Sweet dreams: Dressing rooms and mastersuites

The fitted bedroom furniture market is having quite the moment as home owners discover the beauty of the mastersuite and dressing room. Amanda Cochrane examines how retailers can best exploit this fast-moving trend.

by kbbreview16 July, 2024

From bedroom alcoves to dressing rooms and walk-in wardrobes, well-designed fitted furniture makes the best possible use of floor-to-ceiling height, and for consumers, it’s a stylish investment that adds genuine value to projects of all shapes, sizes, and budgets.

The picture-perfect world of Instagram – where influencers and homeowners show off their luxurious and lovingly created mastersuites, swoon-worthy walk-in wardrobes and perfectly curated dressing rooms with toe-curlingly expensive handbag collections – is having a huge effect on the fitted furniture market.

It may be relatively small but, according to Statista, the bedroom furniture market is expected to grow by 3.47% by 2029. 

Fortunately for the rest of us, the cost of creating a perfectly fitted-out bedroom or dressing space isn’t just for the rich and famous.

“The average fitted wardrobe costs up to £2,500 and then there’s around £270 per day labour costs for installation,” says Chris Dance, showroom manager for InHouse Inspired Room Design, a subsidiary of Schüller in the UK. “And it’s a tailored service largely driven by the consumer and that allows for budget control at all stages, from design to installation.”

And the good news is that a well-designed fitted furniture project that makes a real design statement can boost the value of your home – just like installing a new kitchen or bathroom or creating an attic conversion.

A walk-in wardrobe or dressing room – particularly leading into the mastersuite – can increase a property’s value by up to £10,000, according to Property Price Advice. This is going to be particularly attractive to developers planning to flip a property or homeowners who want to sell their home in the future. 

So what does this mean for the retail industry? Well, simply put, moving into the fitted bedroom furniture market makes a huge amount of sense for cabinetry retailers. If you’re already making and designing fitted furniture for kitchens, boot rooms, and utility spaces, then creating similar pieces for bedrooms, dressing rooms and walk-in wardrobes is an easy transition.

There is usually little to no plumbing or advanced electrics required – low voltage lighting is risk-free, cheap, and easy to fit – which means the job should be much more straightforward. 

Personalised projects

The design considerations are very similar to any other space in the home. One of the key things to creating a successful bespoke bedroom design – as ever – is talking to the customer and fully understanding their needs. What are their requirements, what types of clothing, bags and shoes are they looking to store – do they want to make a display of their favourite shoes and trainers? – and how does their space work as a whole?

Wonky walls and awkward alcoves can often pose a problem in bedroom and attic spaces, but this can be easily resolved with the use of fitted furniture.

It’s a two-way process, too, as most customers are not fully aware of the many design and functionality options that are increasingly available. The latest premium designs are sleek and engineered using high quality materials.

Typical features can include fully integrated vertical and horizontal LED lighting, plus designer details such as no drill holes to ensure that units sit flush when paired alongside fitted wardrobes.

Meanwhile, the rise of clever interior accessories and hanger solutions such as pull-down clothing rails, bespoke drawer dividers and inserts offer the customer a truly personalised service.

Maximising space

“Walk-in wardrobes and dressing rooms will maximise space and help to declutter other areas of the home,” says Caroline Shepherd, bedroom category manager at PWS. “They also provide a seamless look that can be integrated into the architecture of a room.

“Fitted furniture is also built to last and can enhance the value of a property with potential buyers appreciating the convenience of built-in storage solutions.”

Any fitted furniture project includes a variety of must-have storage options. The Imelda Marcos shoe fiend will benefit from the latest footwear storage solutions, better known in the industry as the shoedrobe, which offers specially designed units and floor-to-ceiling shelves. 

Similarly, it is important to consider creating a tall hanging space for the fashionista who loves long dresses. Shorter hanging space is perfects for shirts and creating an area for jackets is another must have. And, just like any well-designed kitchen or bathroom space, making sure to include oodles of drawer space and shelving is crucial.

The more, in many ways, the merrier. As we all try to declutter it makes sense to work with all the usable space. “Our latest bedroom furniture launch, Nexus, answers both of these briefs,” explains Simon Collyns, retail sales director at Symphony. “It features freestanding and fitted furniture for designers to create a really tailored space.

“For example, a dressing room can feature a freestanding dresser and drawers, but with fully fitted wardrobes in the same style to maximise on every inch of space.”

According to Thomas Griffin, UK key account manager at Furnipart, it comes down to two words – aesthetics and functionality. 

“Consumers have become braver and more particular in their design choices, and you can easily translate this into a bespoke fitted bedroom design, rather than working with off the shelf furniture,” he explains. “Moreover, the space saving and utilisation is second to none when you compare fitted bedroom furniture to freestanding.”

Showroom magic

And for retailers it’s essential to put their showrooms to best use by cleverly highlighting as many storage solutions as possible. So placing functional pieces – including shelving, shoe racks and a variety of drawer options – can help consumers visualise how a dressing room or walk-in wardrobe could work in their homes. 

Dance of InHouse says a hardworking layout is key. “Pick a space that would usually be tricky for the consumer to envision and design your display to impress and drive inspiration,” he explains. “Display your dressing room or walk-in wardrobe as an addition to an ensuite or master bedroom to draw attention to the ‘completed suite’ trend. This will also help the consumer to picture the scene visually within their own home.

“There are a variety of selling points that retailers can promote to consumers when offering the fitted furniture service, starting with space maximisation,” adds Dance. “The average new build home in the UK tends to offer limited space per room, particularly the bedrooms and spare bedrooms.

“As the fitted wardrobe is a tailored product, this can be adapted to fit into the awkward spaces that are often disregarded due to their tricky measurements, such as under stairs and in the eves and alcoves.”

A popular market

The growth in the fitted bedroom furniture market can be put down to a few factors. A lasting result of Covid means many of us are spending much more time working from home. Our homes – and our bedrooms in particular – are a much-needed sanctuary.

“Clients are looking to add a defined zone whether utilising a spare room, or offset within the main bedroom to ensure a seamless design feel,” says Richard Evans, development director of Crown Imperial. “Today’s consumers want to introduce a touch of luxury and with over one million hashtags for dressing rooms, interior bedroom organisation looks like it’s a trend here to stay.”

Looking to the future, the evolving wellness and fitted bedroom market is a valuable revenue stream that retailers would be foolish to ignore. And it’s not just owners of silver surfer expansive homes with space for a mastersuite, dressing room, and walk-in wardrobe space considering the benefits of fitted bedroom furniture.

The millennial market is key, says Simon Bodsworth, managing director of Daval. “The silver surfer market has been superseded by mid-career professionals and starter families who have a clear design point of view and they are are primarily being driven by the latest lifestyle trends,” says Bodsworth. “Not only are they bringing new levels of design creativity, but they are also often more adaptable and flexible in their approach, which can be invaluable when completing a new renovation project.  

“When we look at population trends in the UK, millions of millennials are preparing to buy their first home in the next three to five years. So, in order to capitalise on this powerful market driver, retailers should pay close attention to the buying behaviours of millennials and make the necessary adjustments to capture market share.” 

It is fascinating to consider how technology will be introduced to the world of fitted bedroom furniture. Soon the designs will include clothes steamers and dry cleaning closets, according to Jaye Tidbury, from the Myers Touch. “They are great for those with high-quality clothing who need to regularly dry clean cashmere, suits, and other delicate garments.

“It would be a great addition to a walk-in wardrobe space as clothes can be conveniently steamed and sanitised after use, saving time and dry cleaning bills!”