Sliding Wardrobes VS Traditional Wardrobes: Which To Choose?

Fitted bedroom furniture is unbeatable for saving space in any room of the house. This may be of particular importance in the bedroom. It’s a room that ideally stores all of your clothes but remains tidy and accessible, used only for sleep and relaxation.

In order to maintain the sanctity of the space, we need storage solutions, as many of us have a lot of clothes and other bits and bobs to store in the bedroom. Especially if we’re sharing that space.

Your main storage feature, your wardrobe, is where most space can be saved. But do you go for traditional, hinged wardrobes or sliding wardrobes? You can maximise utility with a wall-to-wall or floor-to-ceiling, custom-built wardrobe, but what are the pros and cons of these two main wardrobe models? Let’s take a look.

Traditional Hinged Wardrobes

Traditional wardrobes, with doors that swing out on hinges, come with both pros and cons. They provide a much loved, traditional look and couldn’t be easier to open. They’re also generally more robust than sliding wardrobes, as the traditional hinge function can be more reliable over time.

Traditional wardrobes also allow a total, unobstructed view when open. Sliding wardrobes may not because of the way the doors run back on tracks. The difference is small, and of course, there should be no difficulty whatsoever accessing any wardrobe or viewing its contents, but it may be enough to concern some people.

Another advantage of traditional wardrobes is that you can hang things on the inside of the door if you want to, providing some extra space and visibility of items. But overall it may simply be the traditional charm that makes people select this option.

Sliding Wardrobes

Sliding wardrobes may not provide as complete or full view as traditional wardrobes when open, but they have a lot to offer. First of all, they’re more suitable for those preferring a sleek, contemporary look. A lot of sliding wardrobe doors come with mirrored fronts, which can increase the contemporary look by increasing the light and sense of space. This is particularly welcome in smaller rooms.

That brings us to the main practical advantage of sliding wardrobes - utilising space. Because sliding wardrobes slide open sideways, you don’t have to worry about doors opening out into the room and knocking furniture. For smaller rooms this is invaluable. You can have a sliding wardrobe near the foot of the bed, for example, even if it’s close to it. Ultimately sliding wardrobes keep your floor space clear, even when open. 

Either wardrobe style is an excellent choice, as long as you have room for it. If you need to save as much space as possible with smart storage solutions, you can get the most bang for your buck with fitted wardrobes. JA Horne Starlight offers a great range of fitted furniture options from our two Sheffield showrooms. Pay us a visit or get in contact to discover our fitted wardrobe selection, including both sliding and traditional.