A full wall of fitted wardrobes typically costs between £4,000 and £9,000, with smaller runs from around £2,500 and larger or highly specified installations running to £12,000 or more.
That range is wide because the same wall can be fitted out in very different ways. Two quotes for an identical space can differ by a factor of three, and the difference is almost never that one company is overcharging. It is that they have quoted for different work.
This guide opens the number up. Where the money actually goes, what the internal fittings add, how bespoke compares with the sliding door and modular companies, and what you can safely leave out when a quote comes in high.
Written from over 20 years of building fitted furniture across Jersey.
Where the money goes
A rough breakdown for a typical bespoke fitted wardrobe run. Proportions shift with the specification, but the shape holds.
| Element | Share of cost |
| Carcasses and structure | 20 to 30% |
| Doors and fronts | 20 to 30% |
| Finishing | 10 to 20% |
| Internal fittings and hardware | 10 to 20% |
| Design and survey | 5 to 10% |
| Installation | 10 to 15% |
The number that surprises people is materials. Most assume they are mainly paying for board and timber. In reality materials are roughly a third of the total, and the majority of the price is time: machining, assembly, finishing, and the curing that cannot be rushed.
Two costs sit inside that and are easy to miss. Workshop machinery and premises, since a panel saw, planer, thicknesser and spray booth represent serious investment and every job carries a share. And curing time, because a sprayed finish needs days between coats and after the final one, which is workshop space occupied and capital tied up.
Price by scale
Indicative figures for bespoke work, sprayed, with the carcasses built to the room.
| Project | Typical range |
| Single alcove wardrobe, around 1m wide | £1,800 to £3,200 |
| Two-bay run, around 2m | £3,000 to £5,000 |
| Full wall, around 3 to 3.5m | £4,000 to £9,000 |
| Full wall with drawers and internal lighting | £6,000 to £11,000 |
| Walk-in dressing room | £8,000 to £18,000 |
| Loft or eaves run with sloping ceiling | £5,000 to £10,000 |
Why the sloping ceiling run costs more than its size suggests: every component is a different height, nothing repeats, and each piece has to be cut to the angle of the roof. It is the clearest example of why bespoke pricing follows complexity rather than square metres.
Doors: the biggest single variable
After the number of bays, the door style moves the price more than anything else.
| Style | Relative cost | Why |
| Slab or flat | Lowest | One piece, minimal machining |
| Simple shaker | Moderate | Five pieces, jointed, more machining |
| Shaker with beading | Higher | Additional profiles run separately |
| Traditional frame and panel with mouldings | High | Multiple profiles, more hand finishing |
| Panelled to match period features | Highest | Profiles copied, sometimes custom cutters ground |
Mirrored doors add £150 to £400 per door depending on size and whether the mirror is bonded or framed.
Sliding doors change the construction entirely. They need a track system top and bottom, and the doors overlap, which means you can only ever access part of the wardrobe at once. They cost broadly similar to hinged doors but save floor space in front, which matters in a small room.
Finish
| Finish | Relative cost |
| Supplied primed, you paint | Lowest |
| Sprayed, single colour | Standard for bespoke |
| Sprayed, two colours | Adds a separate spray session |
| Natural timber, oiled or lacquered | Varies with the timber |
| French polished | Highest |
Taking the work primed removes the spray booth from the cost and is one of the more effective ways to reduce a quote. You lose the sprayed finish quality, which on a wardrobe door viewed daily is a real difference, so it is a judgement about where this particular room sits in your priorities.
