Fitted wardrobes - if you were buying a house would you consider them to be A Good Thing

[ohdearwhatamess]

Just about to gut and revamp our bedroom with a view to putting the house on the market in the near future. At the moment it has 2 lots of fitted wardrobes. One of these would have to be replaced (incorporates door to ensuite). Can't decide whether or not to replace the other set with new fitted wardrobes or just buy something freestanding.

Would potential buyers like the fact that there was lots of storage in place, or would it be a PITA because they'd want to rip it out to put their own freestanding stuff in? Interested to know what peoples' views on this (admittedly dull) question are.

I don't like fitted wardrobes but many do. I think it's one of those "can't please everyone" things.

As a general rule I'd see them as a negative, unless they were making use of awkward shaped / sized alcoves or something like that.

It is impossible to answer because it will depend entirely on the quality of the wardrobes.
FWIW we did up a house we needed to sell and put some nice ones in and it really increased the value.
And I normally hate fitted but they were really well done.
so - depends

I personally think that unless they are an integral part of the room ie set into a wall, that you shouldn't replace the doors.

They aren't everyone's cup of tea and it would be ashame to spend the money on something they are going to rip out.

Quality is definitely a factor...

I'd say it would depend on the size of the room. If there's not a lot of space for freestanding then having a fitted wardrobe in there makes you (well me) think "ah that's ok - don't need to worry about where to put the wardrobe.

For example when I looked round this house the thing that clinched it for me, despite the small 3rd bedroom was that it had a fitted wardrobe - I could have squeezed DS1's wardrdobe into the room if I'd had to (ie no fitted ones) but it would have made it very cramped.

However like SD says - it's very much a personal thing.

Hmm - it drives me mad that my current flat has no storage in it whatsoever which means I've had to put in £100s worth of cupboards, most of which I probably won't take with me as they have been bought specifically to fill particular spaces. If you've got one lot of fitted wardrobes, I'd say that's enough though. But yes, they have to be good quality. And no mirrored doors!

If wardrobes are nice to look at, functional in design and don't eat up space that could be put to better use, they are an asset.

I think it is very difficult to know what potential purchasers might like.

Agree qiht FAQ. If there is a logical palce for them and plenty of space , great . If by adding the second set you may be limiting the options for furniture layout, such as where the bed goes, or making the room tight don't. Also make sure they blend in well , we saw penty of monstrosities.

It is all dependent on quality and style.

Cheapo melamine/mirrored sliding doors = no ta.

The bottom picture on this site on the other hand, would be a dream

The room is reasonably big but rectangular, so that there is only one wall where the second lot can go (whether fitted or not) and only one logical place where the bed can go (a different wall).

Dh was all for having cheap mdf ones fitted (thinking they'd look okish and it wouldn't matter to us if they fell apart in 3 years time), but it sounds like that would be a bad move.

No, no, no. We have them. I hate them. Think they are old-fashioned (not just the style, but the concept) They are great for storage and, I suppose, if you could afford to have lovely bespoke wooden ones they might be ok. But otherwise, think they're naff. EAs still seems to think they're a plus though so maybe I am out of step with most people.

I guess when we moved in (3 years ago) we thought the present ones were a good thing, despite being hideous (cheap and nasty white mdf) because we didn't have any wardrobes of our own (our previous house had fitted ones too).

WE could afford to have lovely bespoke wooden ones (and would if we were staying), but I'm not sure if it is worth spending that sort of money.

The white ones in that earlier link look nice since just looks like an original cupboard/woodrobe.

It's definitely not worth spending money on replacing existing wardrobes if you are moving out and they are really knackered, I agree. Rip them out and make good/paint where they were.

They're not bad. They look wrong in the 2nd from the bottom photo, imo. Plonked awkwardly in the space.

Yes, they do look wrong. But I like teh white ones in the alcove. But, no, don't spend pots of money if you're selling

Hate them. Don't care what they look like or where they are.

They are somebody else saying you will arrange this room thus. No I fucking won't.

Why don't you remove the fitted wardrobes that you don't like and buy yourself some lovely freestanding furniture that you can take with you when you move?

Do you hate doors and windows and radiators as well Jux?

I'd consider them an asset unless they were cheap and hideous looking. I need lots of wardrobe space and fitted ones tend to have more room than freestanding. They'd have to be nice though.

We looked at a house once where every bedroom had them, they were cheap and dated, and literally every nook and cranny of every bedroom, including boxroom, had fitted cupboards. Was ridiculous.

Sorry, got a bit over-emphatic there

depends on:
a) whether or not you like them
b) whether or not you have free-standing ones that you really like but now have no room for
c) how much space they involve.

My house had built-in wardrobes in all bedrooms but:
a) I liked them ok
b) yes, i had these so had to destroy fitted one in main bedroom
c) none of them were actually very big, although the one in the second bedroom is fine for blokes/people with capsule wardrobes.

They wouldn't stop me buying a house, but I wouldn't necessarily consider them an asset!