How to Install a Closet in a Niche: Pro Tips

Integrated wardrobes are very popular, but implementing such solutions in practice is often technically difficult. Decorator Oksana Panteleeva shared her experience in her blog “On the Wave of Decoration” on how to approach this issue correctly.

Oksana Panteleeva
DECORATOR
Stylist, graduate of the “Details” school. She daily reworks and repaints something in her apartment and shares her experiences in her blog “On the Wave of Decoration”.
Why install a wardrobe?

It's convenient, modern and beautiful. I love when wardrobes are not only built-in but also visually blend with the walls – especially if it's a small space.

Where does a niche come from in an apartment?

It's simple: either it was already there with the architecture of the apartment or house, or we build it specifically.

Design: Natalia Komova.
What should you decide in advance?

Answer these questions to yourself: Do I want a built-in wardrobe? If so, where can I find a niche? Should I build it specifically or will the existing one do?

How to find the perfect wardrobe?Determine where the wardrobe will be and what functions it will serve.

If a niche already exists – we work with the dimensions that are given. Based on these, we make a decision about what can be done there.

If no niche exists yet – it’s important to define its size clearly so that a plan can be drawn up and instructions provided to builders.

Everything depends on the purpose of the wardrobe: one thing is a wardrobe for clothes, and quite another is a wardrobe for chemicals in a bathroom.

Design: Oksana Panteleeva.
What depth should the niche be?

The depth of the niche is determined for a specific wardrobe – plus a small tolerance for installation (about 5 cm). Usually, the depth of a clothing wardrobe is 58–60 cm (this ergonomic setup comes from the standard width of shoulder blades and ease of use). The wardrobe doors should be flush with the wall: their thickness must also be taken into account.

If the niche is less than 60 cm deep, it can accommodate shelves for shoes or household chemicals, a narrow wardrobe with a sliding shoulder blade system “on itself”.

How to determine the width of the niche?

It depends on the size of the room, the contents of the wardrobe, the doors and whether you are installing a ready-made wardrobe or making it on order.

If the wardrobe is made on order – the width of the niche can be any. In case of a ready-made wardrobe, the dimensions of the niche depend on its parameters.

Design: Oksana Panteleeva.
And the height?

It is influenced by the same factors: do you plan to install a ready-made wardrobe in the niche, make it on order or just install shelves.

Also consider functionality and beauty of the wall. A wardrobe up to the ceiling looks great, but it's important to calculate correctly whether there should be a gap between the doors and the ceiling, and if so, what size it should be.

How to prepare a niche?

Always pay attention to the partitions where you plan to mount furniture doors in the future. The wall material should be “friendly” for mounting. Usually, in a niche made of gypsum board I install a reinforcing wooden beam that is easy to attach any hinge to.

Recommendations from Oksana Panteleeva.
What other details should you consider?

If you choose to fill the niche with non-cabinet furniture, just shelves, plan how to mount the doors – there will be no side walls inside the wardrobe.

All surfaces inside the niche must be strictly vertical, and all corners must be exactly 90 degrees. Any tilt in the vertical walls or angles will show itself during installation of the wardrobe.

This may lead to the need to change the size of the wardrobe, inability to install the chosen ready-made wardrobe, unnecessary decorative solutions and side moldings. Most importantly – additional costs.

Read also:

• Interior of a Studio Apartment with Built-in Storage Systems
  
• How to Choose Furniture and Accessories for a Small Apartment
  
• Optimizing Space: 10 Ideas for Smart Storage Solutions