Videos
IKEA PAX closet DIY in OHIO, took me too long to order all those, went to IKEA 5 times, but the result looks great, progress in the link.
I have a wire style closet from the 80s, thick carpet, not liking it, so I demoed everything and start fresh with IKEA PAX, with $3k budget in mind this project turns out to be fun.
https://imgur.com/a/nTuyqgH
Some useful tips and guides I write up for finishing a PAX system, making them more like customized system that are $$$$, and some lighting arrangement tips.
Enjoy!
PAX feels really flimsy, so I decided to do a full closet remodel with SEKTION kitchen cabinet fames and MAXIMERA inner drawers. Came out better than I expected and would do it the same way again!
$2300 in IKEA items. $300 in trim and parts from HD and Amazon.
The IKEA online SEKTION designer worked great for the whole project design; parts list was 95% accurate -- it doubled up on some of the shelves because it is not smart enough to know that a 2 pack of shelves could be split between equivalent width frames.
Room dimensions were 98" x 84". Lucked out that I was able to completely fill the walls with combinations of the 18", 24", and 30" width frames with 0" to spare. After assembly, frames were accurate in width to ~0.5". I had to wedge the left two 30" frames in and was left with ~0.5" extra on the right of the back three frames. Was able to use the dead corner to create a small linen closet in the room next door.
Decided to put up a support around the back walls at the level of the rail and forgo using the IKEA rails -- the cabinet frames have two sets of holes: one set if using rails, the other set for flush mount -- and then you can direct mount to get your frames 0.5" tighter to the wall.
Ceiling height was 84-85", so had to assemble the 80" cabinets standing up - attached the CAPITA leg bracket first. Was then able to extend the legs so that the cabinets were pressed up against the ceiling.
Covered small gaps between frames, walls, and ceiling with PVC trim from HD and then caulk to finish. Used 0.5" along the ceiling and 1.25" between frames -- hard to tell it isn't custom built in.
The required SEKTION frame shelf support could be moved lower to accommodate a full-length wardrobe section if needed.
The IKEA counter options are not great for the small side cabinets, so bought pre-cut wood sections from HD and painted them white.
The closet bar supports (picture from Amazon) are really sturdy and the metal pins align perfectly with SEKTION and are the perfect diameter for the heavy-duty closet rods available at HD.
My fingers still hurt after inserting ~2500 VARIERA plugs into holes.
The mirror is too small, but it was $10 in IKEA clearance :)
This is my first attempt at an IKEA hack. Overall fairly happy but the additional cabinets I had to build on top I would like to do again one day as the inside is a mess due to messing up the hinges a load of times.
Main thing I learned is that wood filler and caulk are your forgiving friends… :-)
I wanted to create built in closets look in my kids bedrooms but in one room the cieling is 92” high and the other is 90” high. The pax units are either too high or too low. Is there another solution ? And my contractor doesn’t want to “cut down” the pax closets to fit.