Last Updated: September 2026 | Reading time: about 9 minutes
Most Bengaluru wardrobe drawings I review carry a depth of 450 mm, and that is wrong for any bay you intend to hang clothes in. A standard adult hanger is 430 mm to 450 mm across. Strip an 18 mm shutter and a 6 mm back panel off a 450 mm carcass and about 426 mm of clear depth is left, narrower than the hanger itself. The working sizes for a Bengaluru apartment in 2026 are 600 mm external depth, a short hang bay with 950 mm to 1,100 mm of clear drop, a long hang bay with 1,600 mm to 1,750 mm, shelves at 300 mm centres and drawers 150 mm to 200 mm deep. The loft adds Rs 14,400 to Rs 16,800 on a 6 ft wardrobe.
On this page
Wardrobe internal design: what the numbers actually are
A wardrobe quotation in Bengaluru is priced on shutter area, so the drawing that gets approved is a drawing of the outside. The inside is left to the carpenter, who builds whatever the last job had. That is how a family ends up with four shelves at 400 mm and nowhere to hang a saree.
The inside is a stack of vertical clearances, each set by a garment rather than by taste. A folded shirt stack is 250 mm to 300 mm tall before it leans. A shirt on a hanger drops 950 mm to 1,100 mm from the rod. A full length saree drops 1,600 mm to 1,750 mm. Those three numbers, and the depth the hanger demands, decide every horizontal line in the unit.
Depth comes first, because it is the one figure you cannot change later. Asian Paints Beautiful Homes puts the absolute minimum hanging depth at 20 inches, or 508 mm, noting that at 20 inches a garment clears the back panel by about 2 inches and 22 to 24 inches is needed before a hanger turns without catching. A swing wardrobe runs 20 to 24 inches deep and a sliding one 24 to 28 inches, because the track and panel overlap eat 2 to 4 inches. That means 600 mm external for hinged and 650 mm for sliding, and I have never regretted specifying 600 mm.
Height here is settled by the slab. A 7 ft body at 2,134 mm plus a loft above it is the standard Bengaluru stack, and the loft is where the money quietly goes. Our published guest room rate card prices a 6 ft by 7 ft hinged laminate wardrobe on 19 mm BWP plywood at Rs 54,600 to Rs 63,000, and the loft add-on, 6 ft by 2 ft or 12 sq ft, at Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,400 per sq ft, giving Rs 14,400 to Rs 16,800. Read those two lines together. The loft is billed at 86 to 93 percent of the rate charged for the wardrobe body, and it holds suitcases you reach for twice a year.
In eight years of reviewing wardrobe drawings in this city, the most expensive line has never been the shutter finish. It is two feet of loft nobody costed, above a bay built too shallow to hang a shirt in.
- Wardrobe internal design
- The division of a wardrobe carcass into vertical bays and horizontal clearances sized to specific garments, covering carcass depth, hanging rod clear drop, shelf spacing, drawer height and loft height. It is specified in millimetres of clear internal space, not in shutter area, which is how the wardrobe is priced.
- Specify 600 mm external depth for any hanging bay. At 450 mm the clear depth is about 426 mm, below the 430 mm to 450 mm width of an adult hanger.
- Short hang needs 950 mm to 1,100 mm of clear drop, long hang 1,600 mm to 1,750 mm.
- Set folded clothes shelves at 300 mm centres, never below 250 mm.
- Hettich channels step in 50 mm increments, so carcass depth sets drawer length in fixed jumps.
- A 6 ft loft costs Rs 14,400 to Rs 16,800, about 26 percent on top of a Rs 54,600 to Rs 63,000 body.
GET A FREE LAYOUT SKETCH
Send your bedroom plan and we return a bay by bay wardrobe internal layout in 3 working days.
WhatsApp Us Call +91 94499 00222Why a 450 mm deep wardrobe cannot hold a hanger square
Indian wardrobe guides do not agree on depth. Several publish 40 cm to 45 cm as the standard, others 55 cm to 60 cm: a 150 mm spread on the one dimension you cannot correct once the carcass is assembled.
The hanger settles it. A standard adult hanger measures 430 mm to 450 mm across, a wide suit hanger 460 mm to 510 mm. Take the 450 mm carcass apart: an 18 mm shutter, a 6 mm back panel, about 426 mm of clear depth left. The hanger is wider than the space, so it sits at an angle, the shoulder of every shirt presses the shutter, and within a year the shutter edge carries a line of grime.
