I agree. I much prefer built in wardrobes to any walk in closet. If there is room, it can be nice to have them in a dressing room.

Wouldn’t this be a more expensive option compared to a walk-in closet?

It could potentially be a bit more expensive, but assuming the walk-in closet would be actually kitted out to be functional and not just a single shelf and rod set-up, I am guessing it wouldn't be *that* big a difference.* (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!) Assuming that it's not a total budget breaker (or completely ruining resale value), I'd pay a little bit to free up that space to use for some more interesting purpose and make up for it elsewhere in the budget. :)

i redid my own closet and have a nice walk in. it's not huge,,,maybe 7'X16'. I had California Closets to all the organizing for me. very happy w/what they did.

what if you did some of the wardrobe built ins, and a nice walk in?

I have always preferred my reach-ins and wardrobe to my walkins, in homes I've lived in. Your second picture has me dreamy.

The larger issue here, from a design perspective, is whether one prefers their clothes storage in the actual master bedroom space, or in another separate space. Both can be done well.

In the U.S., I'm guessing many folks see and prefer separate closets, as opposed to built-in or wardrobes which are common outside the U.S.

Take your pick. Both can be well done. And both can be atrocious. ;-)

Personally, I like to walk into a closet and see all the options I have to wear without having to look behind individual doors trying to remember behind which door I put the items I want to wear. Granted most of the time I am selecting which T-shirt and jeans or which T-shirt and shorts I want to wear, but it is still going through a wardrobe selection process. There were times in my career when I wore a suite every day, but those days are behind me. But still I would want to select my clothing garb without having to get doors out of my way.

my walk in is used much like a dressing area i would miss that functionality however i like the looks of reach in closets a lot....if i were concerned with having less floor space i would probably choose reachins

Closets can be nicer for aging in place if the reaching heights and floor space is available. Like Mark, I hate opening and closing multiple doors to find what I want. (Admittedly, I probably should've done a walkin pantry instead of a cabinet one).

A closet system with a mix of moveable shelves/drawers might be a nice hybrid for you.

I agree with others that if you have a partner who sleeps different hours than you, looking for clothes in the dark with a flashlight will be your fate, or your partner may start throwing pillows at you...

Ie, I'm a solid vote for a well thought out closet!

I prefer a walk-in for a few reasons.

1. If one of you gets up earlier than the other, you can just walk into closet, shut the door, and get ready without disturbing the other person.

2. If either of you is messy with their clothes, a closet can help contain the mess instead of it being in the bedroom. I find I have more trouble sleeping if there are clothes piled up in the bedroom.

3. I feel like there is more flexibility with organizing a walk-in with shelves, rods, drawers, etc. than with a reach-in and things are less broken up. You can even add a spot to sit down and put on makeup/jewelry if you wanted to in a walk-in.

4. Reach-ins take up valuable wall space in the bedroom, limiting the things you can put in (some people like have dressers and surfaces to decorate or like to have a TV across from the bed). It also limits the ability to rearrange if you want to because you can't use that wall or put anything too close to it.

Just things to consider. It would be a turn-off for me in a master because I get up before my husband to go to work. He gets to bed pretty late and he gets really frustrated if I have to turn on the light while he's still sleeping. If you won't use the huge walk-in she drew up, just make it smaller.

I had the most divine closet/wardrobe when we lived in LA. There was a dressing room off the bedroom. It was fitted out with various size/style wardrobe cupboards. There was a window in there, but no risk of clothes fading, but allowed one to see the difference between navy and black in natural light. It also had a dressing table and sink - very handy. Off it was a bath - separate tub & shower, toilet and sink. It was perfection.

There were cupboards for men's suits, pants, shirts, shoes, underwear drawers, shelves for foldable. For me, a handbag cupboard, one for shoes, double rid for shirts/pants/skirts. Another for dresses, and a long cupboard for both our formalwear (evening gowns/tailcoat). There was even a top cupboard for hats.

i like the no dust aspect, light without fading risk, and organization. Nirvana...

^^^ that is why I am doing the same. Each wardrobe will have a purpose and fitments customized to it's contents. Hubs will have his, I will have mine. We'll also have a folding table that will really help his travel prep - so he can lay out his clothes, fold them to his carryon size and pack without "help" from the cat. No dust, no fading - but also 2 large floor to ceiling windows. I think the neat look / aspect is calming vs walking into a closet - esp one with no windows - seems like that just begs to be a trash heap. (or maybe that's just me!)

I have a walkin closet if it had not been there when we bought I would have done a wall of Pax from Ikea I love the storage options and I just had a wall of reach in designed for a client and it is awesome.

