Full height sliding door cabinet

One factor to consider when designing your own wardrobe will be the position of downlight. It is also crucial to provide lighting to the cabinet once the sliding door is opened at the same time illuminating the room. The downlight in following pictures are carefully spaced. The thumb of rules for the spacing is half of the ceiling height. Ten feet ceiling required light to be spaced in every five feet.

The benefit for having full height door will be the ease of accessing the content in within the same cubical. User should be aware that the inner depth space of the cabinet has to include at least two inch space for door rail to be installed. Worst case scenario will be to compromise bulging door cause by the clothing pushing against the door from inside.

A makeup table of three feet wide can be useful to be placed next to the cabinet. Extra lighting are required for vanity mirror. User are advise to think ahead if to lay wiring for installation of LED lighting in future. Wiring inside and outside of the cabinet is an advantage for future upgrades for lighting.

What is the different between 3G and 4G door?

The different between 3G or 4G is a matter of how much budget do one have for wardrobe door. The commonly used term 4G referred to those door with either glass panel or acrylic panel door without aluminium wrapping over its brim (left picture). It gives a sleek and seamless look to the overall setup. The risk of chipping off its edges is comparably higher than the 3G door (second picture with red arrow). One way to distinguish between glass panel and acrylic panel door will be through the reflected images. Glass panel door gives a straight virtual image whereas a wavy images formed on acrylic panel door. You can easily identify the different by looking at the door panel at an angle. The image formed could tell the different. It also translate into dollar and cent. You pay for it!





Wardrobe door in the 4th generation uses painted glass adhere onto Aluminum frame. Its surface looks exceptionally great when it comes to light reflection. Price of glass that makes the difference. Glasses are relatively more expensive by 30% to make. The hinges used has to be more durable compared to perspex made. The wright of glass is for sure heavier than perspex. This has to be taken into consideration.
Another way to make it will be to use glass panel door a.k.a the 4G door for those door closer to the ceiling. It helps reflect the downlight better than perspex. Those door panel closer to the floor does not reflect light much so no harm using a perspex door panel. It helps save some budget.

Design your own wardrobe

It is very common here in Malaysia to assign a carpenter to help be their designer as well. It is a huge mistake to do so. There are always a mismatch or end up with some grudges by the time the carpenter deliver their promises.

The carpenter always try to win the business and almost all carpenters are not really into wardrobe design. Common mistake to think that the carpenter are good with designing wardrobe. They might had work with many different types of fancy design in the past and this does not necessary means they are good at it. It is not something hard to be achieve by providing a clear idea of what-do-you-want to your carpenter. I am just like many people out there that do not have fancy computer software to do all the 3D rendering work for me to present my idea. Paper and pencil are still the best method when it comes to drafting your idea!

Initial idea is always best with pen and paper! It is especially important when it comes to the inner compartment and dimension. You need to clarify with your carpenter whether the dimension refer to the inner length or outer length. Outer length inclusive of the thickness of the side panel. The common thickness will be the 16mm board. Anything thicker than this will greatly increase the over cost of the project.

There are at least few rounds of discussion session required before you made up your mind to the design. The role of the carpenter is to advise the designer about the feasibility. We are not any wardrobe designer. I personally lack experience in wood working. A good carpenter that listen to your requirement and try to advise you on how to make your idea work is the carpenter. A very patient carpenter can be hard to find. Dont loose hope though because there are always someone out there. Do not rush through your design!

Wardrobe cabinet can be really permanent once it is being installed. Dimension check are required once you are satisfied with the design on a piece of paper. One way to check if the dimension of the overall cabinet fit nicely with the plan will be to make a model using PVC piping. It provides a concept of how long and wide the structure. The skeleton can be handy in making decision if to proceed with planned with your carpenter or improvement required. It helps to visualise how the choices of the door to be made- slide or swing door. Following pictures illustrate how the process of going from framework into real wardrobe. It is so crucial in research and design. Sliding door require an additional 2inches to install the sliding door track. 

Swing door are however save space with more gaps seen between doors and require quite some hinges*.  This step also helps in costing. Be sure to specify if you need soft closing or best will be to provide your preferred soft closing hinges. It comes with various model in the market. All you need to do will be to visit the nearest hardware store for wood supplies. Your carpenter should be alble to give you some guide as to where it is. Last resort will be through online. That starts the consumer to business, C2B era. 

Hinges with soft-closing damper are of choice. Video below demonstrate the different between soft-closing hinges with non-soft-closing door. It comes in many different types depending on the price and quality. Always ask for soft-closing hinges like the one show in video.