Elevate your hand in case you bear in mind how a lot closet area our bed room had after we moved in. The reply is zero. We used dressers for some time (and borrowed the tiny closet in our son’s room for our hanging stuff) and ultimately added some floor-to-ceiling Ikea Pax wardrobes to our bed room after about 10 months, which felt like we had arrived. A bed room closet is so good to have. And – huge information! – as of scripting this put up, we’ve added one other Ikea wardrobe to that wall… which implies we have now simply as a lot storage in our present bed room as we had in our final home’s FANCY WALK-IN CLOSET! I do know. It’s downright mind-blowing.
For comparability, that is our final home’s walk-in closet (it was an 8′ x 6′ room). Both sides had one 29″ cupboard within the center and two 19″ cupboards (one flanking both sides of the bigger cupboard). That’s 67″ of linear closet area on every wall, for a complete of 134″ in the entire closet.
Right here we used the very same Pax programs (ground to ceiling, 8′ peak once more, identical 24″ depth) however in our present smaller bed room we simply ran them alongside the left wall of our room. The configuration right here is three 39″ wardrobes plus one 19″ wardrobe on the tip, for a complete of 136″ linear inches.
It’s wild to us that our final home had a devoted 48 sq. foot room to accommodate this quantity of storage, and in our smaller closet-less room we simply ran the wardrobes alongside a wall, and nonetheless managed to work in an even bigger mattress than we’ve ever had! Discuss residing massive, even whereas downsizing. It’s fairly superb.
So this put up is to point out you ways we received all of that storage into our smaller bed room – and to element precisely how we make them look utterly built-in. Plus, we took a bunch of up to date footage of our room for you too (there’s a sneak peek of our new chair and a shot of the glass doorways open).
First up, just a little background…
Why Use Ikea Pax Closets?
We fell in love with the Ikea Pax closet system 15 years in the past after we first used them so as to add clothes storage AND create a comfortable sleeping nook in our first home. Not solely are they a budget-friendly resolution, additionally they supply quite a lot of customization and group choices so you may actually tailor your Pax to your wants. That’s why we’ve used them time and again, together with for our “fanciest” closet makeover in our final home.
You’ll be able to take a look at that closet reveal put up for all the main points (how a lot it price, earlier than & afters, how we organized it, and even a video tour), however again to our present home…
Why Add One other Closet Now?
Once we initially added the Pax wardrobes to our present bed room again in 2021, we left area on one finish for a doorway that we have been planning to maneuver there ultimately (at present it’s simply across the nook of that wall beneath). On the time, we thought shifting the entry level to our bed room over there can be an improve, however after residing right here some time we realized seeing the mattress via a doorway from the entryway/informal sitting space the place we frequently entertain doesn’t really feel like an improve in any respect.
At present, the door to our bed room appears in on the other wall the place we simply have a dresser – so it doesn’t really feel as “intimate” as seeing a mattress from the entrance door or the hangout zone downstairs. So we’re glad we waited it out and didn’t transfer that doorway prematurely. I actually suppose if we did we might have moved it again to this spot later.
So with that crystal clear realization of “Nope. No door right here!” – we knew this nook of the room would look loads higher with yet one more wardrobe working alongside that wall, moderately than squishing the inlay dresser you see beneath in that spot (you may see from the picture above that it now lives on the wall that’s seen from the kitchen/sitting space).
Including yet one more closet on that finish undoubtedly makes the wall look extra full.
Once more, right here’s that distinction. Goodbye random enclave on the finish of that wall, howdy extra closet area!
I do know the images above make it appear like the closet overhangs the wall, however it doesn’t. It truly leaves the identical quantity of wall area that we already had subsequent to the bed room door, in order that nook truly appears fairly balanced – prefer it has at all times been this manner.
We undoubtedly thought of utilizing some tremendous thick filler items on every finish to make the closets totally flush to the door wall, however in the end determined we appreciated it higher this manner with out cumbersome finish items flanking the closets.
I’ll share some extra footage of how the area suits collectively on the finish of this put up, however let’s dive into the constructing course of.
Making An Ikea Pax Closet Look Constructed-In
Pax wardrobes are literally one of many simpler Ikea items to hack in case your aim is to make them look extra like a customized built-in closet. The primary trick is to make use of trim or molding for that totally floor-to-ceiling look. The Pax system is available in both 79″ or 93″ heights, so in case you’ve received 8ft ceilings (96″) like us, all it’s a must to do is fill that 3-ish inch hole. It’s possible you’ll must do some hole filling on the edges too in case you additionally need it to go wall-to-wall (which we did right here). That course of is just about the identical one we’re sharing on this put up).
We truly captured your entire course of – from unboxing to portray! – on a timelapse video that you may watch beneath. We’ve additionally received a extra detailed step-by-step tutorial after the video as effectively.
Constructing-In A Pax Wardrobe: Timelapse Video
We condensed this course of down to only 5 minutes, however in actual time it stretched over the course of about 4 afternoons. The primary 2 have been extra labor intensive with assembling and constructing within the closet, whereas the second 2 have been largely simply ready for caulk and paint to dry. So it’s undoubtedly one thing you possibly can largely full in a weekend.
Observe: You can too view this video on YouTube.
Instruments & Supplies Wanted
Along with your Pax wardrobe items themselves (wardrobe field, doorways, hinges, inside fittings, and many others) you’ll additionally need to have the next gadgets out there:
I’m going to skip over the precise wardrobe meeting and set up components, since Ikea covers that fairly effectively of their directions. You’ll be able to watch them within the timelapse above in case you’d prefer to see them in motion. and we added some notes to the video for you, like how I added an outlet gap. Under we’re going to begin on the stage the place you’ve already received your Pax in place and secured to the wall.
