2-Door, 3-Door or 4-Door Wardrobe: How to Choose the Size

The number of doors is a shorthand for width: roughly 18 inches of wardrobe per door. Choose by the people and the wall, in that order.

How much wardrobe each person needs

An adult with an ordinary Indian wardrobe of clothes needs about 24 inches of hanging rail and three shelves. Sarees, suits and winter coats add to that. So:

Who	Doors	Width	Wall needed (with the doors open)
One adult, or a child	2	32 to 40 in	4 ft wall, 2 ft clear in front
Two adults	3	48 to 54 in	5 ft wall, 2 ft clear in front
Two adults and children, or a saree collection	4	64 to 72 in	6.5 ft wall, 2 ft clear in front
A family sharing one wardrobe	two 3-door, or one 4-door plus a chest of drawers		a 12-foot wall

2-door wardrobes

One hanging section and one shelf section, 72 inches tall. The right size for a child’s room, a single person, or a guest room, and the only size that fits a 4-foot wall. Many 2-door wardrobes have a mirror on one door and a drawer at the bottom.

3-door wardrobes

The standard couple’s wardrobe in India: one wide hanging section and two shelf columns, or two hanging sections and one of shelves. 48 to 54 inches wide, which fits beside a queen bed on a 10-foot wall with the door swing still clear. If there is a locker, it is in a 3-door.

4-door wardrobes

64 to 72 inches wide, 78 to 84 tall, 120 kg or more in solid wood. Two full hanging sections, two of shelves, usually two drawers and a locker. It needs a 6.5-foot clear wall plus 2 feet in front of it, which in practice means a bedroom at least 12 feet on one side. Below that, two 2-door wardrobes on two walls store the same and fit.

Hinged or sliding doors?

Sliding doors need no floor in front of them, so they suit rooms where the bed is close to the wardrobe. Their drawback: you can only open half the wardrobe at a time, and the tracks collect dust. Hinged doors open the whole wardrobe and are cheaper and easier to repair, but need 2 feet in front. Most solid sheesham wardrobes on Amazon are hinged.

Height

72 inches (6 feet) is standard and leaves the top for luggage; 78 to 84 inches uses the wall fully but needs a step to reach the top shelf. Check the ceiling fan: the wardrobe top must clear the blade’s circle.

The best-scoring wooden wardrobes, with sizes.