Yessss, I’m back! I took a little blogging break over the summer and enjoyed lazy days by the pool and some fun and adventurous travels as well. But now I am ready to share an exciting new makeover. We had several big projects in the works and the first one I am going to share is my closet revamp using the IKEA Pax Wardrobe. Yep another IKEA hack!
Here it is…I love it. I find myself just walking in the closet multiple times a day just to enjoy the sight of it. I still cannot believe the transformation!
I love everything about it. To me it is fabulous, organized and just gorgeous! Now that you’ve seen the beauty…here is the beast we started with.
The first thing we did was rip out the shelving unit and the shoe rack so the hardwood would go wall to wall (another post is coming soon about the new hardwoods) Then I began the process of clearing out the closet. As much work as it was, I loved going through everything and getting rid of what I no longer wanted or needed. Well, I didn’t love it as I was doing it but it felt great to purge, especially when I was finished. I made several trips to GoodWill.
Here’s a run down of what we did. We went to IKEA to look at the Pax Wardrobe and get a feel for what we wanted to do. I am not going to lie, it was a bit overwhelming. We ended up going back the next day and worked with a sales representative that was able to design our layout on the computer with all the accessories. You can also do this on your own at home. Once we were satisfied with the overall layout and design, she printed off the entire packet which included a layout and all the pieces we needed to buy. That made it so much easier to pick up all the boxes we needed. Here are a few pictures of the computer renderings of the new closet design.
IKEA PAX WARDROBE PLANNER
IKEA Pax Wardrobe
O.K. I am going to be honest here. This is about the point I fizzled out. We had been under construction with the wood floors for about a week but leading up to that I had been clearing out all of our closets and linen closets to prep for the flooring and I was done! To make matters worse, I had given up sugar and I was basically zapped, finished and of very little help! My hubs gets all the credit for the finished product! I didn’t leaving him completely hanging, I helped out a wee bit when needed!
He wanted to trim the wardrobes out with baseboard and decorative moulding between each wardrobe unit. He used the same concept that he used on the IKEA Billy Bookcase which you can read about here. I love the look of the wardrobes with the trim and moulding. It finishes the look off completely. Eek, I am so happy with my new closet!
There are so many options and accessories with the Pax Wardrobe. We chose both glass front and solid drawers, pants pull out hanger, valet hanger, wire baskets, pull-out tray, pull-out clothes rail, and a pull- out rack for scarves and belts. I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome of this makeover and my hubs gets all the credit on this one!
In the next few days, I will post about the new floors and my bedroom makeover as well!
Until Next Time,
We Party Here:
Fabulous closet Kathy! I love the layout and the mouldings helped to create a great custom look. Did you use the 79″ or 93″ pax units?
I’M currently planning my closet as well. Thanks.
Hi Marie, We used the 93 inch. Good luck with your closet redesign. I am loving mine. It makes everything some much easier being organized!
Did you leave space between each unit so the molding would not overlap the edge of each cabinet? How did you apply the molding to the cabinets? Glue?
We did leave space between each unit and used wood blocks/spacers between each cabinet. We used a brad nailer to attach the trim. I hope that helps. Thanks, Kathy
I am very curious as to the space between the shallow and deep cabinet on the left, and whether you used spacers there, or are those flush against the other. Did your hubby attach the cabinets to each other? how wide is the decorative molding strip that is placed vertically. Can you share a photo of that corner? Best Ikea closet I’ve seen online, job well done.
Hi Heidi, Thank You. If you look at the last two pictures it shows each corner. Those pieces are actually the Pax corner cabinets, which comes with brackets on the top of the cabinet to attached to the pieces beside it. The cabinet on the right, in the photos, are flush because we used the cabinets with the same depth as the corner cabinet. The corner cabinet on the right has a step back because we used the deeper depth cabinets. We did add decorative molding to the last cabinet before the corner cabinet but not on the actual corner cabinet. The corner cabinets have a thicker side panel than the regular cabinets. The molding is three inches (I will double check that) and we used blocks of wood for spacers. We also place strips of wood along the walls, attached to the studs and then used small “L” brackets to attach the cabinets to the strips of wood. I hope that answers your questions. If you need anything else, let me know. Thanks-Kathy
Thanks for the tips. So in other words, to get a professional look like this I should be looking for a carpenter(?) to get this done right, what says your hubby? [Getting married is not going to guarantee it will look like this 🙂 ]
Hi Kathy! To piggy back on this discussion, would you please mind telling me the dimensions of the wood spacers, please? I’m an absolute absolute beginner in these and super inexperienced when it comes to wood. Thank you and hats off to an amazing job!
