The choice between hinged and sliding doors is the first decision on any fitted wardrobe, and it is usually settled by one measurement. Stand where the wardrobe will go and measure to the nearest obstacle: the bed, a radiator, the door swing. If you have 600mm or more of clear floor in front of the wardrobe, hinged doors will open fully and you can choose either. If you have less, sliding doors are the answer. Everything else in this guide is detail.
Hinged or sliding, in one table
- Clearance in front: hinged needs about 600mm; sliding needs none.
- Access: hinged opens the whole interior at once; sliding shows about half at a time.
- Door styles: hinged takes all fifteen of our styles, including shaker, panelled and handleless; sliding is panel-based: mirror, glass, woodgrain and painted panels.
- Internal depth: sliding loses about 100mm to the track and frame.
- Mirror: hinged mixes mirror and painted doors; sliding gives a continuous mirror across the whole run.
- Price: similar for the same width. Both follow our price guide from £900 per metre; mirror or glass sliding doors from £1,020 per metre.
Hinged doors: full access and every style
A hinged door swings open on soft-close hinges and shows you the whole interior at once. That matters more than it sounds: with hinged doors you can see and reach every shelf, rail and drawer together, which is why they suit main bedrooms where the wardrobe is used every day by two people. Hinged doors also take every door style we make. Shaker frames, raised panels, arched and fluted doors, in-frame looks and handleless J-pulls all need a hinged door, because the profile is machined into a single board that swings rather than slides.
The cost is floor space. Each door needs its own width plus a little in front to open. In a room where the bed sits close to the wardrobe wall, that can mean doors that cannot open fully, or a bed pushed against the opposite wall. Our hinged wardrobes page shows the door families in detail.
Sliding doors: no swing space and a wall of mirror
Sliding doors run on a track and never project into the room, so a wardrobe can sit 300mm from the end of a bed and still open. In small London bedrooms, box rooms, loft rooms and flats, that is often the difference between a fitted wardrobe and no wardrobe. Sliding doors are also the natural home for a full-height mirror: one continuous reflective run that doubles the apparent size of the room and lights it.
Sliding doors are panel-based. Each door is an aluminium frame holding panels of mirror, tinted glass, woodgrain or painted board, and the frame can be divided into bands, so you can mix mirror above woodgrain, or set a mirror strip at eye height. Our sliding wardrobes collection includes twelve layout guides that show the options. The compromises are that only half the wardrobe is open at any moment, and the track takes about 100mm of internal depth.
Which suits which room
- Main bedroom with floor space: hinged, in shaker or a painted finish, because you will want full access and the door detail.
- Small bedroom or a bed close to the wardrobe wall: sliding, with at least one mirror panel.
- Loft room: either, but hinged doors handle a sloping ceiling more neatly because each door can be cut to its own height.
- Period home: hinged shaker or in-frame doors, scribed to the cornice and skirting.
- Flat or new build with stud walls: sliding, floor to ceiling, in a matt or mirror panel that reads as part of the wall.
What they cost
For the same width the two are priced similarly. Hinged and sliding wardrobes both follow our price guide from £900 per metre at Level 3; mirror or glass sliding doors sit at Level 4, £1,020 per metre, so a three-door sliding wardrobe about three metres wide comes to £2,700 to £3,060. All prices include VAT and installation. The interior and the finish move the figure more than the door type, so decide the door on the room and spend the difference inside. See our price guide for the twelve levels.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, hinged or sliding wardrobe doors?
For the same width they are priced similarly. Both start from £900 per metre including VAT and fitting; mirror or glass sliding doors are £1,020 per metre. The finish and the interior matter more to the price than the door type.
How much room do hinged wardrobe doors need to open?
About 600mm of clear floor in front of the wardrobe. With less than that, choose sliding doors, which never project into the room.
Do sliding wardrobe doors go wrong?
Not when the running gear is right. Our sliding doors run on bottom-mounted steel rollers with a 10-year guarantee on the mechanism. Keeping the track clean is the only maintenance.
Can I have shaker doors on a sliding wardrobe?
Sliding doors are panel-based, so a true frame-and-panel shaker is a hinged door. Sliding doors can carry painted, woodgrain, glass and mirror panels divided into bands for a similar rhythm.
Can I mix hinged and sliding in one room?
Yes. A common plan is sliding doors on the wardrobe wall nearest the bed and hinged doors on a dressing unit or alcove where there is room to open them.
Explore Metro
Ready to see what your room could hold?
Book a free home design visit. A Metro designer measures the room, brings full-size door and finish samples, and returns a 3D design with an itemised, fixed price within two to three days. No deposit is taken at the visit and there is no obligation. Or see every door style at our Wembley showroom, next to the workshop that makes them.
