How to Design the Inside of Your Wardrobe: A Customer’s Guide
- Just Wood Furniture
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
When planning a bespoke fitted wardrobe, many people spend time thinking about the exterior - the finish, the handles, the door style, but feel less confident about how to design the interior. Yet, the inside of your wardrobe is where the real value lies. Get it right, and your storage will feel effortless and tailored to your lifestyle. Get it wrong, and you may find yourself wishing you’d thought a little more carefully about space planning.
Here are some practical tips to help you design a wardrobe interior that really works for you.
Start With Your Own Clothes
The best place to begin is with your current wardrobe, not the fitted one, but your actual collection of clothes. Empty it out, and sort garments into categories: blouses, shirts, trousers, dresses, coats, jackets, knitwear and so on.
Now line everything up in height order, from the shortest items to the longest. You’ll start to notice a natural slope from short to long garments. This is the single best way to see what percentage of your clothes fall into each height bracket. Note that blouses are often shorter than shirts and shirts with cuffs tend to hang longer.
By seeing your clothes this way, you’ll know exactly how much space to allocate for double hanging rails, long hanging sections and folded shelves.
Consider Hanging Heights
Consider the hanging height you'll need
Short hanging: Ideal for blouses, shirts, and folded trousers on hangers. This is where you can often use a double hanging section - two rails stacked one above the other to double your storage.
Medium hanging: For items like jackets, skirts and shorter dresses.
Long hanging: Reserved for maxi dresses, gowns, long coats or winter outerwear.
By matching sections to your actual clothing, you avoid wasted space and ensure every inch is working hard.
Shoes and Boots: Don’t Overlook the Details
Take a look at your shoes, boots, heels, trainers and count how many you have of each. Think about how you use them and how often to determine the layout of the various types of shoes. You can have dedicated storage for every type of footwear:
Flat shelves or pull-out racks for everyday shoes.
Angled display shelves for heels or special pieces.
Tall cubbies or vertical sections for knee-high boots.
The beauty of bespoke is that each section can be designed to match the size and type of footwear you actually own. If you have a large trainer collection, for example, we can allow for more shallow rows. For boots, we’ll leave the extra vertical clearance so nothing gets squashed.
By including shoe and boot storage in the planning stage, you’ll keep everything organised, easy to find and avoid the dreaded pile at the bottom of the wardrobe!
Shelves and Drawers
Shelves are great for t-shirts, jumpers and accessories. Take a look at what you have and how much space you’re likely to need for them. Shelves and drawers aren’t one-size-fits-all. Some customers like adjustable shelving so they can reconfigure as their needs change. Others prefer fixed shelves, especially when they’re built to a very specific purpose.
For example:
T-shirt storage: Deep shelves can cause clothes to get lost at the back. Instead, consider shallower shelves or use storage baskets. Pulling out a basket to find a T-shirt is far easier than rummaging in the dark.
Knitwear: Sweaters and jumpers stack neatly on medium-depth shelves.
Accessories: Drawers with dividers are perfect for belts, ties, jewellery and watches. See our wardrobe interiors section for inspiration.
Add Lighting
Wardrobe interiors can easily become dark, especially in rooms with limited natural light. Adding LED lighting inside your wardrobe is a game-changer.
Lighting along the sides helps illuminate the full length of your garments.
Lights under shelves brighten up the back of the wardrobe.
Motion-sensor LEDs mean the lights switch on automatically when you open the doors - practical and luxurious at the same time.
Don’t Forget Mirrors
A fitted wardrobe can also help with your daily routine by incorporating mirrors inside the doors. Adding mirrors to the far-left and far-right doors means that when both are opened, you can see both the front and back of your outfit, perfect for checking your look before heading out. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference in everyday use.
Balance Flexibility with Function
Decide if you want the ability to adjust shelves and rails over time, or would if prefer a well thought-through permanent design? Adjustable layouts give flexibility, but a well-designed bespoke layout is often more solid and long lasting. Think about how much your wardrobe contents are likely to change in the coming years.
Expert Guidance with 3D Design
You don’t need to make these decisions alone. Our designer, Tom, will guide you through every choice, from hanging heights to shelving layouts, shoe storage, lighting and finishes. Using 3D design software, he’ll create a digital 3D model of your wardrobe so you can see exactly how it will look and function before it’s built. This gives you the chance to fine-tune details and feel confident about the design. We encourage design iterations without rushing to ensure you have the time and space to make the right design decisions.
Final Thoughts
Designing the inside of your wardrobe doesn’t need to be daunting. Start with your actual clothes, think about garment heights, footwear, and storage habits, then layer in the details like drawers, shelves, lighting and mirrors. With our help your bespoke fitted wardrobe will work as beautifully on the inside as it looks on the outside, giving you a space that feels organised, effortless and completely personal. Take a look at our gallery of wardrobe interiors to help get started with some ideas.
✨ Ready to design your own fitted wardrobe? Take a look at your clothes and shoes today, make notes about your needs, and start imagining how a truly bespoke interior could transform your daily routine. Get in touch to book a design visit to get started.