Brett Field
A standard built-in wardrobe in Australia is about 600 mm deep. Houzz's wardrobe measurement guide puts it at about 600 to 650 mm including the doors, and IKEA's PAX wardrobe frame is 580 mm deep before the doors go on.
Below is why 600 mm works, how shallow you can go, how the door type changes the depth, shelf and drawer sizes, walk-in robes, how to measure, and the Queensland rules. The sizes come from a design guide and two wardrobe makers, checked on 18 October 2026. There are no prices here: our guide to built-in wardrobe costs has those.
What is the standard depth of a built-in wardrobe?
About 600 mm, measured from the back wall to the front of the doors. Here is what each source we checked gives.
| Source | What it measures | Depth |
|---|---|---|
| Houzz wardrobe guide (2023) | A wardrobe, including the doors | About 600-650 mm |
| IKEA PAX wardrobe frame | The frame only, no doors | 580 mm |
| IKEA PAX with hinged doors | Frame plus hinged doors | 600 mm |
| IKEA PAX with sliding doors | Frame plus sliding doors | 660 mm |
| myDIY sliding wardrobes | Every wardrobe it makes | 600 mm |
Source: Houzz, IKEA Australia product pages and myDIY, checked 18 October 2026. IKEA lists its sizes in centimetres. We changed them to millimetres.
Why 600 mm? Houzz's guide says that depth leaves enough room for clothes on hangers and bulky coats. So the depth is set by the hangers. Shelves and drawers can be shallower, as the sections below show.
What is the minimum depth for a built-in wardrobe?
For a hanging rail, about 580 mm is the smallest full depth in the maker figures we checked. myDIY's measuring guide lists 580 mm as the minimum depth for a robe that fits between two walls. IKEA's full-depth PAX frame is also 580 mm.
A shallower cupboard still works if it holds shelves and drawers instead of hanging space:
- IKEA makes a slim PAX frame that is 355 mm deep.
- Houzz designer Sally Hart says 380 mm is all you need for jumpers and folded clothes.
- She also says shoes, underwear drawers and shelves work fine at 300 to 380 mm deep.
She says that can give you back up to 300 mm of the next room, compared to a standard 600 mm wardrobe allowance. That is useful in a small bedroom or a hallway, as long as you do not need to hang anything long.
Do sliding doors make a wardrobe deeper than hinged doors?
Yes, on IKEA's figures. Its 580 mm frame comes to 600 mm deep with hinged doors and 660 mm with sliding doors. So hinged doors add about 20 mm and sliding doors add about 80 mm (our sums from IKEA's product pages).
The trade-off is floor space. Hinged doors need clear floor in front of the wardrobe to swing open. Sliding doors run past each other on a track, so nothing swings into the room. Houzz suggests you check whether hinged or sliding doors suit the room, and whether you have space for either.
myDIY's sliding doors run floor to ceiling, with the top track screwed to the ceiling and the bottom track to the floor. It makes every wardrobe 600 mm deep to keep the price down, and quotes any other depth separately.
If the walk-in robe or bedroom needs a new door too, a cavity sliding door tucks into the wall and needs no room to swing. Our guide to sliding door installation costs has the prices.
How deep should wardrobe shelves and drawers be?
Shelves and drawers are usually shallower than the hanging space. Houzz's guide says shelving is commonly 450 mm deep. Here are its figures.
| Part | Size in Houzz's guide |
|---|---|
| Shelves | Commonly 450 mm deep, often with pegs so you can move them |
| Bank of drawers | 800 mm high (three 250 mm drawers plus a 50 mm kickboard), 450 mm deep |
| Shoe shelf height | 220-260 mm for heels, flats and most men's shoes, about double for boots |
| Shoe pigeon hole | 220-300 mm wide, at least 350 mm deep for women's shoes, a little more for men's |
Source: Houzz, "An Insider's Guide to Walk-In Wardrobe Measurements" (Monique Sartor, July 2023), checked 18 October 2026.
With custom joinery you can change any of these to suit what you own. A made-to-measure robe can have 600 mm deep hanging space and 450 mm deep shelves side by side.