Looking from Dressing area to Master bath. The house is very long... so this layout used that factor to our advantage.

I prefer to see everything at once. So, walk in closets are my personal preference. But those built ins are much more attractive.

I’d do the walk-in but think about how you can repurpose that space for your use now. Just because it says ‘walk-in closet’ on the plan, it doesn’t mean that’s all you need use it for. Put built-ins for your clothes and then use the rest of the space in the room for a cozy sitting area, or add a small ‘morning kitchen’ type space where you can keep what you need to make a morning or evening drink. With so many people working different hours I think no separate dressing area at all could be a real issue if you ever need to sell. (If you really don’t want it then I’d at least try to keep a room next to the bedroom that could be turned into a closet if someone so prefers in the future, just by putting in a doorway.)

ETA: We’re looking at moving to a house that has a not-very-large walk-in closet and I’m pondering a combination of closet and built-ins. The closet has a window, also, so I’m thinking to even put built-ins in there so everything has protection from the sun without needing to have the blind closed all the time. However one reason I think this will likely work okay for us is our wardrobes tend to fit into categories anyway - work clothes versus casual versus lounge versus for-messy-stuff versus specialized sports items, etc. So no one category of stuff is terribly large, which means all of my work clothes should fit in one area of a wardrobe, so I will be able to see it all by opening just one set of doors. I think it would be much more annoying to have to go between multiple areas to put together a single outfit because tops are here, skirts over there, sweaters elsewhere again, etc.

As someone who has been looking at older houses to renovate, the lack of a walk in closet is something I tried to get a handle on. And here was the issue for us - wardrobes eliminate any other option on that wall. No TV for instance. We like to have a TV in the bedroom and a wardrobe makes it tough. Sure there are work arounds but it is an issue.

For new build, I vastly prefer a small bedroom and a large closet with everything in it - dresser etc. Bedroom just has bed and nightstands (and perhaps a bench). TV in alcove or hidden in wall.

Opening doors to see what options you have just seems like an extra step.

Then there is the issue that there are 2 people (usually) in the master bedroom and sleep schedules don't always match.

I am having the same dilemma. What did you end up doing and how do you like it?

I agree with others that if you have a partner who sleeps different hours than you, looking for clothes in the dark with a flashlight will be your fate, or your partner may start throwing pillows at you...

Um, I'm such a light sleeper that someone getting out of the same BED, much less doing anything else, will wake me up. And then it's a done deed. They might as well just turn on the closet light and look for their clothing...

It could potentially be a bit more expensive,

More than a bit, I suspect.

Personally, I like to walk into a closet and see all the options I have to wear without having to look behind individual doors trying to remember behind which door I put the items I want to wear.

Yep, I agree.

Personally - I built a SMALL walk in closet. It's a "reach in with a few more steps".

In this, I put all the good clothing, and yes, I can look around and see what I want to wear without going through individual doors or whatever. Long sleeves are on one side, the other side is a two layer set of short sleeved items - topmost, regular tops, bottom are t-shirts.

I also have a smaller and regular reach-in closet in the master, for my farming/painting/raising chickens clothing. If and when I need to sell, they can be termed His and Her closets, depending on which spouse has more clothing...

And if I ever get incapacitated, it is a potential for the larger closet to be converted to an elevator to the basement, and for me to toss the farming clothing and put the good stuff in the smaller closet. Because if I'm of limited mobility, I'll have to say bye-bye to the chickens!

Oh, the shoe rack is in the smaller closet. Imelda Marcos would hate me. I own about five pairs, including the bedroom slippers.

How about a combo. A walk in closet with a custom closet company like California Closets.

A recessed built in area as well.

Also suggest asking a local appraiser or Realtor as well how a built in closet system vs a walk in closet will effect classification for resale.

Space challenged homes cal I’ll afford the extra square footage devited to circulation pats in storage rooms. Reach ins are always the best choice in small homes.

any updates on this thread? I have an > 100 yr old home and am toying with taking a smallish bedroom for a master bath and walk-in but space will still be a premium. And a full walk in seems like I waste a lot of floor space versus a series of reach ins. I love the idea of these sophisticated built ins.

It definitely comes down to the question of square footage and arrangement. Built-ins take the square footage of a reach-in closet but have the increased organization/sectioning/mess-hiding of a walk in. Additionally, if you have weird geometry that makes it hard to maximize space while keeping a rectangular shape, it can be nice to have the flexibility of the built ins.

In our 1600 square foot home, every inch counts. We've found that floor-to-ceiling built-ins maximize the function of the floor space used. Ultimately, well-made built ins add value and sell-ability to your home just like walk-ins do.