Before you spend a fortune at your local DIY superstore, it might be worth looking around the home for materials, to see if you can recycle. If you are replacing your existing wardrobes, before you throw them into the skip, it’s worth checking to see if you can scavenge any of the materials from the carcass. There might be shelving, rails or other bits of wood you can use to get you started, as well as saving you a pretty penny. If you don’t have enough in the budget for sliding doors but still want to save on opening space, you could feasibly just put some curtains on the front!

Construction Ideas – Wardrobes are often large and heavy and even individual components can be awkward to hold in place at the same time as using tools. So, it’s always a good idea to have another person with you, even if it’s just to hold things or to pass you materials. Ensure all of your tools are in good working order and safe to use. Small knocks and bangs are sometimes inevitable during DIY jobs, but serious injuries are avoidable.

For much more information about building wardrobes as well as a great selection of wardrobe sliding doors, please visit our main website at Slide Wardrobes Direct.

Choosing Wardrobes to Match Your Bedroom

Wardrobe type - Fitted sliding door wardrobes are by far the most popular currently available and it’s easy to see why. They can be tailor made to fit your bedroom and they make the best use of any available space, which also makes them ideal for all of your bedroom storage. If you prefer not to go down the fitted wardrobe route, there are still plenty of free standing units on the market that are stylish and classy.

Perhaps you have already revamped the rest of your bedroom and your wardrobes are the last piece of the jigsaw, allowing you to draw all the elements together. If the plan is to blend them in with existing furniture, your decision making needs to be spot on. Selecting a whole range of bedroom furniture of the same design, should obviously not a problem but if you are looking to incorporate sliding door wardrobes into an existing scheme, your planning will need to be more considered.

Measurements - It doesn't matter what sort of wardrobes you have decided upon, you will still need to get all your measurements just right. Measuring up should be your very first task before you head out wardrobe shopping. In the case of fitted wardrobes, you will be asked by the supplier to provide precise measurements anyway. However, if you fall in love with a free standing unit in a shop and impulse tells you it’s exactly what you have been looking for, you need to ensure that when it’s delivered to your home that it’s not too small or even worse - it’s far too big for your bedroom!

Style - The style of your room will be important. If you crave a modern looking bedroom but are also fond of antique furniture, then you have a crucial decision to make because it’s unlikely the two styles will work together, in fact they are more likely to clash.

Colours – Colour selection is another thing to plan carefully. Choosing darker wardrobe colours is likely to make your room feel smaller and of course darker. Lighter coloured wardrobes can help to create a larger, warmer feel, whilst wardrobes with a mirrored finish will help create an illusion of space as it reflects light around the room. What colour are you walls? If you do have very light coloured walls, then this might be the only occasion when darker wardrobes could work by adding some depth and warmth to the room.

Choosing wardrobes for children - If you are preparing a room for a child, then fitted wardrobes could be the best option. Themed, free standing furniture for children may look very cute initially but the child will quickly grow up and the furniture will date, so some fitted wardrobes along one wall, will not only give the room design longevity but will also be great for hiding all those toys!

For a full range of sliding wardrobes for the bedroom, please feel free to visit us at our main website - Slide Wardrobes Direct.

Top Tips for Installing Sliding Wardrobe Doors

With a good set of instructions to hand, installing your own sliding wardrobe doors doesn't need to be as complicated as you might imagine.

Here are just a few tips and pointers to get you started:

Preparation – As with any DIY job, the better your planning and preparation, the smoother the job is likely to go. Measuring up will be a vital part of this, because millimetres really will make a difference, especially if it’s too wide or too narrow! Your measurements at home will need to be accurately relayed to whoever you are purchasing your sliding door kit from.

Before your kit arrives, you could prepare the site in advance by (if required) cutting sections out of the skirting and cornices which will allow the frame to fit. Some gentle skills with a Stanley knife and a small chisel and hammer will be needed as you tackle these areas.

It’s also a good idea to clear the decks and to allow plenty of room in which to work and manoeuvre.

Assistance – Ideally, installing your new sliding wardrobe doors is a job for two pairs of hands, so make sure you have enlisted the help of a co-worker before you attempt to hang any of the doors.

Instructions – No matter how tempting it might be to disregard the instructions and forge your own independent path to successful wardrobe installation, don’t! More time spent with instructions in hand now (provided they are coherent) is less time spent pulling hair later on.

Tools of the trade – We have already hinted at some of the tools that will come in handy for the job and it is well worth knowing how many tools and which kind you will need before beginning the assembly process. You don’t want to be half way through and realise you can’t continue because you haven’t got the appropriate tool to hand.

Contents Check – Before you begin, it’s worth knowing that all of the pieces that are supposed to be in the pack are in the pack! A missing screw can put the job on hold as quickly as an absent screwdriver. By checking the contents, you will also begin to build up a picture of what needs to go where.

Hanging doors – Once the frame is in place you are ready to hang the door/s. Tilt the door towards the wardrobe and slot it into the top track. Swing the bottom of the door into place and gently lower this into the bottom track. Rinse and repeat with other doors.

Adjustments – If something isn't quite right when the doors are in situ, you can make small adjustments to the height of the doors by moving the screws that are found on the top side of the bottom wheels.

Admiration – Clear up, sit back and admire your handiwork!

For more installation tips and to see a full range of made to measure wardrobes, please visit our main website at Slide Wardrobes Direct.