Don't sand a laminate door with a palm sander, you'll likely go through the laminate. Although I usually lightly sand with a fine grade paper by hand..........just to be sure the paint will stick.................with today's products it's accepted that it's not necessary. Use this paint as the primer, being water based it will not restrict you to which paint you can put over the top. Zinsser 1-2-3 ( water based version ) Roller all paint on with a small gloss roller for a nice flat and even finish. Take the doors off also................I know that sounds obvious, but i've rescued a lot of calamities.

I know this post was a few years ago but just wanted to add my experience to the posts. My wardrobes are not actually on the wall, I suppose about 2 inches away from the outside wall and that wall is not damp. The wardrobes are floor to ceiling from IKEA (chipboard oak veneer) and so have airflow all around them. My clothes have had mould spots on them over the years and shoes soles have rotted. When I first noticed these incidents I bought things to soak up any moisture in the wardrobe but that got monotonous and didn't work 100per cent. Eventually we have drilled holes in the backs and bases of the wardrobes. I think this has helped to some extent but only time will tell. I think it could be what the wardrobes are made of as it has only happened since I have had this style. Also, something that seems to have made my ceiling/top of the wall black or damp along the top of my bedroom wall (similar to Zat's pic above) is that we had a ground floor disabled extension for my son over 10 years ago and it has a flat roof that I look out onto from my bedroom. Building Control or Surveyor when visiting the extension project at that time, told the builders to put these plastic oblong sheets all along the wall and above new extension roof as there's a gap between the wall and roof. In so doing, I think it has prevented airflow through the bricks that have those little gaps intermittently along the wall of the front of the house. This has been the question mark over the decade as to why we get these black marks at the top of the wall. I have 4 windows in that room also and always have them open for airflow and ventilation. I use a dehumidifier in there in the winter when it may be too cold to open all windows. My husband used the anti mould paint last year when he decorated our bedroom and painted over that. Six months later it was coming through again. Another issue I think that might contribute to all this. When we bought the house from new in 1983 off plan it was Timber framed. It was a lovely well insulated house, In 1990 we extended our bedroom and lounge. We couldn't find any builders in those days that knew about Timber framed extensions and so they just did their normal style work with brick. Nowadays we are more informed with all the programmes on TV and advice on computers and in hindsight we would have looked for a builder that did Timber framed. I have regretted it ever since really. The 1991 extension is the colder part of the house unfortunately and feels too cold in winter that I have a heater on the end walls of the lounge and bedroom. The disabled extension had better building regs to make sure the rooms didn't go below a certain temperature and they are fine. If I could have my house gutted I think I would have extra insulation fitted, underfloor heating and maybe other things that would once again make it a nice cosy home in the winter. But that is not going to happen! Hope this may be helpful to anyone for future use. All the best.

That is tricky what if you were to panel the chimney breast to match/complement the wardrobes so essentially extend the chimney breast with panelling so the hanging space on the lefthand side of the right alcove wouldn't have a door (if you get what i mean!) See if you have the height to have double rails in one wardrobe to maximise hanging space. https://www.jvcarpentry.com/built-in-wardrobes-around-chimney/

It’s a dilemma, isn’t it, when something is too good to rip out but really not your style? If you can’t keep the wardrobes in the single room, could you use those spare units to fill in the bit in the main bedroom where overhead lockers and dressing table bit are? So you end up with one interrupted row of useful wardrobes. I think the layout is what looks so dated. You’d have to move your bed to the other side of the room of course (and maybe remove some of the other units to make space) but you’d not then be sleeping with an oppressive row of cabinets over your head. I would want to paint those doors or cover them with fabric, but there are loads of people with experience about that who will be along to help no doubt.