Image Courtesy IKEA
I already had a Gautier Wardrobe which I’d
purchased when we had shifted to our new home, back then I was 17… I don’t remember the exact cost but I wasn’t going anywhere near the wardrobe systems which were priced at 150k, I faintly remember there was a middle-aged posh couple who was interested in them and they did an instant booking. Anyway, the quality and built is nice but the strip LED lights went out within a span of 2-3 months, the sliding doors are very tight and massively huge, its a struggle to reach out to anything which is in the centre because it has only 2 big sliding doors… the clothing rail which they had given was so small, it kept falling out because like mostly places (nowadays) it’s not fixed; apart from these issues, it has a nice glass drawer, trouser rack, accessory drawer with inbuilt wooden compartments, plenty of shelves, etc. It’s quite spacious but if you’ll try to get something like that now ie. after 9 years, it would be too expensive although that’s a loot, they should be more sensibly priced… I really wanted to organise my clothes which were getting crinkled and crushed there, in all the mess, I was frantically looking for something in my budget so I ended up calling a few furniture stores (the ones that specialised in Wardrobes) and they said their starting range was 2-4 lakhs and above… that too for the most basic ones - which like I said is a “loot” these people don’t even have proper websites and there is nothing ready in their store for reference, they “customise” everything to suit your needs/reqs which is cool but you can’t actually see their quality or anything, it’s all a blind buy.
Things are very exasperating in India, for instance when I called an urban clap (now urban company) “professional” for my clothing rail which is supposed to hang hangers, he said it was for “BANGLES” that’s actually very cheap and I don’t understand how they hire such uneducated imbeciles/louts? We aren’t paying them for nothing, no one has it easy here… the economy is very low. The reason why I’m so pissed is because another “professional” of their’s gave me a double nail infection by damaging my nails during her mani session… they will keep changing their name if get cheap labour like this, it’s total CHEATING. Well as a matter of fact, even the IKEA rep was no less, he too was calling the clothing rail, the “sliding door’s rail”, constantly even after we made everything clear, he was just not able to understand that it was supposed to hang clothes, they have no knowledge about any product in fact I was told, they don’t have door knobs…and we were like, “We’ve already placed an order” to which they said, “IKEA doesn’t keep door knobs”, on top of that they charge 10% of the total amount if you’re hiring an expert from them for anything above a lakh which is almost as if they are collaborating with you! Again, say whhaaat? It’s like they need a share… Next, I tried finding something affordable at common places like Pepperfry, Urban Ladder etc. and this is what I got 👇🏻
Total utter nonsense, they are all ugly & overpriced, those small shelves are completely useless… you can’t keep any clothes there, they are only meant for handbags that too if kept in singularity. I also got some “Steel Cupboards” “Collapsible cloth ones” and “Wooden Book Cabinets” which they think are enough to keep our clothes, that’s the case in India, that too in a metropolitan city like Bombay, they either charge you excessively for ugly, unappealing, impractical “cupboards” mind you, not wardrobes or they charge you excessively for a “blind buy.”
Sadly, IKEA’s Customisation option is not available for Indians, you can use that “software” but you can’t execute it.
So I sketched everything in my mind and ordered separate pieces, each according to my size on my own without any help, for which I most definitely deserve a pat on my back!
I created my dream wardrobe in the limited number of options that were available in INDIA (as maximum things were out of stock) it obviously made my job more challenging, they don’t get those beautiful glossy glass sliding doors in a smaller height here, they don’t even have the accessory pull out shelf with built in compartments nor do they have the glass shelf which mandatorily goes on top of that which is very exasperating… anyway, I had a limited budget and I don’t have much room left for this extra wardrobe because I don’t want to discard my Gautier one, I already had my family’s old wardrobe in my room which is very tiny, I was using it for additional space due to the sliding door and clothing rack issue, it’s again quite unappealing and small. We all deserve something sophisticated, I designed a beautiful combination which I wouldn’t have otherwise got in my budget or size, the colour scheme is something unique which is not present in any of the ready wardrobes, the reason why I wanted more hanging space was because when you stack up everything into a pile, it all topples down and it gets extremely messy, moreover, you keep hoarding and shopping because it’s hard to keep a track of what’s already there, I also do a lot of mixing and matching and I create my own coordinates so for me, it tends to get very tedious when I have to fetch something especially small, individual pieces, I would be now putting these pairs together on one single super-slim hanger, to optimise more space. Here’s an actual scenario of my old wardrobe…
I’ve ordered 50 hangers for 1250/- which was again quite affordable (not from IKEA)
However, if you are planning to shop from IKEA, here are some cons & caveats that you need to look out for, regardless of that, it is one of the most popular brands when it comes to fancy + functional wardrobes:
They have drill holes throughout the frame on the sides which can look a bit weird but I’ve shared a hack below, at the bottom of my page.
