No matter how big or small your home, the need for extra space feels universal.
Londoners in particular love nothing more than a smart storage solution, a practical design that won’t prove to be an eyesore. If you often find yourself struggling to close your closet door or find it tricky to decide what to wear every morning, a clothing rail can help.
The slender rails, which are a fixture backstage at fashion week and photoshoots, are perfect for creating an outpost for your office clothes in the week, allowing you to grab and go quickly in the morning. They’re also an excellent way of storing bulky coats and jackets without eating up precious wardrobe space and are useful in the laundry room too, helping to sort your household clothes easily.
There are plenty of designs to choose from, and therein lies the problem. How to pick the right one for you?
As with any furniture, it’s key to size up your intended space so you know what will fit - crack out the measuring tape. Also consider if you like the idea of extra shelving with your rail and if a double rail will be more suited to your situation. Are you happy with the industrial look metal or will a wooden frame be better suited to your interiors? The bonus with wood is that it’s easy to paint so you can upcycle with your favourite colours if you fancy a little DIY project.
To illustrate the huge variety of designs available, we’ve scouted the best, well-made clothes rails that will help to give your wardrobe a little breathing space.
Shop the selection below
Compactor Under Stairs Clothing Rail
When you’re short on space, you must make the most of every bit of it you have. This angled clothes rail will put the space under your stairs to good use, turning it into a well-ordered space to hang coats, jackets and other bulky items of outerwear. There’s even a rack beneath to put shoes and boots, especially helpful if they’re wet or muddy as air can circulate to help it dry quicker.
Both height and tilt are adjustable so you can fine-tune the rail to the size you need. It’s also easily dismantled and can be stored out of sight when you don’t need it.
Buy now £42.99, Amazon
Cox & Cox Wood & Metal Clothes Rail
We’re suckers for multifunctional pieces of furniture so this rail that incorporates a mirror and shelving checks all of our boxes. It’s designed to sit in the hallway for a last minute check before you head out of the door, but would work just as well in the bedroom, ideally by a window for natural daylight. There are four levels to place folded items like knits as well as space for shoes, and the double rail above the hanging space could be used for belts and scarves. The industrial-themed design, forged from wood and metal, won’t buckle under the weight of a few heavy coats.
Buy now £575.00, Cox & Cox
BOFENG Home Recommend Large Clothes Rail Clothing Rack Stand
Whether you’ve no space for a traditional wardrobe or the design you have just isn’t cutting it, this rail will whip up multi-levels of space and storage, seemingly from thin air. The design offers two rails to suspend clothes with a central shelf unit to store accessories, jewellery and shoes. Whether you’re sharing the rack with your partner or just want an overspill unit to create a capsule collection, the sturdy, durable design offers a great storage solution. The frame comes in black, white and brown.
Buy now £52.99, Amazon
Wayfair Bamboo Clothes Rail
Offering a sturdy solution to your clothes storing woes, this wooden frame rail has plenty of space to keep the dresses, trousers, tops and coats you want close to hand - there are even extra bamboo side hanging hooks to hang bags, scarves and hats giving you even more ways to make use of the space. The strong design is set on four wheels for easy portability and there’s a locking mechanism for when you want it to stay in place. It’s much stronger than it looks because despite weighing just 7.2kg, it can bear a total of 35kg in weight.
Buy now £50.99, Wayfair
Habitat Turner Clothes Rail with Shoe Rack - Black
If you always find yourself running late for in-office mornings, standing in front of a heaving wardrobe yet finding nothing to wear, a clothes rack can help you organise key pieces away from the bulk of your clothing.
Also serving as a more stable coat rack, Habitat’s sturdy yet unobtrusive design includes a shelf for keeping bags or folded clothes, as well as a lower rung to house shoes. The powder-coated frame is also available in a white colour and will be delivered assembled, so no need to fumble around for your toolbox.
Buy now £70.00, Argos
Dunelm Black Metal Clothes Rail with Shelving
There are many reasons why a traditional wardrobe may not work for you: inadequate space, poor lighting, or if you’re renting, perhaps even non-existent.
For a cheap solution to your clothing storage issues, Dunelm’s portable rail creates various levels of space within the L90cm x D176.5cm x H40cm dimensions.
Three shelves make it easy to store items that can’t be put on a hanger and if you find you need even more spaces to hang items, a few s-hooks on the side rails will up your storage real estate.
Buy now £60.00, Dunelm
ManoMano Large Clothes Double Rail Rack
Let it all hang out with this double clothes rack that gives you twice as much space to hang your favourite clothes. As well as helping you narrow your clothing selection, this rack is perfect for helping to sort laundry loads as the smooth-rolling casters will allow you to glide it from room to room with ease. Keep cleaning equipment, accessories and shoes on the two lower shelves.
Buy now £24.99, ManoMano
Dunelm Curves Black Clothes Rail
Acting as both a room divider and a rail, Dunelm’s design offers three sections to help your sort your OOO. While the two end rails are the right length to hang dresses and coats without creasing, the central panel has short shelves that are wide enough to line up shoes, bags and other small accessories. Made from hard-wearing metal, the design is nice enough to leave in the hallway or living room making your pieces feel like a work of art.
Buy now £139.00, Dunelm
La Redoute Thao Rattan Child’s Hanging Rail
If you’re a parent trying to teach your little one how to dress themselves, a curved hanging rail like this could help. It will allow you to select the next day’s pieces and hang them up so your child can see what they’ll be wearing the next day. The design has no sharp edges with a curved look that will feel right at home in the nursery or their bedroom and there’s a low shelf for shoes and bags too.
Buy now £199.00, La Redoute
Brabantia Linn Clothes Rack Large - White
Is it a clothes rail, or a drying rack? The beauty of Brabantia’s design is that it can be used as both, with dresses and coats hanging from the primary rail and folded trousers, jeans and jumpers living on either of the two shelves. In fact, the company claims the Linn rack can hold up to 28 hanging and folded items of clothing.
The shelves bars are spaced far enough apart that they can help air damp clothes with a split pole further ensuring that clothes always dry taut to make ironing them less of a chore. Comes with a 10 year guarantee.
Buy now £93.99, Robert Dyas
