Out of the closet

Prachi Mudgil

Gone are the days when you had one steel cupboard in your bedroom stuffed with all your personal belongings. This is the era of fancy storage space. Wardrobe that was once the exclusive preserve of the elite is gaining appeal with masses as well. The all-purpose cupboard of yesteryear has come of age. It is now a large, sleek designer space inside the comfort of your room.

To suit your needs

The wardrobe, walk-in closet and armoire not only take care of your storage needs, but also of the morning madness of rummaging through piles of clothes to find the right attire. Many high-end ones will help you organise accessories as these usually have racks for belts, ties and shoes, drawers for lockable jewellery and pull-out shelves for cosmetics.

The word wardrobe is said to have originated from the French word garde robe, which means — ‘keep dress’. In fact, it was both the French and the English, who first understood the importance of a separate space for clothes. However, storage spaces took many centuries of transformation to turn into fitted wardrobes that now add a touch of opulence to the interiors.

Before the concept of wardrobes became popular, people mostly used chests of drawers or trunks to store their belongings. It was only when the French and the English started building palaces and countryside houses that they began to appreciate the significance of exclusive spaces for storing clothes.

Initially, spacious houses simply had small rooms reserved for clothes. The rooms were soon equipped with hanging spaces, shelves and mirrors. From then on, it was just a matter of time before the wardrobe, as we know it, started evolving.

In the modern times

With the dawn of the 19th century, the wardrobe began to take its modern shape. A cupboard at each side to hang clothes and drawers beneath became a popular concept. It took on a further contemporary form when changes such as a large unit of two hanging cupboards and drawers below were suggested by interior designers. In its final metamorphosis, it emerged as a more functional option.

Over the past few decades, the wardrobe has evolved from a piece of furniture seen in upscale homes to a staple element inside houses. Architects and interior designers have started equipping smaller homes with standalone cupboards, made usually from mahogany, oak, pine, sheesham and other sturdy woods. An array of wardrobes is available in the market that includes those with hinged or sliding doors and even fancy walk-ins.

To address the issue of space constraint in cities, the bedroom wardrobes are usually made smaller in width and are fitted into spaces and more often than not come with sliding doors. These are space savers since the doors don’t open out into the room but slide sideways.

Walk-in wardrobe is the latest concept that has found favour with the interior designers. Especially, these are a part of houses where space is not a concern. This is a small room with ample storage space that has in-built hangers, shelves, racks for shoes, hooks for scarves and ties. The more extravagant ones even feature vanities like dressing tables, sofas, ottomans, spas area and even space to entertain guests.

On a practical note

Classic designs, like many modern wardrobes, are now being made from easily accessible satinwood, mango wood, Mexican timber and Indian rose wood. The economical ones can also have wood combined with veneer.

These days, wardrobes come fitted with a host of accessories, well designed to give you an easy access to your clothes. These are designed to ensure that there is space for different silhouettes, like hanger space for formals and shelves to neatly stack tees.

There are pull-out trouser racks, sliding frames, 360-degree revolving shoe racks, baskets to store socks and belts, compartmentalised drawers to organise watches and cufflinks and even lipsticks, nail paints, deodorants and drawers for basic medicine.

You could even install pull-down clothes’ lift systems if hanging space is too high, get the lights fitted if your space is too dark or fit in ironing boards that extend out when you need these.

Easy accessibility

With the organised retail market making inroads into India, designer wardrobes are becoming easily accessible. While imported brands like Hettich and Hafelle are slowly creating a niche market, online retailers like Urban Ladder, Fab Furnish, Pepperfry, Zansaar, Snapdeal and others too are gaining popularity for their sleek designs and superior quality.

A wardrobe for your room can cost anywhere between Rs 10,000 to Rs 5 lakh, depending on the style, material, size and sometimes the brand’s name. Interiors and accessories tend to be sometimes as expensive as the wardrobe itself, ranging from Rs 10,000 to even a lakh or two.

A well-designed wardrobe can give a makeover to the interiors of a house. Add to that its functionality of storing clothes and accessories and your room is sorted.

Wardrobe secrets

• Singer Mariah Carey’s walk-in closet features a luxurious dressing room where all of her outfits are on display arranged by colour and type and a shoe room displaying over 1,000 of her signature stilettos. Marble floors and Versailles-inspired furniture complete the look of this closet, which is climate controlled. 
• Heiress Nicky Hilton has tried her hand as a fashion designer, and maintains not one but two couture-stuffed walk-in closets in her home. It has a special room for handbags, as she reportedly owns over 200 of these.
• Legendary shoe designer Jimmy Choo has a walk-in closet in his home that only houses his over 400 pair of shoes. He has a separate closet for jeans. He colour coordinates his clothes with the help of a firm called Practical Princess. 
• Singer Elton John has a separate closet for sunglasses, hundreds of pairs which he has been amassing since the 1970s.
• Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor is said to have a walk-in closet adjacent to her bedroom, which is stuffed with designer collections.
• American millionaire Theresa Roemer has a 3,000 square feet closet in her home, which cost roughly $500,000 (Rs 3 crore). It has a spiral staircase in the centre, since it spans three stories. It even has a vanity room.