I like my money right where I can see it, hanging in my closet – Carrie Bradshaw
What girl doesn’t want the wardrobe of her dreams…? I’ll be sharing my tips and tricks on how I managed to get the walk-in closet that I’ve always wanted at a reasonable price.
When it came to designing our walk-in closet I knew I wanted fitted wardrobes with plenty of hanging space, drawers, and shoe storage. I started looking at local companies that offered a bespoke wardrobe service and quickly knew that wasn’t going to happen when quotes came in at £5000 and up. After plenty of research and about 100 Pinterest boards, I decided to design my own Ikea pax wardrobe. Click here to see my Pinterest board inspo.
The pax wardrobe system from Ikea is great for so many reasons, its extremely versatile and can be designed to fit almost any room size or shape. Here’s how I designed our walk-in closet and tips on how to customize it.
Before you get started
- Measure the walls where you want your frames. (They come in a few different heights, depth and width so make sure to measure properly).
- Choose if you want it to be open or if you prefer doors, hinged or sliding
- Pick a color between white, white stained oak, or black-brown.
- Open the Ikea online planner on their website, it’s a great tool and makes the planning process much easier. They also offer a free service where you can go in-stores and get someone to help you. Don’t forget to book an appointment online before. *If you’re using an Apple computer you will need to open the planner in Firefox or google chrome as some mac models aren’t compatible with their system.
Now that you’ve got your basics, let the wardrobe interior design start. When it comes to the interior, think about what you need. Are you a shoe addict or do you love maxi dresses? How many suits does your husband have? It’s important to make sure the interior fills your needs, it’s fully customizable so make sure it works for you.
We decided to keep ours fairly simple by not adding any lights but keep in mind that it’s an easy option to add if you have wall plugs around. For most of them, we have 4 drawers with the top one having a glass front panel. We also added the accessories tray and insert with a glass top shelf.
Once you’ve got all your items
- Make sure there are two of you to put the frames together. From my experience, it hurts ALOT… when it falls on your head so you definitely need a helper.
- Attach the frames to your wall, we used drywall screws through the holes in the back of the frames. We also screwed the units together so there are no gaps. These steps make it look more like a built-in wardrobe.
- Build all your drawers and inserts first, then start from the bottom and work your way up to make sure there’s plenty of space in between each drawer.
- I recommend counting the holes to know where your drawers will go. (The last drawer’s wheel track is on the second to last hole and work your way up)
- Don’t forget to buy the hole covers. Ikea sells black and white ones only but I managed to find some beige ones on eBay.
To finish off the room I added two of the Malm dressers, back to back. We went with the 3 drawers but if you wanted more storage and/or a higher unit they also make it with 4 drawers. To make sure you can’t see a gap between both units we screwed them together from the inside, align them perfectly and you really wont be able to tell.
I hope this post can help you design the walk-in wardrobe of your dreams at an affordable price. Leave a comment below if you have any questions about my closet.
Beautiful closet! I also love your corner unit idea. However, did that prevent you then from using the online planning tool? It doesn’t appear you can position them diagonally online, which means you don’t really know how much space you have remaining on either side….hmmmm
Author
Unfortunately, you can’t put the corner unit on the online planner. I knew I wanted a small unit in diagonal so I just measured the space with a 50 unit placed in the corner. I worked with the planner but also just going off my measurements.
Hi, also LOVE the corner idea! Is it 10 inches from each corner? Trying to work out the math!
Author
Hi! For the corner unit we kinda just played around with them until they matched with the other units so I’m not sure exactly how much space from each corner. Sorry, I can’t help you a bit more ?
Hey this looks absolutely amazing! I was wondering if you build yours on carpet and if you added doors after? The corner unit idea is so impressive xx
Author
aww, thank you! I kept mine all open because it’s in a separate room (dressing room) and yes I installed them straight on our carpet. They’re really heavy so there’s really no movement to worry about.
Hi Vanessa!
Could you tell me how many hole covers you bought? I see it’s sold 100 pcs packs. We are planning on an almost 4 m x 2,6 m pax closet and I was wondering, how many hole covers will I need. Many thanks for your answer!
Author
Hi Linda, I used just under 3 packs but im not sure how many you would need. Depending on how many drawers and shelves you have as well because those holes won’t need covers. Thanks for reading and commenting on my post! 🙂
Hi, I’m thinking of this for my daughters bedroom, you mentioned £5k for bespoke built in wardrobes so wondered if you minded me asking you how much this cost in total? Thanks in advance, stay safe. Xx
Author
Hi, It was under £1k for everything, way cheaper than bespoke built-ins. xx
Love your closet! Could you please post a link the beige hole covers? Thanks for your posts, super helpful!
Author
Hi Rachael, Thank you so much! The link for the beige ones is on the post, just before the picture of the hole covers. If you’re looking for black or white ones, then I believe Ikea sells them. Hope you’re staying safe xx
Hi..we really like your closet too..the angle wardrobe how much space did it take you from the wall to the 100cm.wardrobe please?
Author
Hi Roberta, there is a gap between the wall and the corner unit… I didn’t actually measure it when we put it together but it’s probably a good foot in the back that is wasted space.
I love how you angled a 19 inch base in the corner. Were you able to anchor the angled unit to the other units?
Author
Yes, we played around with it until it matched up to the other units perfectly. I’m so happy with the way our corner unit turned out.
Hi!
Your closet is awesome! We are also looking at the Pax system but I’m wondering about your corner unit. It looks really flush and doesn’t look like the standard corner unit that IKEA offers. Which frame(s) did you use for the corners? Thank you!
Author
Thank you!! Getting the pax system was honestly the best decision ever. You won’t regret it!
I used the standard 50cm frame and put it at an angle in the corner. It’s kind of hard to explain but I have the 50cm frame diagonally in the corner of my room, then I have two 100cm frames next to it that I lined up flush together. Feel free to send me a message through my contact me page and I’ll happily send you pictures so you can see it a bit better.xx