Sliding wardrobes: what they are and how to use them intelligently to furnish your home

As well as keeping your wardrobe tidy, sliding wardrobes allow you to make intelligent use of the space in your home. They are a valid alternative to traditional wardrobes with hinged doors and are particularly suitable for homes furnished in a contemporary style.

When to choose sliding wardrobes

In contrast to hinged door wardrobes, sliding door wardrobes do not require any free space in front of the cabinet. This makes wardrobes with sliding doors perfect for small rooms, such as guest rooms or children’s bedrooms, but also makes this solution a good idea for other rooms in the house such as hallways or the entrance area.

In this type of wardrobe the opening is based on a sliding system that makes the doors slide to one side and to the other. There are various possible configurations of the doors: you can choose to have them move across the entire surface of the wardrobe or only up to a certain point; you can also have the doors overlap perfectly without protruding when opened or have them aligned in a staggered way.

If one door protrudes slightly from the others when the wardrobe is opened, this is called an overlapping door. Models in which the open doors overlap perfectly with the closed ones are called wardrobes with coplanar doors.

When choosing a wardrobe for your home, you should bear in mind that a model with sliding doors only allows you to see a portion of the wardrobe, unlike a wardrobe with hinged doors, whose contents can be seen in their entirety.

What to consider when choosing sliding wardrobes

The wardrobe opening system is one of the most important aspects to consider when choosing the perfect model for your home. Not only the overlapping of the doors should be considered, but also the ease with which the panels can be moved.

The opening system should be considered in combination with the material chosen for the wardrobe. Solid wood, although high quality and extremely elegant, is not the ideal choice for a wardrobe of this type. The wooden panels may be heavy to move. Keeping the doors as light and sliding as possible is essential to allow optimal and effortless use of the wardrobe.

In small or poorly-lit rooms, choosing a wardrobe with mirrored sliding doors helps to make the room appear more spacious and multiply the amount of natural light in the room.

The size of sliding wardrobes varies depending on the space available. For a guest room or a “service” cupboard in a corridor of the house, a two- or three-door cupboard may be sufficient. For the master bedroom, a made-to-measure wardrobe can be used to ensure that the entire wardrobe can be stored.

Another aspect to consider is the height of the wardrobe with sliding doors. In addition to standard-sized wardrobes, wardrobes can be made to measure that extend up to the ceiling. In homes with high ceilings it is a good idea to make the most of the space and to make the wardrobe as spacious as possible.

Productive area that would otherwise remain unused. When designing these structures it is also possible to decide to combine the presence of sliding doors for the part of the wardrobe used daily and to insert hinged doors in the upper part, which can be used as storage space.

When choosing a sliding wardrobe model, the style of furniture chosen for the home must naturally be taken into account. Wardrobe models with this type of opening are ideal in an environment furnished in a minimalist or Nordic style. These are furnishing styles that make the simplicity of the lines and fluidity their strong point.

The choice of colours is also influenced by the furnishing style of the house. In small rooms you can choose a white wardrobe or one with neutral tones, such as beige and cream. If, on the other hand, you want a wardrobe with a strong personality in the room, you can also use intense colours such as red or blue.

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