Single-bay fitted wardrobe in a small bedroom — Clapton Pond, E5

A compact single-bay shaker wardrobe for the second bedroom of a Clapton Pond Victorian conversion flat — small room, big storage brief, and a non-negotiable need to keep floor area for a desk.

Location

Clapton Pond, London E5

Work type

fitted wardrobes

On site

3 days

The problem

The bedroom was only 2.4m × 2.6m with a single chimney-breast alcove as the only viable wardrobe location (560mm wide, 380mm deep). The brief — full set of work clothes plus seasonal storage plus a fold-down ironing surface — would normally need a 1.2m-wide wardrobe to handle comfortably.

The solution

A 560mm-wide × full-height alcove wardrobe with three interior zones — hanging (top half), drawers (lower middle) and a fold-down ironing-surface flap built into the kick-board (visible only when in use). The depth was the constraint — we used Häfele's narrow Pull-Out hanging rail so shirts hang inline with the wardrobe depth rather than across it, gaining 100mm of usable width inside.

Materials & finish

18mm Egger MFC carcass; MDF shaker doors painted Farrow & Ball Strong White (No. 2001); Häfele narrow Pull-Out hanging rail (inline-facing); Blum TANDEM drawers; fold-down ironing-surface mechanism from Häfele; brass cup pull.

Outcome

Around 0.5m³ of well-organised storage and an ironing surface in 0.65m² of floor area. The room kept its desk space and didn't gain any visual weight from new furniture.

A compact alcove wardrobe doing the work of a full wardrobe in 0.65m² of floor — narrow inline hanging rail, three interior zones, and a fold-down ironing flap in the kick-board.