Walk-in wardrobes, often thought of as a luxurious feature in spacious homes, are now becoming a common request among those who live in HDB flats and small apartments.
Put it down to the prevalence of Dual Income, No Kids couples here, or singletons who want to make the most of whatever extra space they have, says interior designer Kelly Choong of Project File.
Of every 10 apartment projects she does, six have their owners asking for a walk-in wardrobe. She says: "They are mostly couples who don't plan on having children so soon and have two additional rooms, aside from the master bedroom in the home. If they have children, they will just turn the guestroom into a child's room and share their walk-in wardrobe with their children, if they have to."
Black N White House's principal consultant Vincent Ang says walk-in wardrobes are often the favourite room for couples who opt to have them. Women, he says, can spend hours in there, picking their clothes and putting on their make-up, especially when there is a vanity area.
But the men get it too. Mr Ang, who tells his clients to set aside between $6,000 and $8,000 of their renovation budget for a walk-in wardrobe, explains: "Men nowadays have just as many clothes and accessories as women. And they want to show them off too. They have seen how shops display watches and ties, and it's a feature they want in their homes."
The beauty of a walk-in wardrobe is its customisable nature. Depending on what you would like to put in your wardrobe, the configuration of the space, the number of shelves needed and the design are up to you.
The styles can range from bare fixtures to earthy Scandinavian tones to a glamorous French boudoir.
There are also many features to consider. For example, an open-plan wardrobe might work better than one with doors if space is a constraint. It also lets you see your clothes at a glance, although regular cleaning might be needed if dust settles fast.
Then there are additional storage considerations, such as whether you should include an island for accessories such as jewellery or have a specially designed nook for shoes and bags.
Interior designers tell Life! it is difficult to put a single price on how much more a walk-in wardrobe can add to a renovation budget because it depends on what owners want inside.
Some have done wardrobes which range between $5,000 and $15,000. More storage and in-built cupboards and drawers add to the final bill.
To keep costs low, home owners can opt for ready-made systems from stores such as Ikea, which sells walk-in wardrobe parts, so they can buy and install only what is needed.
There are also companies such as home-grown carpentry specialist Mudian which customise wardrobes. It once did a 42 sq ft L-shaped wardrobe in an HDB unit for $3,500. The set included modular shelves to hang clothes, a chest of drawers and corner shelving for linens.
But one thing designers agree on: Home owners must be willing to remove a wall or expand the master bedroom to take over a spare room.
Make Room's Barbara Fritschy says: "Sometimes, that's a deal- breaker because couples have concerns about the future and what will happen if they have to rebuild the wall. It's costly to make changes down the road and there's another space challenge to deal with - where to put your clothes then."
The Association's creative director J.Q. Ong has a suggestion for those who worry about using too much space to house their clothes and accessories. The interior designer says: "Think about adding one more function to the room, rather than it just being only a walk-in wardrobe. For example, create a study area or a reading corner within the room so you maximise the space, rather than fill it with empty cupboards."
For newlyweds Kavan Spruyt, 33, and Debbie Chia, 32, who work in the lifestyle industry and own their own record label Midnight Shift, reconfiguring their space if a little tot comes along will not be much of a problem.
They moved into their 1,108 sq ft HDB flat in March and "inherited" the walk-in wardrobe space from the previous owner, who had extended the master bedroom by taking over a smaller room to include a walk-in space. It was originally a three- bedroom flat.
The couple, who have another room which they use as a music studio, chose to keep the walk-in space rather than rebuild the original room. They share the wardrobe space, which also has six overhead compartments for luggage and boxes, and four shelves for folded clothes.
Mr Spruyt, who also does marketing and music programming for lifestyle and hospitality group Limited Edition Concepts, says: "There's a lot of storage space, which helps because we took over the storeroom for our studio. With an open-concept walk-in wardrobe, selecting clothes is so much easier because you can see what you have."
Ms Chia, a copywriter and DJ, adds: "If we have a child, we can share our master bedroom with him or her till the child is up to four years old. The room is quite big after the extension and it'll be cosy with us in the same space."
For Ms Nazlene Zainal, 39, having a walk-in wardrobe will be a must for any home she lives in. The mother of one, who is married to a German engineer, moved from a penthouse in Telok Kurau to a duplex condominium in Upper East Coast Road.
Her husband uses the top rails in the walk-in wardrobe for his clothes as he is taller, while she gets the lower rails for hers. There are also drawers for their socks and T-shirts as well as shoe racks.
The adjunct lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic says: "It keeps me organised. I know what I have and I don't buy more clothes if I don't have space. I organise clothes according to their uses... so I have a work clothes' area and a going-out clothes' side.
"If we move to a smaller apartment, I would still knock down a room to accommodate a walk-in wardrobe. I think it's a very practical addition, not just a fad."
This article was first published on July 26, 2014.
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