Are built-in wardrobes the norm in Brussels?

[Caterpillar2001]

We are in the process of deciding which wardrobes to buy for our rented house in Berlin and gritting our teeth at some of the prices. Which direction we will go quality and price wise will depend on how much use we hope to get out of them. As we will be moving to Brussels in 4 years I would like to know whether or not built-in wardrobes are the norm there in larger houses (5 - 6 bedrooms). Any idea? Many thanks!

Not been in many houses with 5+ bedrooms, but I can say having visited dozens of 3 and 4 beds last year, perhaps 50% have built-in wardrobes, but rarely in every bedroom.

Don't people in Germany like selling on furniture in rented properties which they buy specifically for these properties? It's quite common in Brussels to do this, plus selling curtains, light fitting etc, to the next tenant.

One problem I could see you having is that almost everyone moves house with a lift here. You would have to factor in whether your wardrobes, if you brought them to Brussels, will fit on the lift platforms, whether they will fit through the windows and whether they can then be moved into their places if in a different room. We'd struggle to move out our Ikea Pax wardrobe which came up unassembled on the lift - we'd have to dismount it into 4 pieces to get it back onto the lift and down into a removal van, so if ever we move, we will offer it to the next tenants.

Thank you, Natation, for your quick response. The idea of taking over furniture is excellent, however the owners, also professional nomads, are taking all their wardrobes along to their new post.

How large are the built-in wardrobes you have seen so far? Floor to ceiling? How many doors?

From what you say it appears that wardrobes, once assembled, are left in that state when it comes to moving in Belgium. I find that really interesting as whenever I moved, even locally, my only wardrobe (which will not be coming to Berlin) was disassembled at the old place, moved, either by road or sea container, and then reassembled in the new house. Coming to think of it the only pieces of furniture I have seen on lifts have been large antique pieces.

The built-in wardrobes I have seen are mainly ones which are in alcoves or built between rooms. At our last house, we have built-in wardrobes between 2 adjoining bedrooms, half in one room, half in the other. In those rooms, we only put a chest of drawers as additional furniture. I saw lots of attic rooms with built-in wardrobes and cupboards under the eaves - Brussels has many town houses of 3 or 4 floors, it's normal for there to be bedrooms in the attics.

My friend got her tallest Ikea Pax wardrobes onto the lift into her new place. The windows are usually big enough to be able to do this, it's simply a matter of checking the lift can access the window and then taking into account moving furniture from the room the lift come into, to the room it is going to, moving along corridors. In our house, a normal lift cannot make it to the top floor, due to the eaves overhanging so much, meant all top floor furniture had to go up the stairs and our Ikea Pax wardrobes would not make it up/down the stairs without being fully dismantled, they are thankfully not on that floor.

How do you know you are already moving to Brussels in 4 years? That's an awful lot of advanced warning? My hubby doesn't know where he will be from one year to the next, still waiting to hear where he is from September even! Life as a UK civil servant really sucks, both pay-wise and job security-wise :-(

Thanks for sharing your insights. The built-in wardrobes between two adjoining bedrooms are just the ones I have grown to appreciate in the last years. Should I ever build my own place, I swear that is what I will plan for.

In 4 year's time we will need a school that offers French as a first foreign language. These are only available in francophone West European francophone countries, amongst which only Brussels is suitable as a posting for a family of our size and work constellation. Our HR is very good at taking such matters into consideration and there are a large amount of vacancies there each year, hence my confidence.

I do sympathise, Natation, you must feel that your life is somewhat up in the air with so much uncertainty in your husband's work. How do you cope with that from one year to the next?