Full carcase or front frame?
There are two types of wardrobe construction: full carcase and front frame. Both look exactly the same with the doors shut. The difference is with what is behind the doors.
Full carcase
The units are fully lined (i.e. they have a back, sides, a base, and a top). You do not see the bare wall behind the units so you don’t have to decorate behind where the wardrobes are stationed.
The wardrobes are quicker to install than the front frame system, which can reduce your installation costs.
Front frame wardrobes are available in beech or white as standard, although you can have other colours (Oak, Kashmir, Avola Larch, Pale Cream, Stone Grey) at additional cost.
Front frame
The units do not have a back and sides in. You can see the bare walls, ceilings and, sometimes, the floor (some front frame wardrobes have a base in to save customers carpeting the floor).
The doors are hung on a frame, but there is no unit behind the doors.
This is a much more basic system, which sometimes takes longer to install that the carcase option (which, in turn, can increase your installation costs). Sometimes, front frame wardrobes can end up costing you more overall as increased installation costs outweigh the savings made on the units!
Which is more popular?
Full carcase is a lot more popular. Objectively, it is a superior product as you open the doors to see a nice warm, finished interior. Also, you don’t have to decorate the walls behind the wardrobes as they are unseen.
Front frame is useful when uninterrupted access is required behind the doors (for example, to get to a boiler), but requires you to decorate the walls behind as they are seen.
- Full carcase
- Front frame