Fitted wardrobes, bedside units and storage headboards get quoted with a headline price and a photo of a similar-looking finished room, but the parts that decide how well it works day to day — door running gear, internal organiser layout, and how the unit meets a sloped ceiling or chimney breast — are exactly what a thin quote skips.
A proper specification should describe the room's specific problems (the sloped ceiling, the chimney breast, the low window) and how the furniture design solves each one, not just list generic bullet points.
Sliding versus hinged door gear
Sliding door systems need a named track brand and weight rating, plus confirmation of soft-close and anti-derail features — a lightweight track under heavy mirrored doors will sag and derail within a year or two. Hinged doors should specify hinge count per door (usually three or four for full-height doors) and hinge brand.
Floor clearance for sliding doors and door overlap at the join should also be stated, since poorly set sliding gear is one of the most common bedroom furniture complaints — doors that catch the carpet or don't fully close.
Internal organiser layout
A wardrobe interior should be specified as a layout, not just 'shelving and hanging' — how many double-hang and full-hang rails, how many drawer boxes, whether there's a dedicated shoe rack or pull-out trouser rail. This is where fitted furniture earns its price over flat-pack, so it should be drawn and priced, not assumed.
Drawer runner brand and soft-close should be named for the same reason as kitchen drawers — cheap runners in a bedroom chest fail under the weight of folded clothes faster than most people expect.
Handling sloped ceilings, chimney breasts and awkward alcoves
Bedrooms in Kent cottages and converted lofts routinely have a sloped ceiling section, a chimney breast interrupting a run of units, or a low window that eats into wardrobe height. The specification should state how each of these is handled — a stepped carcass, an angled top panel, or a reduced-depth unit around the chimney breast — rather than leaving it as a site decision.
Where a sloped ceiling reduces usable hanging height at the back of a wardrobe, ask whether the design puts shelving or drawers in the low section and hanging rail only where full height is available, since a rail fitted under a slope with insufficient clearance is a common design failure.
Finish and lighting
Interior finish — melamine-faced board versus painted MDF inside the wardrobe — affects both look and durability where clothes and shoes will rub against the surface daily. LED internal lighting, if included, should specify whether it's battery, hardwired, or PIR sensor-activated, and where the transformer sits.
What gets left off cheap quotes
Skirting and coving removal at the back wall, and making good the wall behind once old furniture is stripped out, are frequently missing. So is confirmation of who supplies the mirror if mirrored doors are wanted — sometimes priced as an allowance rather than a named glass thickness and safety-backing spec, which matters for a bedroom.
Common questions
Should the quote name the sliding door track brand?+
Yes. Sliding wardrobe doors carry real weight, especially mirrored ones, and a lightweight or unnamed track is far more likely to sag or derail within a couple of years than a named, rated system.
How should a sloped ceiling be handled in a fitted wardrobe?+
The design should put full-height hanging where the ceiling allows it and use the low, sloped section for shelving or drawers instead of hanging rail. Ask your joiner to show this in the drawing before agreeing the quote, not just describe it verbally.
Does mirrored glass need a safety spec in the quote?+
Yes — mirrored wardrobe doors should specify safety-backed or laminated glass and a stated thickness, since a plain unbacked mirror is a shattering risk in a bedroom used daily by children or adults getting dressed.
Get your bedroom furniture properly specified
We survey the sloped ceilings and awkward corners first, then draw and quote a layout built for your room.