Thank You. We use leftover 2 x 4’s and just cut them into small blocks and used them in between each unit. On the back wall we attached a board to the studs then attached each until to the board on the back wall. Thanks for visit our site. Kathy
I love your closet remodel…we have been planning to do something very similar and already purchased the pax wardrobes when they had free shipping in November. I am getting ready to order our drawers and planned on 2 glass and 2 solid per stack. I like the look of all glass just curious what your thoughts are going with all glass drawers.
Thanks
Kim
Hi Kim, thanks for your sweet comment about my closet revamp. I have a mix of glass, solid and basket drawers. I do love the look of the glass and it does motivate me to keep my drawers organized. In the solid drawers, I keep my workout clothes and other items that are not as “pretty” as what is in my glass fronts. You really can’t go wrong either way. I love having my closet organized, it makes getting ready each day less stressful just knowing where everything is. Good luck with your closet revamp. -Kathy
Are the smaller / less deep sections towards the corners just fillers? I’m interested in the pax system but can’t make the standard sizes fit in our space
Hi Melissa
Yes, the corner units are less in depth but still functional. I chose to use shelves in the two smaller units but they had many different options that you could select. I use the shelves for my folded items, and shoes as well as my purses. I hope that helps!
Thanks,
Kathy
This is so gorgeous! Do you remember the total cost?
I have this same question. We are currently redesigning and expanding our closet, so any cost of shelving would be after paying a contractor to knock down and rebuild walls.
I apologize for not getting back to you sooner but my replies are not showing up in the comments. The Pax wardrobe frames range in price from $50-$90. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, the glass front drawers are more expensive than the wood drawers, metal baskets and shelves. The rods are the least expensive which I believe are $5 a piece. IKEA has many different options to add to the frames which can help you keep your cost down. I hope this helps. Good luck with your closet expansion!
Hi Jamie, Im sorry, I responded earlier and now I’m not seeing my reply in the comments. If this is a duplicate answer, I apologize. The Pax wardrobe frames range in price for $50-$90. Depending on what accessories you add to the frames depends on the final cost. For example, glass front drawers are more expensive than wood drawers and shelves. To keep cost down you can add more hanging rods which I believe are $5 a piece. IKEA has so many options to add to your frames. I hope this helps.
Hello!
I realize this post was early last year BUT your project happens to be the closest to what I am attempting to do and I was hoping for some feedback, if you don’t mind! This Pax project came out beautiful and I am looking to do the same thing EXCEPT using the shallow depth of Pax and create a built in library wall also similar to your fabulous billy built in.. Can you tell me the size of the side trim pieces used? I plan to use three of the units side by side ( no gaps) but I still want to use the trim you have featured. Do you remember still? Any help you can give will be helpful! Thanks !
Thank you. I am not sure which trim you are referring but I hope this helps…We used the 3″ decorative trim on the top and bottom as well as in between each unit. On the bottom we trimmed it out with the quarter round shoe mold as well (I think that is the correct term) On the built in billy book case, we found a piece of painted MDF that was the exact same size as the billy unit and attached it to the sides to give it a more finished look. I believe it was 11 inches wide, the same depth as the bookcase. We found all the trim at Home Depot. I hope this helps, Good Luck!
This is beautiful! How did you get the trim white to match the white of the closet? Thanks for your help.
Thanks. The trim was already painted white from Home Depot and it matched. Sherwin Williams will also do a custom color match. I hope that helps!
