Hotel Built-In Wardrobes and Headboard Walls Made to Your Drawings

Guestroom built-in wardrobes, headboard walls and wall panelling are made to your drawings and fitted to the building, so they should be quoted as a drawing package, not chosen from a catalogue. The site dimensions, the carcass and door construction, the hardware, the finish and the way each unit is fixed all belong to the item the designer approves, and each should be written down before a factory prices it.

FBM Furniture works with companies only: Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers. Send the room schedule, drawings, quantities and the project location, so we can compare the same specification line by line.

Product scope

• Built-in wardrobes and closets for hotel guestrooms, apartments and serviced residences
• Headboard walls, upholstered or panelled, with or without built-in bedside shelves and lighting
• Wall panelling and feature joinery that matches the guestroom wardrobe and headboard finish
• Units for the developers, contractors and design companies that fit out the rooms

Built-in units, loose bedside tables and desks, and beds themselves come from different production lines. Loose casegoods are covered on our hotel guestroom casegoods page, and beds and upholstered headboards on beds and headboards. We place each product with a factory that runs the relevant line and keep the approved construction tied to that item.

What to specify before requesting quotes

Schedule field	What to record
Item code and quantity	One code per wardrobe or panel type, with the quantity per room type, floor or phase.
Site dimensions	Opening width, height and depth taken from site, with the drawing number they come from. The factory confirms any tolerance it needs in the shop drawings.
Carcass	Core board type and thickness, edge treatment and back panel, described in writing for the model quoted.
Doors	Hinged, sliding or folding; panel material and thickness; any mirror or glass; how doors are aligned and adjusted.
Hardware	Hinge, runner, handle and lock references by model and finish, and whether the project or the factory supplies each.
Interior fittings	Hanging rail, shelves, drawers, safe, luggage shelf and lighting, shown on the drawing and listed in the quotation.
Headboard wall	Panelled, upholstered or mixed; panel size and joints; where power, switches and bedside lighting sit.
Finish	Veneer, laminate or paint, with a sample and finish code; edge and corner detail.
Fixing	How each unit fixes to wall, floor and ceiling, and what the site team must prepare before fitting.
Interfaces	Where the unit meets walls, ceilings, skirting, doors and services, and who makes good each junction.
Evidence required	The test report or declaration the project specification asks for, with its edition, for the model offered and the destination named.
Packing	How units are sectioned for shipping, how parts are marked by room and item code, and how cartons are protected.

The table is a checklist. Add a line for anything your project needs that is not listed, such as a lock reference or a spare allowance.

Drawings come first

Built-in joinery is not ordered from a photograph. Send the room plans, wall elevations and sections for each unit, mark the dimensions you want held and those the site will confirm, and ask each factory to return shop drawings and a material list before production. Compare the shop drawings against your own schedule line by line, and sign them off per item code. Our FF&E schedule checklist shows how to lay out the schedule.

Site dimensions, fixing and interfaces

Most problems with built-in units appear at the building, not in the factory. Walls are not always plumb, floors are not always level, and services sit where the site put them. Ask each factory to state in the shop drawings which dimensions it needs confirmed on site, how the unit is scribed or packed out at walls and floors, and what each junction looks like. State who prepares the opening and who makes good the finish around the unit, so those items are in someone’s scope.

Headboard walls and panelling

A headboard wall often carries lighting, switches and power points, and its panels must line up with the wardrobe finish in the same room. Say in the brief whether the wall is panelled, upholstered or a mix, give the panel sizes and joint positions, mark the cut-outs for services, and approve one finished panel before production. For upholstered panels, name the foam, the covering reference and how the covering is fixed, and keep the approved sample as the reference for bulk production.

Finish, samples and approvals

Approve a finished corner sample for each wardrobe and panel finish, not a swatch alone, and record the approval against the item code. Our guide to samples, finishes and approvals sets out the approval sequence, including how changes are recorded before they replace an approved reference.

Name the rules in the specification

The rules that apply to joinery depend on the destination, the building and the materials. Composite wood panels, internal linings and timber can each fall under different requirements in different markets. Name the requirement in the specification and ask each factory what evidence it can provide for the exact model offered. Our United States, Canada and Australia and New Zealand compliance pages explain how we approach the main rules, and the fixed furniture and joinery page lists examples by market. Your specifier or certifier decides what applies to your project.

What to request from the factory

• Shop drawings for each item code, with the dimensions confirmed against your site schedule.
• A material list showing the core, surface, edge and back panel for each unit.
• The hinge, runner, handle and lock references, with finish codes.
• A finished sample of each finish and, for headboard walls, one finished panel.
• Evidence the specification asks for, issued for the model offered and the destination named.
• A packing and marking description by room and item code, and a statement of any proposed substitution for approval before production.

Send the schedule, drawings and quantities together. For the wider range, see fixed furniture and joinery and our Florida hotel case study, which included guestroom wardrobes. Our case studies show projects we have managed.

FBM Furniture is the furniture-focused team of FBM Sourcing, which manages the entire China procurement package for overseas construction projects. FBM Sourcing’s guide to built-in wardrobe sourcing for Australian apartments covers the supply side. Our minimum order is a full container; items from several factories can share one container.

Frequently asked questions

What should a built-in wardrobe specification include?

Give the room schedule with item codes and quantities, the site dimensions, the carcass and door construction, the hinge, runner and handle references, the interior fittings, the finish with an approved sample, and how the unit is fixed to the wall and floor. Add the evidence the project requires, with its edition, so every factory quotes the same unit.

Who provides the site dimensions for joinery?

You or your site team do. Built-in units are made to the opening, so the factory works from the dimensions and drawings you issue and confirms in the shop drawings any tolerance it needs at walls, floors and ceilings.

What is a headboard wall, and what should the brief say about it?

A headboard wall is a fixed panel or feature wall behind the bed. Say whether it is panelling, upholstered or a mix, how it is fixed, and where power, switches and lighting sit, so the factory can cut and finish the panels to match.

Can a factory change the board or hardware after approval?

Only with your written approval. Treat a change of core, surface, hinge or runner as a new item: record it against the same item code and approve it before production.

How does FBM Furniture charge for built-in joinery?

For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.