The customer care representatives are very incompetent and they can’t transfer their call to the seniors, you can’t contact them or expect a callback either, you can’t expect any guidance from the ones who are already sitting there, you’ll have to solely rely on your own measurements, designs, colour coordination and sensibilities…
They charge an additional fee of ₹3500 for installing anything below 50k and as opposed to other countries (where they have places like Home Depot) procuring all those drills and other equipments for DIY in India is not easy.
Another option is calling a “professional” from Urban Clap which would be like huge Urban Mistake Ref. my first paragraph.
Certain things are not clearly mentioned on the site such as the fact that Pax wardrobes/their shell/frame has to be drilled & fixed on your wall because - I’m not sure if they have a proper balance, I almost felt like asking if they were on wheels when the rep said they are fixed so that they don’t fall on you, yes if you’ve got uneven flooring then it can topple so for additional safety I would be pinning it to the wall (we’ll have to skip that wall if we ever decide to put a wallpaper in my room and if I’ll ever get a chance to move out, I’ll have to disassemble and reassemble it for my home using the same technique)
Maximum things are always unavailable for India which is wrong, even basic things like the Komplement Glass shelf and pull out drawers are only listed in the catalogue for show… it’s extremely disappointing and that makes customisation almost impossible, as an Indian, I feel like they’ve really flaked on us.
There are a few pros like you do get good quality, they have the frame measurements mentioned everywhere when you are accessorising which makes it tad bit easier but constructively speaking, they need to train their staff & hire smarter people, we should also have an option to call up at the store in individual departments (to resolve our queries).
I think if you have stylish clothes then they really deserve a designer wardrobe… I’ll get to dress well and even feel better, also if not now then when? I’m not a teenager anymore and this pandemic has already consumed two essential years of my youth!
As opposed to those super expensive, unattractive, useless wardrobes which I shared earlier, the ones which were for 43950/- & 63187/- (that too after discount) their sizes are 135 x 195 cm & 120 x 210 cm respectively, I designed a nice bigger wardrobe in a lesser amount in 150 x 201 cm (I have my AC on top so I couldn’t get anything with more height) mine has more features & it looks more expensive + I also purchased a few additional items which I’ve shared at the end and even after that I didn’t reach the previous 44k budget in which I would’ve only got that small brown wardrobe.
I would be keeping my satin & fleece night robes (I’m not that rich, you get them for barely 1200/- at nice, fast fashion brands) and pyjama sets, I’ll be storing other delicate stuff, lingerie, light soft, brushed knits in the drawers which have that glass front and I’ll be dedicating the other column entirely to my casual/leisure wear, I hardly have 5 dresses, comprising of three new and two old ones which I never wore (I’d taken them long back in 2016 but I completely forgotten about ’em due to all those heartbreaks) I’m not that girly so I don’t buy a lot of dresses, I’ll be keeping my jackets, dresses and skirts together in the Gautier wardrobe, it will also have my denims, fancier tops and heavy knits (which would be in the middle section) and I’ll be storing all the faux knits - you get brushed jersey stuff now which is more lighter, even on the pocket, I’ll be keeping them in the new wardrobe along with my tees which I got for barely 399 (I’m always on the lookout for those) I don’t like spending much on T-shirt’s because I don’t like round necks, I had initially ordered them for home use but then I realised they were too stylish to be wasted indoors so they are going on the same rack, next, I’ll be keeping my joggers and sweatshirts and all those faux knit cardigans and matching tops (co-ordinated bustiers) casual tops, camisoles, etc. etc. in the same section.
I’ve included these features to keep my wardrobe as minimal & luxurious as possible:
My design would be boasting of 3 white hanging rails, two seamlessly smooth gliding/sliding doors… the glass or lacquered ones were anyway very expensive, these doors however have nice panelling on the front which makes them more charming they are from the new range, the doors are white and I’ve combined them with a beige wooden frame behind, it will also have 2 big glass drawers which can store upto 30 shirts (that reference is only for the 100 cm ones so I’m guessing a 75 cm might store at least 20 garments)
The pull out shelf with felt accessory compartments was too expensive and they don’t have them in stock nor do they have the glass shelves (for the top) here… it would’ve anyway been too pricey because they start from 5300/- and go upto 7k if you have a bigger wardrobe.
The downside is, not all of us would prefer storing things in those compartments because they give you a very restrictive “designated” space for specific things like sunglasses and tennis bracelets, rings, earrings, watches etc. Another factor which makes them more overpriced - their felt insert is folded and tweaked to create those “separate sections” which means it might fall apart if you fidget there, they do have placeholders but it will keep slipping out.
