IKEA Closet Organizer: Built-In PAX Wardrobe in a Shared Girls’ Room
Looking for a great closet organization idea? Look no further than this IKEA closet organizer!
This post is Sponsored by IKEA. Thank you, IKEA!! We love working with you and all your fabulous products!
For more closet organization ideas, see this custom DIY closet organizer, this amazing bedroom closet renovation, and this adorable DIY boutique-style closet.
When we first moved into this new project house, one of the first things I brainstormed was closet organization ideas. We needed a great clothing storage solution for my two girls. They were sharing a small bedroom with not much room for even one dresser and with only one small closet which just wasn’t working for us.
We had used IKEA pieces in our last house to build in a closet. This time, with the IKEA PAX closet organizer, we were able to actually shrink the space the closet required and use the extra space for our entryway on the other side of the wall (win, win!).
Come see the transformed entry way, including our (faux) built-in KALLAX hack.
Ready to see how this closet organization idea came to life? Read on and watch the video then be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more about how this room is evolving!
I want to especially thank IKEA USA for working with us and sponsoring this post and video! (As always, all opinions, messy drawers, and silly outtakes are uniquely ours.)
As you will see in the video, we extended the old closet space forward just a bit to fit the taller version of 4 PAX wardrobes side by side.
Each wardrobe contains:
- 1 hanging rod
- 1 shelf
- 5 PAX solid drawers
- 1 PAX mesh drawer (installed at the bottom to make room for the door hardware)
The center 2 wardrobes also got a PAX slide out jewelry tray/drawer and a handful of KUGGIS and VARIERA boxes rounded out the system.
5 Benefits to our new IKEA Closet Organizer
IKEA Closet Organizer Benefit 1: Easily Accessible for Kids and Easily Transformed for New Purposes
This closet remodel has created such useful storage, easily accessible for our young kids. We used some of the same kid-friendly closet principles in our hall coat closet revamp, to make things easy for them to reach and put away themselves. We did consider putting a lower hanging rod for easier access, but since we mostly hang up their once-per-week church dresses, we decided it was a better use to add more accessible drawers — but the versatile PAX pieces would have made it really easy to add a lower hanging section or to add one in the future if we change our minds.
Update: As our family has evolved, this room is now our home office and the beautifully organized closet is still completely and equally useful!
IKEA Closet Organizer Benefit 2: New Closet Doors
The old closet had louvered bi-fold doors — great for closets in small spaces but dated and definitely showing their age. The new IKEA PAX doors only take up a small amount more floor space (if any) and they fit much better with the clean modern lines we prefer and have been adding to update the style of this 1970’s home a bit. (See the full “before” home tour here.)
We used 2 GRIMO doors and 2 VIKEDAL mirrored doors for clean lines and to give the girls some place to practice their diva poses in front of the mirror 😉 The mirrors also help make the room feel larger and brighter, which is always a win in my book.
IKEA Closet Organizer Benefit 3: Goodbye Messy Built-In Shelves, Hello Flat-front Tidy Drawers
The corner shelves and double hanging rods in the old closet were pretty efficient uses of the closet space — they just didn’t work for us and our two young kids. The kids’ clothes were always falling off hangers (if they got hung up at all!) and the shelves became collectors of stuff instead of tidy clothing storage.
The roomy PAX drawers work SO much better for the storage that we need!
IKEA Closet Organizer Benefit 4: Perfect-Fit Boxes
Even after they started using the closet organizer, my daughter’s shirt drawer was quite the mess:
She needed just a bit more organization to keep her shirts separated. I grabbed a couple of IKEA’s KUGGIS boxes and some VARIERA storage boxes. We file-folded her shirts with the logos facing up. Now she can see which shirt she is choosing. Love it!
Adding the storage boxes to the drawer not only defines the interior spaces, but helps to separate different items. This makes finding what she needs so much easier and keeps the rest of the shirts in place.
Side note: As a busy mom, and I am sure most of you can agree, we don’t have a lot of time to go around keeping kids shirts folded! I have found, if the kids have a system and we talk about it and organize it once together, they keep things organized longer. Then, between seasons when we change out winter clothes for summer or vice versa, I help them whip things back into order quickly and it lasts another couple of months.
IKEA Closet Organizer Benefit 5: Perfect-Fit Organizers
The full line of PAX-compatible KOMPLEMENT organizers makes it so simple for my kids to have just the right storage for their tiny “treasures” and the trays also keep all their necklaces from becoming tangled up knots!
Well, what do you think about this closet makeover?
I am so happy with it. I LOVE these IKEA closet organizer PAX units so much that we have them in every bedroom. I think it really is a worthwhile investment into the quality of your home.
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More of our favorite IKEA projects:
IKEA KALLAX cube shelf into flat file drawer cabinet
IKEA HEMNES desk into double-duty kids desk with hidden workspace and storage
patio makeover: IKEA outdoor dining area
Originally published 02.07.2019 // Updated 04.23.2020
Lorene has been behind the scenes here at Remodelaholic for more than a decade! She believes that planning projects and actually completing them are two different hobbies, but that doesn't stop her from planning at least a dozen projects at any given time. She spends her free time creating memories with her husband and 5 kids, traveling as far as she can afford, and partaking of books in any form available.
I’m a big fan of the organization that IKEA PAX wardrobes can offer…but my husband thinks they feel flimsy. Obviously they need to be secured to the wall for safety, but what else can you do to lessen such a concern?
Awesome job! I knew ikea was versatile but this has me really thinking about a project that I was going to do abs I think I can do now. ????
So much more storage space, great idea! I’m redoing my daughter’s closet, I never thought to look at IKEA for ideas.
Very nice closet! Do you have any issue with the left hinged door hitting the wall when being opened? I’m wondering how much clearance is needed between the wall and closet to avoid damage to the wall when the door opens; especially with a knob… Thanks in advance.
You need about 5/8″ to 3/4″. our base board is 5/8″ and it works fine. Thanks for asking.
What are the dimensions of the closet? Thank you!
Hi Jen,
There’s more info about the closet dimensions in the video in the post.
That looks so legit, I love it. I’m so excited that an Ikea is opening nearby, and definitely one of my priority buys are organization/storage stuff. Thanks, I’m definitely bookmarking this for inspo.
Yes we love IKEA too. I remember when we got one near us. We were so excited as well. Thanks for the comment!