Short answer: a built-in uses the whole wall, floor to ceiling, holds far more and is a feature of the house. A freestanding wardrobe is furniture: it moves with you, needs no installation and suits renters and rooms where you cannot fix to the walls. In a home you own, a built-in wins on space and value. In a rental, or for a short stay, freestanding is the practical choice.
Space
A freestanding wardrobe is a standard size, typically 1,000 to 1,800mm wide and about 2,000mm tall, with a gap above it to the ceiling and gaps either side. A built-in is made to the opening: 2,400mm wide and 2,400mm tall in a typical recess, with nothing wasted.
In a 2,400mm recess with a 2,400mm ceiling:
| Freestanding (1,600 × 2,000) | Built-in (2,400 × 2,400) | |
|---|---|---|
| Face area | 3.2 m² | 5.8 m² |
| Space used | About 55% of the recess | 100% |
| Top shelf to the ceiling | No | Yes |
That is nearly double the storage from the same wall.
Look
A freestanding wardrobe is a piece of furniture in the room. A built-in is part of the room: doors flush with the wall, no gaps, a continuous line from floor to ceiling. Mirror sliding doors make a small bedroom look bigger in a way a freestanding wardrobe cannot.
Cost
A freestanding wardrobe from a furniture store is cheaper to buy. A custom built-in costs more up front, because it is made to measure, installed by a tradesperson and includes internals. Per cubic metre of usable storage, the built-in is usually the better buy; per dollar out the door this week, the freestanding is.
Value
Sydney property listings count built-in robes as a feature of each bedroom. A built-in stays with the house and is part of what the next owner or tenant gets. A freestanding wardrobe is furniture you take with you, or sell.
Flexibility
The freestanding wardrobe’s strength. It can move to another room, another house, or be sold. A built-in is fixed, and that is the point of it.
Internals
A freestanding wardrobe comes with whatever the manufacturer fitted: usually a rail and a shelf, sometimes drawers. A built-in is designed around what you own: double hanging, long hanging, adjustable shelving, a drawer bank, shoe shelving, in whatever mix suits you.
When freestanding is the right answer
- You rent and the owner will not agree to a built-in.
- You are in the home for a short time.
- The room has no recess or suitable wall, and you want something you can move.
- You want a particular piece of furniture, an antique armoire for instance, for its own sake.
When built-in is the right answer
- You own the home.
- The bedroom has a recess or a clear wall.
- Storage is the problem. A built-in to the ceiling holds far more.
- The room is small and a mirror sliding door would help.
- You want the room to look finished.
Replacing a freestanding with a built-in
A common job. The freestanding wardrobe goes (sold, given away or taken away with the old robe), the designer measures the recess or wall, and a floor-to-ceiling robe is made to it. Where the freestanding wardrobe hid a patch of unpainted wall, the built-in covers the same footprint and more.
At the consult
If you are weighing the two, the designer will measure the space and tell you what a built-in would hold there. Every Reflections wardrobe is made to the opening in our Blacktown factory and fitted by the licensed installer who designed it.
