Hide Your Chimney With Sliding Wardrobes

Many homes up and down the UK, particularly older houses or houses converted into flats, will have at least 1 chimney breast running through them. Often these are unused, lead to unwanted wall recesses and can appear unsightly. Alcove space created on either side of a chimney breast is quite often wasted space, but can actually provide a neat opportunity to create additional storage capacity within your home, without eating up valuable square footage.

A custom-fitted wardrobe in front or to the side of a chimney breast, when done right, can not only boost the available storage in your room, it can hide the chimney, provide an elegant feature that really gives your room the wow factor and can even add value to your home.

This short video provides a visual explanation of how the process works:

 

If you are considering a sliding wardrobe to make use of the valuable chimney space in your property, there are three main types for you to choose from:

Sliding wardrobe covering full wall to wall

Covering the full wall to hide the chimney breast is the most popular option with customers as it gives the most space for a very similar cost. The chimney breast itself will remain within the wardrobe, with the wardrobe space built into the surrounding alcove areas. It is also usually possible to utilise the chimney breast for shelving, a wall-mounted television or pictures/mirrors as it can be shallower than the wardrobe itself. The sliding doors will run the entire length of the wall, right the way across the chimney breast to conceal it.

 

Sliding Wardrobe covering a single alcove

An alternative to covering the entire wall, is to build a single side wardrobe in either one, or both alcove spaces, without covering the chimney breast. This type of wardrobe will normally be created using a wall-to-end panel design with the end panel fitted against the nearest alcove side of the chimney. In this design the chimney is not hidden and is fully usable.

 

Sliding wardrobe covering an alcove & the chimney

This option is something between the single alcove and full-width wardrobe, where one alcove and the chimney itself are hidden. This is achieved by using the alcove as wardrobe storage and hiding this and the chimney itself within the wardrobe. It is also usually possible to utilise the chimney breast for shelving, a wall-mounted television or pictures/mirrors as it can be shallower than the wardrobe itself. This type of wardrobe will normally be created using a wall-to-end panel design with the end panel fitted against the opposite side of the chimney and the chimney therefore hidden inside.

 

Some key things you need to consider when purchasing a sliding wardrobe for your chimney:

Wall to End Panel – Alcove Only:

In most UK properties, the chimney depth is less than the 54-64cm we recommend for sliding wardrobes, which usually means an end panel is needed against one side of the chimney. This normally creates a space between the chimney breast and the sliding doors which as above can be used for storage. This means the end panel must be at least 9cm deeper than the chimney to allow for the doors and anything additional to this 9cm is essentially free space you can use. Our end panels come at 64cm and 90cm deep so you can create any depth you like up to 90cm. For example: if your chimney is 30cm and you keep the end panel at 64cm, you will have 25cm of usable space in front of the chimney breast (64cm – 9cm – 30cm).

Wall to Wall – Full Width:

In most UK properties, the chimney depth is less than the 45cm needed for our internals which means a vertical finished board or shelf stack is usually needed against both sides of the chimney, which will allow for normal shelving and rails to be placed in the new deepened space in the alcove areas. This normally creates a space between the vertical boards across the front of the chimney breast which as above can be used for storage. For example: if your chimney is 25cm and you install a 45cm finished board vertically on each side to allow for shelving and hanging in each alcove, you will have 20cm of usable space in front of the chimney breast (45cm – 25cm).

All your additional chimney sliding wardrobe internal materials will normally have to be ordered using our extras page (part of the normal design process) depending on your specific requirements. However, our friendly customer services team are always on hand to support you through the ordering process and ensure you have everything you need to create your perfect new wardrobe, chimney or not. 

If you need any advice or assistance with anything discussed above, please contact us any time, day or evening, 7 days a week, and we will be happy to help in any way we can.

 

About My Sliding Wardrobe

My Sliding Wardrobe is a leading specialist in bespoke, handmade custom sliding doors and wardrobes. Our wardrobes come with a 12 year warranty and are handmade in the UK to the highest standard with style, quality and affordability in mind. All of our custom sliding doors are manufactured with high quality glass, mirror and woodwork finished in contemporary metal framework in a large range of styles and designs. You can use our exclusive and unique online 3D design tool to create your perfect wardrobe and if you need any assistance, please contact us any time.