Wardrobe Guide: Hinged vs Sliding Doors
Explore the pros and cons of these two types of wardrobe styles
Pooja Khanna Tyagi
18 September 2017
Houzz India Contributor. An Architect , Interior Designer, Valuer, a Marathon Runner, and love Writing Poetry and Creative Stories on Building Design. Have been practicing since the year 2000 with specialization in the field of Corporate Interiors with projects extensively published in journals of national repute. Recently honoured with the reputed A3 Foundation award for Journalism for the year 2016. Currently practicing and residing in Delhi.
Website: www.khannaenterprise.com, Email: poojakhanna224@gmail.com, M:9891993392
Houzz India Contributor. An Architect , Interior Designer, Valuer, a Marathon Runner,... More
You need to choose between a hinged door or a sliding door when you are purchasing or fabricating a new wardrobe. A hinged door is fixed on to the wardrobe with simple hinges while sliding shutters are panels that slide on tracks. It is essential to check for ease of use, how much maintenance is required and what will suit the kind of space demarcated for the wardrobe before you make a choice. Here is a guide to the pros and cons that can help you decide.
Hinged doors
The commonly used conventional hinged wardrobe doors have a maximum width of 24 inches so as to prevent excess load on the hinges when the door-panel is open.
The commonly used conventional hinged wardrobe doors have a maximum width of 24 inches so as to prevent excess load on the hinges when the door-panel is open.
- Pro: Full visibility
- Pro: More variety
Another plus is that hinged doors can be customised into folding doors for L-shaped units or be of any shape, like in this image, where they are cut at an angle along the top. Sliding-door wardrobes can only be rectangular.
- Pro: Easy to maintain
- Con: Take up space
Sliding doors
Sliding doors require a floor track as well as a top track with rollers for the doors to slide on. The standard depth of a sliding-door wardrobe is 26 inches, including a running track of about 2 inches, which is usually fixed into the floor or a wooden base. Note the minimum width of a sliding-door wardrobe should be at least 7 feet. This is allows for two 3.5-foot doors and an opening that is 3.5 feet wide at most. Any less, and it will be too narrow, making it difficult to get at the contents of the wardrobe.
See more sliding wardrobe designs
Sliding doors require a floor track as well as a top track with rollers for the doors to slide on. The standard depth of a sliding-door wardrobe is 26 inches, including a running track of about 2 inches, which is usually fixed into the floor or a wooden base. Note the minimum width of a sliding-door wardrobe should be at least 7 feet. This is allows for two 3.5-foot doors and an opening that is 3.5 feet wide at most. Any less, and it will be too narrow, making it difficult to get at the contents of the wardrobe.
See more sliding wardrobe designs
- Pro: Give a sleek, modern look
- Pro: Space-saving
- Con: Limited visibility
- Con: Need gentle handling
For long-term durability, it is important to ensure good workmanship and opt for only good-quality hardware that is rust-proof and ensures swift movement of the sliding shutters. Do make it a point to clean the tracks and lubricate the rollers regularly; also get a carpenter to periodically readjust the sliding panels for a stable fit.
Tip: Avoid overstuffing the wardrobe, as this may cause fabric to get stuck between the sliding panels and block movement of the sliders.
Read more:
Experts Tips on How to Organise a Wardrobe Perfectly
10 Clever Alternatives to Wardrobes and Cupboards
Tell us:
What would be your choice – hinged- or sliding-door wardrobes? Tell us in the Comments section below.
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sliding door also has lock issue, there is a limited availability on this.will you give us more clarity on this.
@srivani-agreed there is limited availability/options for sliding wardrobe locks-they are known as hookbolt locks. Go for branded locks and rollers/sliders (hardware)for sliding doors for long term durabiity,
Though sliding seems modern due to overall finish but if we observe when fully closed there will be step like projection over each door, and I have a question it is prone to allow small insects inside., dust cleaning on the track and maintenance consumes time. For long term use and low maintenance conventional hinged wardrobe is ideal..