A wardrobe that arrives on site with the wrong shelf heights is not a design problem — it is a specification problem. For residential bedroom work, Shelf Focused Modular Wardrobes is one of the most configuration-sensitive pieces in our Modular Wardrobes range: shelving carries folded knitwear, linens, bags and shoes, so every bay width, shelf depth and shelf pitch has to be written down before production starts. This guide sets out the fields we need from a buyer, designer or contractor, and what happens at each stage when those fields are left blank.
What the product actually is
Shelf Focused Modular Wardrobes belongs to our Modular Wardrobes collection for residential wardrobe projects. Three things define it on the data sheet: made-to-measure sizing, a choice of material and finish, and a layout tailored to the individual space. Nothing about the unit is fixed to a stock module size, which is why the specification you send us matters more than the product name — two rooms with identical floor plans can still need completely different internal make-up depending on ceiling height, who uses the room and what gets stored there.
Because the range is built to project dimensions rather than to a catalogue size, we treat the specification sheet as the order document. Whatever appears on it is what gets cut, edged and packed.
Field 1 — Room geometry, measured the way the fitter needs it
Send the wall run in millimetres, not feet and inches, and give us more than width and height. For a shelf-focused unit these are the measurements that decide whether the carcass fits on site:
- Clear width at floor level and again at ceiling level — older villas and renovated apartments rarely have parallel walls.
- Finished floor to finished ceiling height, plus the depth of any skirting, cornice or ceiling rebate that the carcass has to scribe around.
- Obstructions: switch plates, air-conditioning returns, downlights, radiators, door swings and window reveals, each noted with its distance from a reference wall.
- Floor build-up status. Tell us whether the screed and finish are already laid or still to come, and by how much, because that changes the base height of every bay.
If you are ordering several bedrooms in one project, give each room its own reference number on the drawings. Mixing up master-bedroom and guest-bedroom dimensions is the most common cause of a re-made carcass.
Field 2 — Internal zoning: how many shelves, at what pitch
Shelf-focused means shelving does the storage work, so the internal layout is the part of the specification worth arguing about before it is frozen. Set out each bay separately and state:
| Specification item | What to write down |
|---|---|
| Bay count and widths | Number of vertical divisions across the run, and the clear width of each bay. |
| Fixed vs. adjustable shelves | Which shelves are fixed for rigidity and which sit on adjustable supports so heights can change later. |
| Shelf pitch | The clear opening height you need per shelf — folded stacks, stacked linen, handbags, shoe boxes and display pieces each need a different clearance. |
| Hanging sections | Where a rail is still required, whether it runs single or double height, and the ｄｒｏｐ needed for long garments. |
| Drawers and trays | If you want pull-out storage in part of the run, say so — a shelf-focused unit can still carry drawers. Where folded items need deep drawers instead of shelves, our Drawer Focused Modular Wardrobes is the closer match for that section. |
| Open vs. closed bays | Which compartments stay open as display or daily-use shelving, and which are enclosed. Open Modular Wardrobes covers fully open shelving runs if part of the wall is meant to read that way. |
| Top-of-unit use | Whether the upper zone stores seasonal items or stays accessible, since this sets shelf depth and whether a top panel is needed. |
Field 3 — Doors, fronts and hardware
The front system changes both the price and the clearance envelope, so it belongs in the same document as the carcass dimensions. Specify the door type (hinged, sliding or open), the number of leaves, and the operating clearance each type needs in front of the unit. Then state the handle detail — integrated profile, recessed pull or visible handle — because a handle-less front and a projected handle need different gaps between leaves.
Where glass fronts are wanted within a modular run, note the glass type and frame finish on the same sheet rather than treating it as a later variation. Our wider built-in furniture range covers matching wardrobes, cabinets and panelling, which makes it straightforward to keep door fronts, frames and reveals consistent across bedrooms, hallways and dressing rooms on one project.
Field 4 — Material, finish and edge detail
Material and finish options are part of the product definition, so write them at panel level: carcass board and colour, door front material and colour, edge banding treatment, and the finish of visible hardware. Two points save rework:
- Name the surface by sample reference or send a physical sample, not a mood-board photograph. Screen-rendered neutrals drift between monitor and panel.
- State where the unit is being installed. A bedroom wardrobe and a dressing room or utility-adjacent space have different exposure to humidity, and the board and edge choice should reflect that on paper before production.
Our Custom Furniture Manufacturer service covers bespoke material, finish and texture choices alongside made-to-measure sizing, so non-standard combinations are specified rather than approximated.
Field 5 — Tolerances, site interface and sign-off
The last block of the specification is about how the unit meets the building. Record who is responsible for the wall, floor and ceiling preparation; whether a scribe or filler panel is required at uneven surfaces; how the unit relates to skirting and architrave; and where integrated lighting, if any, needs cable provision and access. Then close the document with a named approver and a date.
We work the same order in three steps on every project: brief and design proposal, quotation with detail confirmation, then production, shipment and follow-up. Nothing enters production until the specification sheet is confirmed, which is why a signed-off sheet protects the delivery date far more effectively than a late email change.
Common specification gaps we see on enquiries
- A room size given without ceiling height, so shelf pitch is guessed by the factory instead of chosen by the client.
- Shelves specified in number but not in clearance, which produces a unit that fits the wall and still does not fit the owner's storage habits.
- Door type decided after carcass approval, changing clearances and hardware mid-production.
- Finish described in words only ("light oak", "matte grey") with no sample reference, since several panels in our ranges share similar names but not identical surfaces.
- No named approver, which is how two versions of one drawing end up on site.
Putting the sheet together
A usable specification for Shelf Focused Modular Wardrobes fits on two pages: room geometry in millimetres, bay-by-bay internal zoning with shelf pitches, door and hardware schedule, panel-level material and finish references, site interface notes, and a signature. Send that and the quotation you receive is directly comparable to the unit that arrives — which is the point of specifying at all.
Dimensions and selected specifications are confirmed for each project before manufacture, so if your drawings are still at concept stage, share them anyway and we will mark up what is missing.