Internal fittings: where quotes diverge quietly
This is the part of a wardrobe quote that varies most between companies, and the part people compare least carefully.
| Fitting | Typical cost |
| Hanging rail, standard | £25 to £60 per bay |
| Pull-down hanging rail for high storage | £120 to £300 |
| Adjustable shelving | £30 to £80 per shelf |
| Drawer, standard depth | £150 to £350 each |
| Drawer with soft-close and quality runners | £200 to £450 each |
| Shoe racks, angled | £100 to £300 per bay |
| Trouser rack, pull-out | £120 to £280 |
| Tie and belt rack | £60 to £150 |
| Pull-out accessory tray | £80 to £200 |
| Internal LED lighting per bay | £80 to £200 |
| Sensor-activated lighting | £150 to £400 |
| Internal mirror, pull-out or fixed | £150 to £400 |
| Valet rod | £40 to £100 |
Drawers are the cost people underestimate. A drawer is not a shelf with a front on it. It is a box, usually four or five components jointed together, plus runners, plus a front that has to be made and finished to match the doors. Across a wardrobe run, six drawers can add £1,200 to £2,500.
They are also usually worth it. A drawer brings its contents out to you. A shelf means reaching into the back of a dark cupboard, and the rear third becomes storage you forget about.
What to specify thoughtfully:
- Double hanging in at least one bay, which roughly doubles the hanging capacity for shirts and jackets
- Full-height hanging in one bay for coats and dresses
- Drawers at low to mid level, since a drawer above chest height is awkward to see into
- Adjustable rather than fixed shelving, which costs little extra and lets the internal arrangement change over the years
What is often skipped without regret: tie and belt racks, valet rods, and specialist accessory trays. They sound appealing in a showroom and are frequently unused.
How bespoke compares with the chains
The fitted wardrobe market has three tiers, and all three are sold using similar language.
| Modular fitted | Sliding door systems | Bespoke | |
| Carcasses | Standard sizes | Often none, doors across an open space | Built to your room |
| Gaps at the ends | Filler panels | Side panels or filler | Scribed to the wall |
| Fit to uneven walls | Trim and packing | Track adjusted, panels pack out gaps | Panel cut to follow the wall |
| Finish | Factory colour range | Factory range | Any colour, sprayed |
| Internal layout | From a range | From a range | Designed to what you own |
| Lead time | 3 to 8 weeks | 2 to 6 weeks | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Typical cost, full wall | £2,500 to £6,000 | £2,000 to £5,000 | £4,000 to £9,000 |
Sliding door systems are frequently the cheapest route because in many cases there is no carcass at all. The doors run on a track across the front of the existing alcove or wall, with shelving and rails fitted inside. That is a legitimate and economical approach, and in a square room with a flat wall it works well.
The limitations worth knowing:
- You can only access part of the wardrobe at a time, since the doors overlap
- Without carcasses, the internal structure is usually simpler and less substantial
- Sliding tracks collect dust and can need adjustment over the years
- Against a bowed wall, a track system still has to be packed out, and the gaps are visible
Modular fitted wardrobes sit between the two. Standard carcasses adjusted to the room with filler panels covering the leftover space.
The question that sorts all three: are the carcasses made to my room’s dimensions, or are they standard sizes with filler panels, or is there no carcass at all? All three answers are honest. They are just different products.
What pushes the price up
- Sprayed or hand-polished finishes rather than supplied primed
- Detailed door profiles, particularly anything copying existing period mouldings
- Drawers, which cost considerably more per unit than shelving
- Internal lighting, especially sensor-activated
- Mirrored doors
- Sloping ceilings or non-standard heights, where every component differs
- Curved or angled sections
- Difficult access, upper floors, tight staircases, where units must be made in sections and joined on site
- Uneven walls requiring extensive scribing
- Working around a chimney breast, radiator or boxed-in services
What brings it down
- Simpler door style. Moving from a detailed traditional profile to a simple shaker can save a meaningful proportion of the door cost
- Supplied primed, with your own decorator painting
- Fewer drawers, replaced with adjustable shelving
- Dropping internal lighting, which can be retrofitted later if wiring is left accessible
- Standard depths where the room allows
- Combining rooms into one job, so setup, delivery and site visits are shared
- Flexibility on timing, since a job that fills a quiet workshop week is easier to price keenly
- Skipping specialist accessories, which are the easiest things to add later
What not to cut: the survey, the drawings, carcass material quality, and sealing of the backs and undersides. Those determine whether the wardrobes still work in twenty years.
