You’ve been putting up with a sagging flat-pack wardrobe for three years. The rail bows in the middle. The doors don’t close properly. There’s a drawer that’s been “nearly fixed” since 2022.
Custom wardrobes Dublin homeowners actually want aren’t ordered from a box. They’re designed around your room, your storage needs, and how you actually live. This article covers what custom wardrobes cost in Dublin, which styles suit which homes, and what to ask a maker before you spend a penny.
Why Custom Wardrobes Are Worth the Investment
Flat-pack solves the immediate problem. It doesn’t solve the room.
An alcove that’s 2,340mm wide doesn’t fit a standard wardrobe. A low-ceilinged box room in a 1960s Santry semi needs a completely different solution to a high-ceilinged master bedroom in a Blackrock Victorian. Off-the-shelf products aren’t built around your space. Custom wardrobes are.
The practical difference shows up quickly. Full-height fitted wardrobes use every millimetre from floor to ceiling. They eliminate the dust-collecting gap above standard units. They make smaller rooms feel larger because the eye reads the clean line of the cabinetry rather than the cluttered edges of a freestanding piece.
What Custom Wardrobes Dublin Actually Cost
This is the question most people are afraid to ask. Here’s a straight answer.
A basic fitted wardrobe in a standard Dublin bedroom, sliding doors, simple interior fittings, painted finish, starts around €1,800 to €2,500. A full fitted bedroom with wardrobes across one or two walls, a dressing table, and bedside units typically lands between €4,000 and €8,000. A walk-in wardrobe or dressing room, properly fitted out, runs from €8,000 to €15,000 or more.
Those are real figures for Dublin in 2025. What pushes the price up includes door style, interior fittings, material finish, and whether you’re going fully handcrafted or working with a more standardised manufacturing process.
| Wardrobe Type | Typical Price Range (Dublin 2025) |
|---|---|
| Basic fitted, single wall | €1,800 to €2,500 |
| Full fitted bedroom suite | €4,000 to €8,000 |
| Walk-in wardrobe or dressing room | €8,000 to €15,000+ |
| Fully handcrafted, premium finish | €12,000+ |
At Aloco Kitchens, bespoke bedroom furniture is handcrafted in-house at their Santry workshop. Every piece is made to measure. That process takes longer than ordering from a catalogue, but the result is a wardrobe that fits your room exactly and lasts decades rather than years.
Custom Wardrobe Styles That Suit Dublin Homes
Dublin’s housing stock is varied. A period terrace in Drumcondra has completely different proportions to a new-build in Clonshaugh. The wardrobe style you choose should work with the architecture, not fight against it.
Shaker Style Wardrobes
Shaker doors are the most versatile option in Irish homes. The recessed panel is traditional enough for a Victorian semi and clean enough for a modern apartment. Painted in a deep green or warm grey, a shaker wardrobe in a period bedroom looks like it was always there.
Aloco Kitchens works regularly with shaker door profiles across Dublin. Their 2,500 sq ft showroom in Santry displays multiple shaker finishes so you can see exactly how the door style reads at scale before committing.
Contemporary Slab Doors
Slab doors, a flat uninterrupted panel, suit modern homes and newly renovated spaces. They work well in apartments and new-builds where clean lines are the priority. Handle-less push-to-open versions are popular in bedrooms where hardware would interrupt the look.
A contemporary slab wardrobe in a matt white or light grey finish gives a master bedroom a clean, hotel-suite feel that photographs brilliantly and ages well.
Two-Tone and Painted Finishes
Two-tone cabinetry has been a consistent feature in Aloco’s work over the past few years. A wardrobe with a darker base section and a lighter upper section creates visual depth in larger bedrooms. Green and brass palettes have proved popular with Dublin homeowners who want personality without going overboard.
Irish timber and locally sourced materials are used wherever possible. The craftsmen at Aloco have over 40 years of experience matching finishes to room conditions, including light direction, humidity levels, and the tone of existing floors and walls.
Fitted vs Freestanding: Which Is Right for Your Home?
Both have a place. The answer depends on three things: the room, the budget, and how long you’re staying.
Fitted wardrobes are fixed to the wall and floor. They use all available space, look like they belong, and add value to the property. They’re harder to take with you if you move.
Freestanding wardrobes can be relocated or taken with you. They work well in rental properties or rooms where a fitted solution isn’t practical. The trade-off is that they rarely use space as efficiently and tend to show gaps and edges that make a room feel less finished.
For homeowners in Dublin who own their property and plan to stay for five or more years, fitted custom wardrobes are almost always the better investment. The cost is recovered in usability, storage efficiency, and resale value.
Interior Fittings: The Part People Underestimate
The door style gets all the attention. The interior fittings are what you actually use every day.
