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The Portslade Residence
Wall-to-wall Built-In Wardrobe,
(Porstlade, East Sussex)
A wall-to-wall fitted wardrobe spanning the full width of a modern Portslade bedroom. Built to conceal a wall-mounted boiler and pipework behind a removable access panel, with an integrated open shelving frame and a hand-painted grey-beige finish to match the IKEA TYSSEDAL doors.
The Project
This Portslade installation was built for a modern home, with a constraint most fitted wardrobe companies would design around rather than solve: a wall-mounted boiler, exposed pipework, and underfloor access that all had to remain reachable for servicing. The client wanted full-height, wall-to-wall storage, without losing the ability to maintain the heating system behind it.
The brief wasn't simply to hide the boiler. Anything built over it had to come apart cleanly whenever an engineer needed access, and the floor access to the pipework below had to stay usable. A standard sealed installation was never an option.
Josh built the run from IKEA PAX as the structural foundation, then finished it entirely by hand to integrate the boiler access, the corner return, and the existing skirting into one seamless, considered wall of storage.
What Made This Installation Distinctive
Concealed boiler with full access: The wall-mounted boiler sits hidden behind a removable panel built into the wardrobe run. From the front it's invisible, part of a continuous wall of shaker doors. When servicing is needed, the panel comes away to give full access, then refits flush with no visible join.
Retained underfloor access: The pipework access beneath the run was preserved rather than built over, so the floor remains serviceable without dismantling the wardrobe.
Open shelving frame as a feature: To stop a 350cm wall-to-wall run from reading as a single boxy mass, an open shelving frame was built into the corner return. It breaks up the elevation, gives the room a focal point for books and objects, and turns a functional storage wall into something that looks designed.
Corner installation: The wardrobe was scribed into the corner to follow the walls, with clean returns on both the wall and ceiling. Raised on a base to meet the existing skirting line, so the run reads as part of the room rather than placed in it.
Hand-painted to match: The custom-built sections, infills, and frame were hand-painted in a grey-beige to match the IKEA TYSSEDAL doors so the bespoke elements and the door fronts read as one continuous, coherent piece.
Projects Specs
Property: Modern home
Installation: Floor-to-ceiling wall-to-wall wardrobe
Width: 350cm
Units: IKEA PAX configuration, hand-finished
Doors: IKEA TYSSEDAL, grey-beige
Handles: Brass
Base: Custom skirting fitted to match room profile
Feature: Integrated open shelving frame in corner return
Key detail: Removable boiler access panel with retained underfloor pipework access
Finish: Full built-in finish, scribed to ceiling and wall, hand-painted to match doors
Location: Portslade, Brighton
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