At 600 mm external the same subtraction leaves roughly 576 mm clear and the hanger sits square. Where the wall cannot give up 600 mm, build a deep hanging section plus a shallow shelf tower, not one shallow unit that hangs nothing properly.
VISIT OUR VIGNAN NAGAR STUDIO
Stand in front of a 600 mm bay and a 450 mm bay and feel the difference before you sign a drawing.
WhatsApp Us Call +91 94499 00222The five garment zones and what each one measures
Every wardrobe I draw is built from five zones, three of them side by side in a 6 ft unit. This is the sheet I hand the carpenter.
| Zone | Clear height | Clear depth | What it holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short hang | 950 mm to 1,100 mm | 576 mm | Shirts, kurtas, blouses, jackets |
| Long hang | 1,600 mm to 1,750 mm | 576 mm | Sarees, lehengas, sherwanis, coats |
| Folded shelf | 300 mm between shelves | 300 mm to 400 mm | Folded shirts, trousers, bedsheets |
| Drawer | 150 mm to 200 mm | 500 mm channel in a 600 mm carcass | Innerwear, socks, accessories |
| Loft | 300 mm to 610 mm | 500 mm to 610 mm | Suitcases, razais, festival clothing |
The 300 mm shelf is not a rounded number. Below 250 mm you cannot get a hand under a stack, above 380 mm it topples when you pull from the middle. Wooden Street publishes the same 300 mm to 380 mm band.
Rod heights for shirts, sarees and a double hang bay
Rod height is published two ways: the height above the floor, and the clear drop from the rod to whatever sits below. Only the clear drop matters, because that is what the garment occupies. A short hang bay needs 950 mm to 1,100 mm below the rod, a long hang bay 1,600 mm to 1,750 mm. Measured the other way, Asian Paints puts the full length saree rod at 72 to 78 inches above the floor and the folded rod at 48 inches. A drawing that does not say which it means will be built wrong.
A double hang bay is where most Bengaluru wardrobes recover capacity. Two rods in one bay, each with roughly 950 mm of clear drop and split by a fixed shelf, hold nearly twice the shirts of a single tall bay. It works only for short garments, so the moment a saree enters, one full height bay is reserved for it.
Here is the arithmetic that decides the bottom of that bay, and I have not seen it on any competitor page. A 7 ft body is 2,134 mm. Take off a 100 mm plinth and an 18 mm top panel and 2,016 mm remains. Give the long hang its full 1,750 mm and only 266 mm is left: one drawer at 200 mm, nothing else. A drawing showing a full height saree bay over two drawers does not add up, and the carpenter fixes it on site by cutting the saree drop.
COMPARE 3 BUDGET TIERS
Basic, Standard and Premium wardrobe internals side by side, with the same bay heights in each.
WhatsApp Us Call +91 94499 00222Why the drawer inside a shallow wardrobe loses 100 mm
Drawer length is not something a carpenter chooses freely. The hardware chooses it, and it comes in fixed steps.
Hettich India lists its regular telescopic channels at 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650 and 700 mm. There is no 425 mm channel and there never will be. The channel must be shorter than the clear internal depth, so carcass depth sets drawer length in 50 mm jumps. A 600 mm carcass takes a 500 mm channel. A 450 mm carcass takes only a 400 mm one. Saving 150 mm of depth costs you 100 mm of drawer travel, permanently, in a drawer you open every morning.
The channels are cheap and worth naming on the quotation. Hettich lists the KA 5332 at about Rs 335 a set and the KA 5632 at 45 kg capacity at about Rs 417. A quote that says drawers with no length, brand or load rating is selling you an unknown. The same applies to shutter hardware, covered in our comparison of sliding and hinged wardrobes for Bengaluru bedrooms.