A well-designed wardrobe interior includes a mix of long hanging, short hanging, shelving, drawers, and dedicated storage for shoes and accessories. Getting that breakdown right before anything is built makes a significant difference to how the finished wardrobe works in practice.
Standard interior elements worth specifying:
- Long hanging for dresses, suits, and coats
- Double hanging for shirts and folded trousers
- Deep shelves for knitwear and folded jeans
- Shallow shelves for shoes in pairs
- Drawers for folded items and accessories
- Pull-out rails and hooks for bags and belts
Aloco Kitchens includes a design consultation as part of every custom wardrobe project. The team maps out how you actually use your storage before drawing up the interior layout. That step avoids the frustrating situation of having a beautiful wardrobe that doesn’t work for how you live.
How Custom Wardrobes Add Value to a Dublin Home
Dublin property is expensive and competitive. Buyers pay attention to storage. A bedroom with fitted wardrobes that look like they belong reads as a more complete, higher-quality space than one furnished with freestanding pieces.
Estate agents across Dublin, from Raheny to Rathfarnham, regularly cite fitted wardrobes as a positive in listing descriptions. They’re not a headline selling point the way a new kitchen is, but they contribute to the overall impression of a well-maintained, well-considered home.
The quality of the joinery matters here. A poorly made fitted wardrobe can raise concerns during viewings. A well-crafted wardrobe that suits the style and period of the house does the opposite. Members of the National Guild of Master Craftsmen, like Aloco Kitchens, are vetted for quality of workmanship before being admitted to the guild.
What to Ask Before Commissioning Custom Wardrobes in Dublin
Not all joinery companies work the same way. Before you sign anything, get clear answers to these questions.
Is everything made in-house? Some companies design locally but manufacture elsewhere, sometimes abroad. That creates quality control problems and longer lead times. Aloco Kitchens design, manufacture, and install everything from their Santry workshop.
What’s the lead time? A custom fitted wardrobe typically takes six to ten weeks from sign-off to installation in Dublin. If someone quotes you two weeks, ask exactly how.
What does the warranty cover? A quality joinery company stands behind their work. Find out what’s covered, for how long, and who you contact if something goes wrong after installation day.
Can you see examples of finished work? Real photographs of real installations in Dublin homes are more useful than anything in a showroom. Ask to see recent bedroom projects in properties similar to yours.
Custom Wardrobes Dublin: The Aloco Kitchens Approach
Aloco Kitchens have been making furniture in Dublin since 1980. That’s over 40 years of handcrafted joinery, designed, built, and installed entirely in-house from their Santry base.
Their bedroom furniture follows the same principles as their kitchen design work. Irish timber and materials are used wherever possible. The design process starts with a proper conversation about how you use the space, not a brochure handed across a desk.
The showroom on Boeing Road in Santry includes bedroom displays alongside their full kitchen collections. You can examine the quality of the joinery in person before committing to anything. Consultations are free and there’s no pressure to buy on the day.
FAQ: Custom Wardrobes Dublin
How long does a custom wardrobe take to install in Dublin?
From design sign-off to installation, a fitted wardrobe typically takes six to ten weeks in Dublin. Straightforward single-wall installations can be quicker. Dressing rooms or full bedroom suites with multiple elements take longer. Always confirm the lead time in writing before signing off on a project.
Do custom wardrobes add value to a Dublin home?
Yes, in most cases. Fitted wardrobes in good condition contribute to the overall presentation of a bedroom and are viewed positively by buyers. Quality matters here. Poorly fitted wardrobes can raise concerns during viewings. Well-crafted, properly fitted wardrobes that suit the style of the house are a genuine asset at sale time.
What is the difference between fitted and built-in wardrobes?
The terms are used interchangeably in Ireland. Both refer to wardrobes fixed to the structure of a room rather than freestanding. Built-in sometimes implies a more integrated look where wardrobe doors align with wall panelling or architraves. In practice, most custom wardrobe companies in Dublin use both terms to mean the same thing.
Can custom wardrobes be made to fit awkward spaces?
Yes, and this is the main advantage of going custom. Sloped ceilings, alcoves, chimneybreasts, and irregular wall angles are all workable for a skilled joinery company. Off-the-shelf wardrobes simply can’t handle these situations. A made-to-measure wardrobe is drawn and built specifically for the exact dimensions and constraints of your room.
Conclusion
Custom wardrobes Dublin homeowners commission from quality makers are a long-term investment in how your home looks and functions. They make better use of space, outlast flat-pack alternatives by decades, and add genuine value to a property when done properly.
Aloco Kitchens have been building bespoke bedroom furniture in Dublin since 1980. Their team offers free design consultations from their Santry showroom. Visit alocokitchens.ie or call in to the showroom on Boeing Road to get started.
