I finally have my wardrobes installed and it’s amazing to have everything I own in ONE PLACE for the first time in over 2 years! I decided to go for the Ikea Pax wardrobes and I’m so pleased with them and the money I saved on them. Let’s go on a little tour…
Let’s go on a little tour…
Recently we decorated my office after 2 years of living in a bit of a mess! You will have seen this first hand if you were a weekly vlog viewer on my YouTube channel.
I’m working on a full office tour which will be live as soon as everything is finished but for now I wanted to show you guys my amazing wardrobe. When we moved in there were some super old built in wardrobes that eventually I ripped out. They are handy for hanging clothes but had no drawers and the storage space was wasted. I knew that eventually I wanted something that was floor to ceiling and had a mix of hanging space, shelves, drawers and handy compartments.
Originally I considered something bespoke because I wanted to make as much use of the space as possible but sadly my budget just didn’t stretch to this (we have a WHOLE house to decorate after all!) So I headed over to Ikea and to be honest I am SO GLAD I did. I was lucky enough that the sizes worked perfectly (with a little DIY work…) and I have my dream wardrobe that fit within my modest budget! I literally saved myself THOUSANDS.
So, let’s take a look….
Product Storage Solution
My job means I have a lot of PRODUCTS!
These can be tricky to store and I like to have them all in designated drawers but also keeping them accessible (otherwise I’d never use anything) I decided to allocate the single wardrobe space to products only and this works really well.
I chose to have some drawers at the bottom, for products I use daily (also hair dryer, tongs etc) and chose a glass front on these which makes it easy to get what I need quickly. Then, I opted for baskets for the rest of my products as they are easy to see through, a decent size and easy to remove if they are high up. I also have a little drawer for daily lippies and the best jewellery storage drawer in the world, it makes me feel so organised!
Floor to Ceiling Storage
I wanted to make total use of the space and ideally have the wardrobes touch the ceiling!
This helps with storage, everything is hidden which looks much neater and it makes the room look bigger too. The measurements were close (1cm clearance!) which was nerve-wracking and when we built them, the doors wouldn’t open, eeek!
However to combat this we placed the wardrobes on the floorboards and had our new carpet put in once they were up. Putting the wardrobes on top of underlay and carpet would have cost us even less space and they would never have fit. We did have the ceiling plastered prior to the wardrobes coming which also cost us a little bit of space, so Chris used a sander on the floorboards to gain the extra space we needed. It was noisy and messy but.. we got there in the end!
It’s also worth bearing in mind that the Ikea manual says you need 2 people to build these. We had 4 people and it was still a struggle because they are HEAVY and awkward to move into place! Because of the size you have to build them upright, which is tricky!
I chose these doors as I thought they looked like panelling and I kept them white. I have yet to add handles, but I picked up these wooden ones from Amazon because Ikea didn’t have any that took my fancy. For my wardrobes I went for 2 x double and 1 x single, which fits the space really well. I have about 20cm at the end, near my window which I will use for tripod storage.
Hanging Area Space
I wanted to make sure I could hang as many of my clothes as possible – there’s nothing worse than grabbing a folded t-shirt to wear and having to iron it every time (I hate ironing!) Plus, it makes it easier to see what you have when it’s hung up. However, I wanted to make sure that I still utilised this space as best as possible, especially as I only have a few longer items.
To help with this, I placed the hanging rail a little higher (a good idea is to have something hanging from it whilst you’re figuring out where to put it – just to make sure you can reach the hanger easily) which gave me more space underneath. I then installed a divider which allows you to have a single width drawer space – here I keep underwear, PJ’s, camera equipment and wires.
This also means I have room for my longer clothes to hang free (such as maxi dresses, skirts, trousers and coats in Winter!) Because this space was still high enough to have a little bit of space underneath, I managed to fit two extra baskets in! I store some shoes and makeup bags in this area at the moment, but it’s so good to have the extra space here! On the top shelves I keep bulkier items such as my camera rucksack and some books with paperwork in.
Are The Add-Ons Worth It?
At first I wanted to keep it simple, just wardrobe and drawers but then I experimented with some of the features and I’m so glad I did! My favourite one is this organiser drawer, it means I have a place for all those little things that you’re always looking for because… YOU DON’T HAVE A PLACE FOR THEM! I decided to go for a glass shelf above this which means I can see what I have before opening the drawer. It also looks super pretty and keeps my organised soul happy!
Another add on that’s worth it is lighting. Chris persuaded me to go for the lights and I’m so pleased I listened to him. I can open my wardrobe at night time and I don’t even need to turn my office light on – great if I’m working with just a lamp on. It also makes it really easy to see what I have, all the clothing and which socks I want to wear. I would advise that you pre-plan the installation of the lights whilst building the wardrobe though. The lighting wires all link up which means if you’ve pushed the wardrobes against the wall, you’ll have to get them all back out.. learn from my mistake!
Forever Customisable
The greatest thing about the Ikea Pax is that they are always customisable.. from the moment you build it online to years later! You can change the doors if you get bored, add or take away drawers and there are so many little handy extras you can buy and pop in with ease. I have been toying with the idea of adding in a pull out mirror, as it would face the window meaning great for makeup lighting. I really like this element of the wardrobes as nothing is set in stone, which made me feel calmer when I was designing mine on the online planner.
Watch The Tour
Build your Ikea Pax wardrobe here!