What the loft above your wardrobe costs in Bengaluru
The loft gets added to almost every Bengaluru wardrobe because the ceiling is there and the gap looks untidy. Nobody prices it separately, and relative to how often it is opened it is the costliest square footage in the bedroom.
| Element | Area | Rate per sq ft | Cost in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wardrobe body, 6 ft x 7 ft, hinged laminate on BWP | 42 sq ft | Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,500 | Rs 54,600 to Rs 63,000 |
| Loft add-on, 6 ft x 2 ft, laminate | 12 sq ft | Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,400 | Rs 14,400 to Rs 16,800 |
| Sliding 2 door, 6 ft x 7 ft, acrylic or lacquer | 42 sq ft | Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,500 | Rs 75,600 to Rs 1,05,000 |
| Loft and skirting rework, older apartments | Per bedroom | Lump sum | Rs 4,000 to Rs 12,000 |
Source: myNivasa Bengaluru rate card 2026, on a 19 mm BWP plywood carcass, excluding internal accessories.
Set the first two rates beside each other. The loft is charged at 86 to 93 percent of the body rate per square foot and adds about 26 percent to the bill. For a family that keeps razais and festival clothing boxed that is money well spent. For a couple with two suitcases it is Rs 15,000 of joinery holding air.
If you do build it, Asian Paints puts usable loft height at 12 to 24 inches, below which it is too shallow and above which you need a step stool. Keep the loft depth at 500 mm even where the wardrobe below is 600 mm. Room budget context sits in our bedroom interior design cost guide for Bengaluru.
FREE COST ESTIMATE IN 48 HOURS
Tell us your wardrobe wall width and whether you want a loft, and we price both separately.
WhatsApp Us Call +91 94499 00222Frequently asked questions
What is the correct internal depth for a wardrobe in an Indian apartment?
Specify 600 mm external depth for any hanging bay, leaving about 576 mm clear after an 18 mm shutter and a 6 mm back panel. A standard adult hanger is 430 mm to 450 mm wide, so a 450 mm carcass leaves roughly 426 mm and the hanger cannot sit square. Asian Paints puts the minimum at 20 inches, or 508 mm.
How high should the hanging rod be inside a wardrobe?
Specify the clear drop below the rod, not the height above the floor. A short hang bay needs 950 mm to 1,100 mm, a long hang bay 1,600 mm to 1,750 mm. Measured from the floor, Asian Paints places a full length saree rod at 72 to 78 inches.
Does a shallow wardrobe affect the drawers inside it?
Yes, permanently. Hettich India supplies telescopic channels in 50 mm steps from 300 mm to 700 mm. A 600 mm carcass takes a 500 mm channel, a 450 mm carcass only a 400 mm one, so saving 150 mm of depth removes 100 mm of drawer travel for the life of the unit.
How much does a wardrobe loft cost in Bengaluru in 2026?
A 6 ft by 2 ft loft, 12 sq ft, costs Rs 14,400 to Rs 16,800 at the myNivasa 2026 rate of Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,400 per sq ft in laminate. Against a 6 ft by 7 ft hinged laminate body at Rs 54,600 to Rs 63,000 that is about 26 percent more.
GET YOUR PROJECT TIMELINE IN 48 HOURS
Measurement to handover, milestone by milestone, for your bedroom storage.
WhatsApp Us Call +91 94499 00222Limitations, sources and final word
Limitations. These are clear internal dimensions assuming an 18 mm shutter, a 19 mm BWP carcass and a 6 mm back panel. Garment lengths vary, so measure your longest saree first. The rate card is a 2026 Bengaluru band on laminate over BWP plywood.
Sources used on this page: Asian Paints Beautiful Homes, standard wardrobe dimensions for minimum hanging depth and loft heights; Hettich India, telescopic drawer channels for channel lengths, load capacities and prices; Houzz India, ideal wardrobe measurements; and Wooden Street, standard wardrobe sizes. All cost figures are the myNivasa published Bengaluru rate card.
Final word. A wardrobe is quoted on the outside and lived in from the inside. Fix the depth at 600 mm, write the clear drops on the drawing before the carpenter arrives, and treat the loft as a separate Rs 14,400 to Rs 16,800 purchase rather than a default. The rest is a finish choice. For bay heights marked on your own floor plan, we are at 2nd Floor, Sapthagiri Complex, 265/1, Kaggadasapura Main Rd, Vignan Nagar, Bengaluru 560075, on +91 94499 00222 or [email protected], working across Marathahalli, Whitefield, HSR Layout, Sarjapur Road, Indiranagar, Koramangala, Bellandur and Electronic City. Also read our breakdown of carpenter against modular wardrobe costs, our 10 by 12 master bedroom layout guide, and our guest room interior design cost guide.