Step 1: Make Your Plan
Like I stated, the primary trick to creating it look inbuilt is simply filling the hole between the highest of the Pax to the ceiling. Virtually such as you’re creating some crown molding round your closets.
The problem is that the Ikea doorways go all the best way to the highest of the field, leaving no uncovered floor to nail your molding into. So earlier than you add your trim, you’ve gotta add a “backer piece” that it could actually connect to. Right here’s just a little overhead view of how we solved this. What you see me nailing within the picture above is the piece that’s labeled “trim” within the picture beneath:
The “backer piece” is just a few spare 1×3 I had laying round, however it could actually actually be something. It would connect flat towards the highest of the closet (nailed in from beneath). Then no matter you utilize as your seen trim may be nailed into the 1″ facet of the backer. I promise this can make extra sense as we go.
Step 2: Align & Connect Your Backer Piece
First, we used the miter noticed to chop our 1×3″ backer items – one for both sides – to dimension. Subsequent got here the difficult half: getting the location of the backer good.
Assuming, like us, you need the trim to be flush together with your closet doorways – resist your intuition to put in this piece flush with the entrance fringe of the wardrobe field. That will solely work in case your trim have been precisely as thick as your closet door. Because it’s not, we’ve at all times needed to mock one thing as much as get our placement good. That’s the place this pet turns out to be useful.
What I’ve finished right here is taped a few items of scrap trim (aka, the identical 1×2″ that I’ll be utilizing as my remaining molding) to the entrance of my backer piece. That approach I may maintain up my backer piece and double-check that my remaining trim would find yourself precisely the place I needed it. On this case, it will be flush with my current trim (since we have been including this final wardrobe to an current one right here) in addition to flush with my doorways.
With the backer firmly held in place with my hand, I secured it with a few nails utilizing my nail gun. You can too see this half in motion through the timelapse video above.
Right here’s one other view of that course of, as repeated on the opposite finish of the closet. You’ll be able to see how the scrap piece of trim helped us make sure the backer piece received hooked up in exactly the precise spot. As a result of on this facet, I needed the trim to be precisely flush with the facet of the Pax field.
You can too see above that we had already hooked up the trim on the entrance of the closet. Discover how a lot it hangs over the wardrobe field? However as you’ll see beneath, it’s completely flush with the door when it’s closed.
Step 3: Reduce & Connect Your Trim
As soon as your backer piece is nailed into place, you may reduce and nail in your trim (aka: the molding that may truly be seen and provides your closet a built-in look). Since we have now an uncovered nook, we selected to miter reduce ours on an angle for probably the most polished look.
Then we nailed the trim items into the backer, as you may see beneath. Don’t fear concerning the nail holes. You’ll be able to fill them later with caulk or wooden filler.
Step 4: Including Quarter Spherical To End It Off
As you may see above, our 1×2″ molding wasn’t tall sufficient to fill the hole to the ceiling completely (and a 1×3″ was too huge). However fortunately a chunk of quarter spherical was sufficient to shut the hole. Relying in your ceiling, you’ll have to get artistic with what molding or mixture of trim works finest. You can also at all times use a desk or round noticed to tear a bigger piece of wooden to dimension.
Within the picture above we’ve truly already accomplished the final step, which is…
Step 5: Caulk & Paint
As soon as the whole lot is constructed, use paintable caulk to fill any nail holes, gaps, or seams – like the place your moldings meet the wall, the ceiling, and one another. From there you may paint your trim to match. I’ll admit we’ve but to discover a paint that completely matches Ikea’s white (particularly since completely different Ikea merchandise are completely different whites). However we’ve discovered that our wall & ceiling coloration – Sherwin-Williams Pure White – is a reasonably shut match. We’ve simply been utilizing it as a result of, if nothing else, at the very least it’s an ideal match to the adjoining floor in our room.
The Completed Constructed-In Closet
We completed this mission a month or two in the past, and it’s been so nice having the “bonus” storage. To not point out that the wall doesn’t really feel in limbo anymore.
We’re additionally engaged on a closet group put up as a result of we all know individuals prefer to see particular inside parts of the Pax wardrobes and the way we’ve chosen to retailer stuff in ours. Perhaps Sherry will do the entire video tour deal.
The most important takeaway from this many-years-long closet evolution is that wild realization that we didn’t truly find yourself giving up an entire lot after we moved to a home that’s half the dimensions of our final one. Again when we determined to downsize, we assumed that we’d always be slicing corners and sacrificing area, so the truth that our present bed room has simply as a lot closet area as our final home (which had a 48 square-foot walk-in closet!) – it simply shocks us. And to now be luxuriating within the largest mattress we’ve ever owned… we simply didn’t see that coming.
We additionally chortle about how, in our previous walk-in closet, we severely contemplated sacrificing some wall area so as to add a window for some pure gentle in there. And now, regardless that our present closet is rather less conventional (wardrobes alongside the wall of the bed room versus having an precise closet), we’ve received daylight in spades!
Now that you simply’ve seen how we added to our built-in closets, we’ll be again with a whole-shebang tour of how we’ve organized them inside (that has been a little bit of a shifting goal as we proceed to optimize it, however it’s on our to-do record!). Within the meantime, be happy to take a look at the opposite facet of the room and the different Ikea storage we personalized and our final home’s closet, which was stuffed with favourite Pax parts!
Different Ikea Customization Tasks
Wanna see another Ikea hacks? Listed here are just a few of our favourite customizations:
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