How much do fitted wardrobes cost in 2023?
Fitted wardrobes can be a beautiful addition to any bedroom, offering bespoke, useful storage space and quality design that can match any décor. They can add value to your home, make your bedroom a more tranquil and serene place to be, and even incorporate handy features like lighting, shoe racks or even lockable drawers.
If you’re having a loft conversion and have apex ceilings or you have an alcove in your bedroom, built-in wardrobes are a fantastic way to maximise all that space.
But how much do they cost? An average 3-door fitted wardrobe can set you back anywhere between £2,500-£3,000 – but the cost will depend on the choices you make, the size of the room, and any other features you want.
Read on to find out more about how much you could pay to get fitted wardrobes, as well as what decisions you can make that will affect the price.
Average cost of fitted wardrobes
The average fitted wardrobe costs between £2,500-£3,000, but the final cost will vary depending on the size and style of wardrobe you want, extra features and where you live:
|
Item / job |
Average cost |
|
3-door standard fitted wardrobe (3 metres wide) |
£2,500-£3,000 |
|
3-door fitted sliding wardrobe (3 metres wide) |
£2,800-£3,800 |
|
2-door standard fitted wardrobe (2 metres wide) |
£1,200-£1,500 |
|
4-door standard fitted wardrobe (4 metres wide) |
£3,500-£4,000 |
|
Custom-built fitted wardrobe with 2 sections |
£2,800-£3,600 |
|
Carpenter hourly rate |
£16-£40 |
These costs are taken from averages across the UK, so prices will differ depending on where you live. Carpenter rates are usually lower in areas outside of London and major cities. If you live in the south east, expect to pay more for your fitted wardrobe installation.
HaMuch has a large database of rates for carpenters across the country, and we’ve compiled them to give you an idea of how much your fitted wardrobes will cost. Take a look at the table further down the page to get an idea of how much they will cost in your home town or city.
Fitted wardrobes in alcoves cost
Fitted wardrobes in alcoves won't cost any more or less than a built-in wardrobe installed across a wall of the same size.
Since fitted wardrobes are generally custom-made or made from modules, your carpenter or fitted wardrobe company will simply measure up the space in the same way as they would for any installation and give you a quote.
What factors affect the cost of a fitted wardrobe?
The price of your fitted wardrobe project will depend on a whole host of factors. We’ll cover some of them in here – but the key thing to remember with a fitted wardrobe project is that, as they’re bespoke designed to your exact specification, the more features you add, the more expensive your fitted wardrobe will be.
Size of the wardrobe
The key factor that will affect the price of a fitted wardrobe is the size. Generally speaking, a fitted wardrobe will cost around £600-£800 per linear metre – the larger your wardrobe, the more it’ll cost. However, particularly large wardrobes will work out cheaper than this per linear metre.
Sliding or fixed doors
Your fitted wardrobe can have either hinged doors or sliding ones. Hinged doors are generally slightly cheaper, with sliding doors adding around £100-£200 to the total price of your fitted wardrobe. Generally speaking, the more doors you have on your fitted wardrobe the more you’ll pay.
Quality of materials
Not every fitted wardrobe is made equal. The quality of the materials that go into its construction will affect the longevity, sturdiness and price of the fitted wardrobe you choose.
For budget wardrobes, the carcass of the wardrobe will be made from melamine covered MDF or plywood and will generally be assembled from ready-made modules that fit together to assemble your wardrobe. These will be at the very cheapest end of the price range, starting at around £800-£1000.
Mid-price wardrobes will be made from veneered MDF or plywood, and may incorporate other elements like interior lighting, mirrors, shoe racks or extra shelving features. An average size mid-price fitted wardrobe will cost around £2000-£2500.
Premium fitted wardrobes are usually made from solid wood and can be custom designed to your exact specifications. These can incorporate a wide range of features to meet your exact needs. They will be significantly more expensive, however, expect to spend at least £3000-£6000 or even more, depending on the design of the wardrobe.
Bespoke design service
While fitted wardrobes are specifically designed to fit the space in the bedroom, the level of design service you need will affect the price. Some fitted wardrobes can be constructed from modular “blocks”, where the wardrobe company will measure the space, and then fill it with a set of standard pieces that can fit in.
However, for premium fitted wardrobes, you might prefer to choose a fully bespoke design service. This will mean sitting down with a designer who will work with you to make the most of your space, incorporating the exact design elements you want to make the fitted wardrobe suit your needs perfectly. This does come with an extra cost, so you should expect to add around 20-30% to your fitted wardrobe costs if you opt for this kind of bespoke service.
Extra features for a fitted wardrobe
There are also a number of extra features you could add to your fitted wardrobe. We’ve included some of these below, but you can really let your imagination run wild to get your perfect wardrobe!
Integrated lighting
Wardrobes can be dark, especially if you’re including a lot of shelving – so why not shed some light on the issue with integrated lighting? This is usually LED spotlighting, but can also incorporate door or mirror lighting. The best LED lighting is connected to either motion sensors or sensors in the door hinges, so it will come on when you open the door.
