More and more of us are shopping online. In fact, the UK has the most developed ecommerce market in Europe, with 86 per cent of adults shopping online for at least one category of product, if not more.
We are becoming increasingly comfortable with making big purchases online, including for furniture like wardrobes.
However, there is naturally a concern that if you buy a piece of furniture online, it might not fit in your room exactly as you’d intended. Or that it won’t match the rest of your decor as you’d hoped.
But fear not as there are some simple steps you can take to ensure that not only does your new piece of furniture look fantastic, but that it fits perfectly in your home.
The following tips are particularly applicable if you are buying fitted wardrobes online. So, let’s dive in.
1. Get the measurements right
This might sound simple, and in principle it is, but it is also one of the main pitfalls when purchasing furniture online.
It is worth taking your time to measure your bedroom so that you are confident in the dimensions you provide when buying made-to-measure wardrobes. We recommend getting a friend to help you so that you can ensure your measuring tape is level and have a second pair of hands.
Use our measuring guide to ensure you get accurate dimensions, whether you are planning to install wardrobes in the corner of your room, in alcoves or along a single wall.
It’s also important to measure the height of your wardrobes correctly. While the average UK home has a ceiling height of 2.3m to 2.4m, this can vary in period properties. So, don’t assume that the standard height you’re shown is the right one for your room.
2. Consider how your wardrobe will enter your home
This is perhaps the biggest mistake people make when buying furniture of any kind online – how it will be brought into their property and carried to the relevant room.
Buying a large item like a wardrobe can only exacerbate this problem, especially if you’ve opted for a tall wardrobe due to high ceilings, for instance. Even though the piece of furniture might fit perfectly in the room itself, it may not make it through the door!
This is where our DIY fitted wardrobes come into their own. All of our wardrobes are shipped as flatpacks. This means you can easily carry the components into your home and into your bedroom.
You can then assemble your wardrobe in-situ, removing all of the challenges associated with maneuvering a large wardrobe through doors, up stairs and down narrow corridors.
If you are ordering tall fitted wardrobes, it is still worth considering how you will get the tallest pieces of the wardrobe into your bedroom. However, this is likely to be a much easier challenge to solve than if your wardrobe arrived pre-assembled.
3. Order samples before you buy
How often have you seen a product of any kind online, thought it looked great and ordered it only to find the colour was different to what you expected, or that the finish wasn’t quite as polished as you’d hoped?
Most of us have had this experience, often with the likes of clothing, which is why this category of product is the most returned in the UK.
When you are purchasing a new wardrobe, this is not a situation you want to find yourself in. That’s why it’s important to look for an online wardrobe designer and supplier who will let you order samples before you make a purchase.
We can ship you samples of the various finishes and colours we offer for our wardrobes, ensuring that you are able to make an informed decision about what will work best in your home.
4. Design your wardrobe to suit your needs
One of the joys of having a made-to-measure wardrobe is that you can design the interior layout to meet your needs based on the kind of clothes, shoes and accessories you own.
So, before you finalise your made-to-measure wardrobe design, carry out an audit of your current wardrobe to work out exactly what kind of storage you need.
Do you want more full-length hanging space for long dresses? Or do you need drawer space for T-shirts and tops, as well as shorter hanging space for trousers, shirts or skirts? Would a jewellery drawer be useful for you?
You don’t have to opt for what a furniture designer thinks you need when you’re using an online wardrobe design tool. Instead you can create a wardrobe that fits your bedroom and life perfectly in every way.
5. Consider the other pieces of furniture when designing your wardrobe
Even if you get every other aspect of ordering your made to measure wardrobe right, there is one final pitfall that you likely won’t see until you’ve built the wardrobe: how it compares to the rest of your furniture.
One of the easiest ways to make a room’s design feel “off” is by having furniture that is of different scales. In a bedroom, it can be easy for a wardrobe to overwhelm the space, for example.
When you are designing your wardrobe online, consider how much space you will have in your room to move about and how the size of your wardrobe compares to other items like your bed.
By thinking about this before you place your order, you can ensure your room feels well balanced once you’ve built your made-to-measure wardrobe.
Bonus tip: play with your design
One of the elements of our service that we’re most proud of is our 3D wardrobe designer. You can input your room’s dimensions and “build” your wardrobe in different locations if you want to.
This will allow you to see how your wardrobe could work in different parts of your room and give you a better idea of the most appropriate location for this piece of furniture. You can also switch up the interior design, giving you an idea of how much space is dedicated to different types of storage.
Using our design tool is free, so you can try as many configurations for your wardrobe as you want before hitting “buy”.