Hello,
Love your closet. If you are still answering questions, is it possible you can give me the original measurements of your closet? I am attempting to build this online. I went to the Ikea store about 2 hours from my home and the employee was not very knowledgeable so I was hesitant in having her assist me. Thank you.
Melissa, thank You. We tried designing it online as well and I thought it was so frustrating and couldn’t move the pieces where I wanted them to be. We did go into the store and found someone that worked in the design section for the closets and she was able to work it up for us and it really took no time at all. Our dimensions are approximately 74″ x 106″ x 105″ We also have spacers between each unit. If it’s possible I would go back to IKEA with your dimensions and work with someone. If you have your dimensions they should have no problem designing it for you. It’s a free service and the associate that helped us seemed to do only closet designs. I hope that helps. Good luck!!
Just found your post – not sure if you are still replying, but I’m wondering how you feel about the 14″ deep unit on the right side? Do you find it deep enough to store stuff? I’m organizing a system for my daughter’s room and the 14″ depth is the only frames we can use…
Hi Janice, Yes, I have plenty of space with the 14″depth. I use it for folded items but I also have the pull out pants slide which I love as well as the pull out poles for my other hanging clothes items. I have plenty of space. I hope this helps. Good luck with your project! Kathy
Hello, hopefully you’re still responding to comments. Love your closet!!!I’m in the midst of clearing mine out to assemble the pax wardrobes (hopefully today!). Did you set the system up directly on the floor or did you build a frame to set it on first? I’d like to put moulding on mine when it’s done but not sure how close the system sits to the ground to add moulding. Plus I may do doors later on too. Also, if I add a frame I wouldn’t mind the added height since our ceilings are 120”.
Thank you. Yes, we did place the wardrobes directly on the floor and we were still able to trim it out. I am still loving the Pax Wardrobe system. It has been great having everything so organized! Good luck with your build out, I know you will love it! -Kathy
I love your closet design! My closet dimensions are about the same but a little bigger so this gives me so much inspiration! Can you share the width of your units? You have so much storage and this makes me excited to use this system in my closet!!
Thank You! The larger cabinets we used were 39 1/4 inch wide and we used 2 inch decorative trim between the units. The smaller units we bought were 19 5/8 inches in width. We bought each units individually instead of a packaged set so we could get a more custom fit. I hope this helps. This is still my all time favorite project! Good luck with your project.
Beautiful closet! I am in the planning stages for my closet which is similar in size. Trying to get an estimate on what the cost will be. Would you be able to give me a round-about cost for something like your closet? Thanks.
Thank you Karen. The larger units are 80 dollars. The smallest units are 60. The final cost depends on what options you choose ranging from shelves, pull out rails to drawers. I hope this helps-Kathy
Beautiful closet! If you happen to still be answering questions about this, I’d love to know why you opted for the less deep frames on the right? I am working on a similar design and this would be helpful to know. Thank you!
I had to use the more shallow frames on the right because of my door. I hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by. Kathy
Hi
I was wondering how far down you placed your top shelves that are above the hanging rack? Do you feel like it is hard to reach the hanging clothes when they are placed that high on a 93″ unit? I am currently designing my Pax system and have my top shelf set at 11 1/4″ down from the top, with a hanging bar just below it. Just wondering aesthetically if that is about where yours is placed. Thank you for your time!
Katie
Hi Katie,
My top shelf is on the 8th hole down and my rod is near the 11th hole. I do have to use a step stool to get things off the shelf but I don’t have any issues with the hanging rod.Good luck with your closet design. Still loving mine! Thanks for stopping by-Kathy
Not sure if i missed it somewhere, but, how did you do the narrower drawers that also just when upp half way. I want to do similar drawers in the wide pax unit for hanging longer items.
Hi, with the pax system you can configure them they way you like. On some of the units we did shelves, and some we did pull out drawers systems on the lowers and hanging rods on the upper part. If you go to the IKEA website, you can design your system and see what configuration works best for you. I hope this helps.
Did younuse any 29 inch frames?
I’m not sure exactly what you mean. We did use the larger pax cabinets and one smaller one in the corner if I’m remembering correctly. I hope that helps.