How high should wardrobe hanging rails be?
Houzz's guide says to allow 940 mm of height for short hanging and 1,880 mm for long clothes. Short hanging is shirts, skirts, suits, jackets and trousers. Long hanging is dresses and long coats. Set the rails at those heights and add a little extra above and below for the hangers.
The guide suggests at least a quarter of the hanging space should be for long clothes as a starting point.
The height of the whole wardrobe depends on the ceiling. IKEA's PAX frames come in two heights, 2,012 mm and 2,364 mm. myDIY makes sliding doors up to 2,750 mm high, with the inside shelves topping out at 2,000 mm. Houzz says that if your ceilings are 2,500 mm or higher, taking storage right up to the ceiling can add a cubic metre of space.
How deep is a walk-in wardrobe?
The cupboards in a walk-in are the same depth as a built-in. What changes is the room, because you need an aisle to walk in. Houzz designer Sally Hart measures it by the short wall of the room.
| Short wall of the room | What fits, per Houzz |
|---|---|
| 1,390 mm | The tightest walk-in, with storage on one side only |
| 1,680-1,800 mm | 380 mm deep shelves on one side and an 820 mm aisle |
| 1,950 mm | A simple galley, with hanging and shelves on both sides |
| 3,000 mm | A narrow island bench of about 450 mm |
| 3,400 mm | An island 700 mm wide, with aisles of about 750 mm |
Source: Houzz, "Expert Eye: How to Squeeze in a Walk-In Wardrobe" (Sally Hart, May 2017), checked 18 October 2026.
She also points out the catch with a one-sided walk-in. It uses twice as much floor space as a built-in for the same storage, because of the aisle. So in a small room, a built-in robe along one wall can hold the same clothes in less space.
How do I measure for a built-in wardrobe?
Measure the height, the width and the depth, and write down the smallest number each time. myDIY's guide says to:
- measure from the floor to the ceiling for the height
- measure from wall to wall, or to where the wardrobe will end, for the width
- use the smallest measurement, and allow for floors and ceilings that are not level
For the depth, measure from the back wall to where the front of the doors will sit. Take the measurement at the floor and at the ceiling, and look for anything in the way, like a skirting board, a power point, a bulkhead or a window frame.
Then check the door. If you want hinged doors, make sure there is room in front for them to open past the bed.
What are the Queensland rules for a built-in wardrobe?
In Queensland, building work valued over $3,300 must be done by a contractor with a QBCC licence. Under that amount, the QBCC says a handyman can do the work, as long as it is not electrical or plumbing work. The QBCC's carpentry licence covers installing "fitments". Its cabinet making licence covers installing fitted cabinets and fitments on site.
The deposit is capped too. The QBCC's deposit rules are:
- $3,300 or less: up to 20%
- $3,301 to $19,999: up to 10%
- more than $20,000: up to 5%
A deposit of up to 20% is allowed when made-to-measure work done away from the site is more than 50% of the contract price. A wardrobe built in a workshop can fall under this, so ask which rule the deposit is based on.
Lights inside the wardrobe need power. Queensland's Electrical Safety Office says jobs like a new power point or a new light fitting need a licensed electrician.
We build built-in wardrobes and cupboards across the Gold Coast, made to measure for the room, and we book the electrician if you want lights. See our carpentry work for the wardrobes, cupboards and fit-outs we do.
Where do these figures come from?
Checked on 18 October 2026: Houzz ("An Insider's Guide to Walk-In Wardrobe Measurements" by Monique Sartor, 17 July 2023, and "Expert Eye: How to Squeeze in a Walk-In Wardrobe" by Sally Hart, 17 May 2017); IKEA Australia PAX wardrobe frame and PAX combination product pages (no date shown); myDIY ("How to Measure Sliding Wardrobes", no date shown). Rules from the QBCC (when you need a licence, last reviewed 11 August 2021; carpentry and cabinet making licence scopes, 30 August 2021; deposits and progress payments, 27 June 2025) and the Electrical Safety Office (no date shown). The millimetre figures for IKEA and the door depths are our sums. We will check the figures again every three months.
See our carpentry work, or check what your job will cost.