What I’ve done is, I’ve taken that insert for 600/- and the pull out drawer which is priced at 1750/- I’m gonna combine it to create a valet tray for myself and I’ll keep my delicate necklaces, satin scarves, bracelets, etc. in it without creating any sections. I’ve not chosen the patterned felt because I liked plain light grey more… As a bonus you can also use it for flat lay photography!
Next, I’ll be adding a shelf in the same oak finish, above my pull out drawer to conceal it (but not too close obviously) then two glass drawers below the pull out and I’ve got 2 warm led lights to permanently fix them on the top + one extra for clipping it directly on whichever rack I want. The top chrome spotlights were on discount but I didn’t get those because they were still exceeding my budget and they required a lot of wiring) so I got 3 other lights for 399/- each.
Update: I’ll be returning the shelves because my wardrobe’s height is only 201 cm, we had to compromise on that due to my AC. Since I won’t be having much space on the top I’ll be skipping the top shelves (they are hardly ever utilised as it’s very difficult to reach out for anything on that level) so I’ll be skipping them and ordering 2 more lights + a set of additional magnetic lights for my wardrobe walls because I love warm lights… I got the latter from somewhere else, I got a set of 2 for 730/- they come with a hanging chord, some screws (if you want to permanently fix them) & a set of magnetic stick ons (each light comes individually box packed with all these accessories)
I also got a set of beautiful shiny golden knobs… they have more lustre than real gold, they provide small matte same coloured boring knobs with hinged doors in a few ready-made designs which feels more basic… but some people prefer that. I know I’ve got sliding doors so it wasn’t necessary but I wanted to amplify the whole look and I’m not a big fan of anything in plain white colour, the only con is, if I’ll put them on both of my doors (one on each end) then they’ll act as stoppers and the doors won’t open or slide inside completely which would obstruct my glass drawers… so I’m gonna put only one knob on the left or right end of the overlapping door panel ie. on the opposite inside-end of the top overlapping door which would look in the centre when they are closed, well not exactly in the centre but I’ve seen such designs as a kid, I had this knob thing somewhere in the back of my mind, people rarely do that but it looks like a cute button. I will also get to hang my ‘outfit of the day’ there…
Things get sold out really fast on IKEA, luckily I had some cash ready at hand, because I was given money for a vacation in 2018 (after my doctor said I deserved one because I published my first book on my own inspite of having a chronic illness, I did the whole writing, editing, cover, marketing, typesetting, website and logistics without any help) I never went on that trip and I kept that money saved so I’ve used from there… the reason why I chose a wooden frame is because I find white colour a bit amateurish, it is also extremely common and it doesn’t look that rich either, wooden frames on the other hand apart from looking more expensive, also look more warm especially if they’re paired with warm lights… My logic is simple, you can add white accessories to a beige wooden frame (that is, if anything is sold out and you have to compromise on another finish) but you can’t add wooden accessories to a white frame, which is exactly why I chose a wooden frame. It’s all very subjective though, some people find white more luxurious and it indeed symbolises that so it differs from person to person. The reason why I chose white doors was because lacquered ones were too expensive and they were not available for this height anyway. Also, I didn’t want to use the same wooden finish because they mostly make very minimal looking plain doors, there are no bevels or panels, luckily mine has panelling & bevels both but if you use a plain door in the same colour or finish, the wardrobe looks very bulky and huge, it instantly makes the room smaller.
Just found this similar looking design and I’m glad I chose the same combination, it looks yum like vanilla icing on a piece of cake.
… And that’s about it, I hope my tips were helpful, Best of luck if you’re working on your dream project!
Here’s a drill hole hack: You can get a pack of 100 peg cover plugs to conceal them for ₹45/-
I’ve created a list of items to go with my Beige Aesthetic theme (which I’ve decided for the wardrobe) I mean you can’t just go in IKEA and simply buy peg plugs, right? You will end up browsing and purchasing more stuff…
I’ll be using a marker to label it in a fancy handwriting
I will use these bread tins to store misc. paraphernalia + satin scrunchies & other stuff.
iPad or tablet stand (only for 199/-)
I skipped these candles because I don’t have money to spend on non-essentials right now…
Italian Espresso Set because I love ‘em and these are not fragile or expensive, I already have 2 sets in another colour. I’m actually sensitive to caffeine so this much coffee is enough for me.
I had ordered this from abroad in 2019, the duties were already paid, it’s pure velvet with a golden foil print on top, I luckily managed to grab the last piece… it was only for 799/- someone else also said it looks way more expensive. I’ve been waiting to use it ever since and I’m gonna keep it in my wardrobe in the last empty shelf.
Au Revoir
Zara Sauleh
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