The short answer: a fitted bedroom costs whatever the wardrobe run costs, plus each extra piece you ask to be built in around it. The wardrobes are nearly always the largest single item, so start with our fitted wardrobe cost guide, then add the drawers, bedside units, dressing table or panelled bed wall you want on top.
That is why two quotes for a fitted bedroom can look wildly different. One might be a single wall of doors. The other might wrap the room with storage, a desk and an upholstered headboard wall. Both are fitted bedrooms, but they are very different amounts of timber, time and finishing.
What people mean by a fitted bedroom
When we are asked to price a fitted bedroom, the brief usually includes a run of wardrobes plus some combination of the following. It helps to write your own list before anybody measures, because each item is a separate piece of joinery with its own carcass, fronts and fitting time.
- A wardrobe run on one or more walls, with hanging, shelves and internal drawers.
- Bedside units that sit either side of the bed, sometimes joined by a bridging cupboard over the headboard.
- A chest of drawers or dressing table built into an alcove or under a window.
- Panelling or an upholstered wall behind the bed.
- Shelving or a small desk area for a guest room or teenager's room.
The pieces that move the price most
Drawers are the item people underestimate. Every drawer is its own little box on its own runners, so a bank of drawers inside a wardrobe or a freestanding looking chest built into the wall adds more than a shelf in the same space would.
Overhead bridging units above a bed look simple but take real care, because they have to line up with the wardrobes either side and sit square even when the ceiling is not. Dressing tables with drawers and a mirror are similar: small, but detailed.
Finish is the other big lever. A painted finish that matches the room's woodwork costs more than a factory colour, and if you want the wardrobes, bedside units and bed wall all in the same paint so the room reads as one piece, that finish is carried across every item.
Where a fitted bedroom saves money
Building everything in at once is often better value than adding pieces one at a time, because the survey, setting out and finishing are done once. If you are doing the wardrobes now and think you will want bedside units in a year, tell us, so the wardrobe ends and skirting line are planned for them from the start.
Fitted pieces also replace furniture you would otherwise buy. A built in chest of drawers under a window uses a space a freestanding one never fits properly, and it does not need to be moved to clean behind it.
Awkward rooms and older houses
Sloping ceilings, chimney breasts and walls that lean are common in Hampshire houses of every age. None of them stop a fitted bedroom, but they add scribing and setting out, and a fair quote should say so rather than hide it. Loft bedrooms in particular need each carcass cut to the slope, which we cover in our guide to wardrobes under the eaves.
How to phase the work
If the whole room is more than you want to spend at once, do the wardrobes first. They give you the most storage for the money and they set the style for everything else. Bed walls and bedside units can follow later without disturbing the wardrobes, as long as the finish and door style are agreed at the outset.
Keep a note of the paint colour and the door profile. That way the second stage matches the first, even if some time passes between them.
Getting a real figure for your room
Because every piece is made to measure, the only honest way to price a fitted bedroom is to see it. We measure the room, talk through what you want to store and how you use the space, and then quote each item so you can see where the money goes and decide what to keep. Ring 02380 201687 or 07833 227576 to arrange a visit.
Common questions
- Is a fitted bedroom the same as fitted wardrobes?
- Not quite. Fitted wardrobes are one part of it. A fitted bedroom usually adds drawers, bedside units, a dressing table or a bed wall built in around the wardrobes.
- What is the most expensive part of a fitted bedroom?
- Usually the wardrobe run, simply because it is the largest piece. After that, banks of drawers and painted finishes carried across every item add the most.
- Can I add bedside units after the wardrobes are fitted?
- Yes. Tell us early and we will plan the wardrobe ends and finish so the later pieces match and sit neatly alongside.
- Do you quote each piece separately?
- We can, so you can see what each item adds and decide what to build now and what to leave for later.
- Can a fitted bedroom include panelling behind the bed?
- Yes. Panelled and upholstered bed walls are work we do, and they can be finished to match the wardrobes so the room feels like one design.
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