Expect to pay around £200-£500 to add this to your fitted wardrobe.
Shelving options
When it comes to shelving, there’s really no limit to how you can specify this in a fitted wardrobe – you can choose the type, height and size of the shelves you want to perfectly suit your needs. It’s worth taking some time to think about what you want to store in your fitted wardrobe and how you want it all to fit in.
The price you pay for your fitted wardrobe will increase depending on the number of shelves you choose to include – but only by a small amount.
Hanging space
Similarly, you can choose as much or as little hanging space in your fitted wardrobe. This will also increase the price slightly, but as you’re likely removing other features to have more hanging space, it’ll end up averaging out across the overall cost.
Vanities and mirrors
Another common extra feature is vanity units or mirrors. For example, you could have a pull-out vanity with an integrated mirror, or add hidden mirrors behind wardrobe doors.
A vanity unit will likely add around £200-£400 to the cost of your fitted wardrobe, with a mirror adding between £20-£50, depending on the size.
Shoe rack
There’s no end to the number of creative shoe racks that are available in bespoke fitted wardrobes – from simple drawers or cubbies to pull-out rotating shelving. If you want to add a shoe rack like this to your fitted wardrobe, expect to pay around £100-£500, depending on the type.
Integrated power
Having power sockets integrated in your fitted wardrobe is a useful feature – you could have a television nearby (or even as part of your fitted wardrobe!), or use it to power hair dryers or other beauty accessories. Whether this is possible or not will depend on the power sockets available in your room, but if it is possible, it’ll likely cost you around £250 to get the new sockets sorted.
Safes or secure drawers
You could even add a safe or lockable drawers to your built-in wardrobes. Safes in particular are quite expensive, so you’ll pay around £500-£1000+ for these, depending on the type of safe you want. A lockable drawer is easier and therefore less expensive to have installed, and may even come as standard with some fitted wardrobes.
Additional costs to consider with your fitted wardrobes
On top of the factors we've already discussed that could affect the price of your fitted wardrobe, there are also some additional costs in terms of the installation of the fitted wardrobe that are likely to increase the price you pay.
Carpets or flooring
If the tradespeople installing your fitted wardrobe need to either remove or relay carpet or flooring, this will add to the cost. Expect to pay around £200 extra to remove carpet around the fitted wardrobe, and more like £600-£1000 if you need the carpet in the room to be totally relayed.
Wallpaper
Similarly, if you need to have the wallpaper removed behind the area where the fitted wardrobe will be installed, this will add around £100-£200 to the price. To totally change the wallpaper in the room around the new fitted wardrobe will add around £200-£400 to the overall cost.
Redecorating
There is a wide range of redecorating work that may also need to be done as part of getting a new fitted wardrobe installed. This may include things like:
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Painting your bedroom
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Moving plug sockets
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Moving furniture
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Rehanging paintings or mirrors
Each of these jobs will add to the overall price you pay. Check out the other cost guides on HaMuch for more information on each of these projects.
Bespoke fitted wardrobes vs wardrobes from a fitted wardrobe company
There are lots of fitted wardrobe companies out there that can provide a full service for your built-in wardrobes, from design to installation. The most popular fitted furniture companies are Hammonds and Sharps. But should you go with one of these companies?
If you have a standard-size loft space or bedroom, choosing modular fitted wardrobes from a fitted furniture company should be fine. However, if you have a small or very large space, or it’s an irregular shape, it may be worth having bespoke fitted wardrobes built by a carpenter or joiner.
A carpenter or joiner will be able to make your wardrobes to your exact specification, whereas a fitted furniture company may only have access to their standard-size modules, meaning you can’t maximise your alcove or loft space.
Installation costs of a fitted wardrobe
Of course, you may have purchased a fitted wardrobe from a company without installation. If this is the case, you’ll likely be considering whether to install it yourself or to get a reputable carpenter in to install it for you. The decision will be up to you and your comfort levels with this type of work – we’ll cover how much you could pay for installation, so you can make an informed decision.
Fitted wardrobe installation only prices
So, how much is it likely to cost you to get a prebought fitted wardrobe installed? The cost will generally depend on the size and complexity of the wardrobe, with some examples below:
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Small fitted wardrobe (2-door, 2 linear metres): £100-£400
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Medium fitted wardrobe (3-door, 3 linear metres): £300-£600
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Large fitted wardrobe (4-door, 4 linear metres): £500-£1000
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Large bespoke fitted wardrobe with lots of extra features: £800-£1200
Can you install a fitted wardrobe yourself?
It’s certainly possible to install a fitted wardrobe as a DIY project. How possible it is will depend on your skills and the type of wardrobe – some lower end fitted wardrobes are designed to be modular and easy to install, so these would make good DIY projects. However, high end, bespoke designed, solid wood fitted wardrobes will be a lot trickier to install, and should generally only be installed by professional carpenters.