The island factor
Two Jersey-specific points that affect what you pay.
Shipping. Anything specified rather than stock has to come across, which adds both cost and lead time. Stock board and common hardware are quick. A particular handle range, specific internal fittings or a non-standard material are not. The way to manage it is to settle the specification at design stage rather than later.
Older buildings add work. Granite cottages, farmhouses, converted outbuildings and older townhouses mean:
- Walls that bow or lean, where end panels have to be made oversize and scribed on site to follow the wall’s actual profile
- Floors that fall, requiring independent levelling
- Low or varying ceiling heights, so units are made to suit rather than ordered to a standard height
- Tight access, where a staircase with a half-landing means units have to be built in sections and joined in the room, with the joints placed where they will not show
- Higher humidity, making moisture-resistant board and fully sealed faces a practical requirement rather than an upgrade
None of this is unusual, but it is real work and it shows in a quote. A company quoting a flat per-metre rate without having seen the room has not priced for any of it.
What should be in the quote
Check these appear rather than being added later:
- Site survey with level and plumb recorded
- Drawings for approval before anything is cut
- Materials and grades named
- The finish specified, including method and colour reference
- A schedule of what is inside each bay
- Hardware named by brand and finish
- Installation including scribing, levelling and fixing into structure
- Removal of existing furniture, if needed
- Waste removal and making good
- A snagging visit after installation
- Guarantee term and what it covers
A single lump figure makes comparison impossible. Ask for a breakdown separating materials, making, internals and installation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a wall of fitted wardrobes cost?
Typically £4,000 to £9,000 for bespoke work on a standard 3 to 3.5 metre wall, rising above that with drawers, internal lighting or mirrored doors. Modular fitted wardrobes generally run £2,500 to £6,000 and sliding door systems £2,000 to £5,000 for the same wall.
Why are bespoke fitted wardrobes more expensive?
Roughly a third of the cost is materials and the rest is time. Carcasses are built to your room’s dimensions rather than standard sizes, end panels are scribed to follow uneven walls, and the finish is sprayed in a booth with days of curing time. You are buying workshop hours rather than board.
Do drawers add a lot to the cost of fitted wardrobes?
Yes, more than most people expect. Each drawer is a jointed box plus runners plus a front that must be made and finished to match the doors. Six drawers can add £1,200 to £2,500 across a run. They are usually worth it, because a drawer brings its contents to you where a shelf does not.
Are sliding door wardrobes cheaper?
Often, because many systems have no carcass at all, with doors running on a track across the front of the existing space. That is a legitimate approach in a square room. The trade-offs are that you can only access part of the wardrobe at a time and the internal structure is usually simpler.
What is the cheapest way to get fitted wardrobes?
Take them supplied primed and paint them yourself, choose a simple slab or shaker door, use adjustable shelving instead of drawers, and leave out internal lighting and specialist accessories. Do not economise on carcass material or on sealing the hidden faces.
How long do fitted wardrobes take to make?
Typically four to six weeks from survey to installation, with two to three days on site. Most of that period is workshop machining, assembly and spray finishing, which happens off site while your room stays usable.
Getting started
The most useful first conversation is about what goes in the wardrobes rather than what they look like. How much hanging is long and how much is short, whether shoes live in there, what you currently stack on a shelf and resent, and whether anyone needs to reach the top without a stool. That conversation determines the internal layout, which is where a wardrobe either works or does not.
Davision Interiors Ltd has designed, built, finished and installed fitted wardrobes across all parishes of Jersey for over 20 years, with carcasses built to the room, end panels scribed to the wall and spray finishing carried out in house. Every project starts with a free design and survey visit, all work is covered by our workmanship guarantee, and we are fully insured. Get in touch to arrange a visit and a no-obligation quote.