2-door or 3-door steel almirah: which is right for your home?

2-door vs 3-door almirah at a glance

In most homes, two things settle it: how much free wall you have, and how many people will use the almirah. Find your situation below.

Storage: how much each one holds

A 3-door almirah is wider than a 2-door, so at the same height and depth it holds more. You get the whole section behind one more door, so after a locker and drawers there is still more room left for clothes. A 2-door holds less, but for one or two people that is often enough.

• A 2-door usually takes: daily clothes for one or two people, a locker for jewellery and papers, and a few bags on the top shelf.
• A 3-door usually takes: a family's clothes, bedsheets and some bedding, a locker, and drawers for small things in the middle section.
• Height and depth count too: the number of doors is not the whole story. A 2-door almirah made tall, close to the ceiling, holds more than you might expect.

Our guide to choosing a steel almirah covers how to plan the shelves, locker and drawers, and why you should ask about the sheet gauge.

Room size and the space doors need to open

Before you count doors, measure the wall. You need three numbers: the width along the wall, the height up to the ceiling or any beam, and the depth out from the wall. Note anything in the way, such as a switchboard, a window or a pipe.

Then look at the floor in front. A hinged door swings out about as far as it is wide, so the space you need in front depends on how wide each door is, not on how many doors there are. For example, if each door is 1 ft 6 in wide, keep at least 1 ft 6 in clear in front, plus room to stand.

• If the bed is too close, the doors will only open halfway.
• If the room door opens inwards, check that it won't hit the almirah doors.
• An almirah in front of a window or a cooler blocks both light and air.
• If the space in front is tight, ask for narrower doors. The same width split into three doors needs less room for each door to open.

Small and medium bedrooms: which almirah fits

For a small bedroom, a 2-door almirah is usually the better choice. It takes less wall, so it is easier to find a wall where the doors won't hit the bed, the room door or a window. A few things help you fit more into a small room:

• If the width is short, use the height. Have the almirah made a little taller, with a top shelf for things you rarely use. Keep heavy things on the lower shelves.
• Add a mirror on one door, and you won't need a separate mirror on the wall.
• Quilts and mattresses take up a lot of almirah space. Put them in a steel box deewan with storage underneath, and the almirah stays free for clothes.

In a medium bedroom, where one wall is free from corner to corner and a couple and their children share the almirah, a 3-door is more useful. Just leave a clear path between the almirah and the bed.

There is no single right steel almirah size for a bedroom. The right size is the one that fits your wall and lets every door open fully. That is why we make every almirah to your size, and in Agra we come to measure for free.

Family size, clothes and a locker

First count who will use the almirah and what will go in it. Most of the time, that settles the choice.

• One person or a couple: a 2-door is usually enough.
• A family with children or parents: a 3-door, so each person has a section or a shelf.
• Quilts, bedsheets and bedding as well: a 3-door, or a taller 2-door with roomier top shelves.
• Lots of folded clothes, like saris: ask for more shelves with less height between them, so the stacks stay straight.

Both can have a locker: a small compartment inside with its own lock, for jewellery, cash and papers. If several people at home each want their own locked space, look at a locker almirah instead. We also make a 6-door locker almirah.

If you want drawers, a 3-door makes it easier. The photo at the top of this page is a 3-door almirah we made, with two drawers under the middle door.

2-door and 3-door almirahs we have made

These photos are of our own work, made in our factory in Agra. We make both kinds to your size, in your colour, with the shelves you choose.

The colours are maroon, black, green, brown, grey, cream or a wood-look finish, and two colours can go together, like the cream frames above. See everything we make, including mirror, locker and office almirahs, on our steel almirah in Agra page. From the first call to delivery, here is how ordering works.

Budget: which one costs more

A made-to-size almirah has no fixed price list; the rate depends on size, sheet and design. Usually, at the same height, depth and sheet, a 3-door costs more than a 2-door.

Don't choose a 2-door only to save money if your family's things won't fit in it in a year or two; you will end up buying a second almirah. Our steel almirah price guide explains each factor that sets the rate.

When a custom width or wall-fit almirah beats both

Two doors or three are not the only options. We make every almirah to your size, so its width can match your wall (see custom vs readymade almirah). That works better when:

• A readymade 2-door would leave a useless gap at the side, and a 3-door won't fit at all.
• The room has a niche or a corner, where a readymade almirah often does not fit properly.
• You want an almirah across the whole wall, with as many doors as you need.
• There is already a brick-built almirah in the wall. Then you don't need a new almirah, only lockable steel gates for the wall almirah.

For a niche, a corner or a full wall, see our wall-fit almirahs built to your wall. These have to be measured on site, and in Agra we do that for free. Want an opinion first? WhatsApp us a photo of the wall.

Checklist before you order

Most of this page comes down to the six questions below. Answer them for your own room and family, and the choice between 2 doors and 3 is usually clear.