I’m thinking about using some in some wardrobes my husband is building but am worried that it might be too harsh a light for the bedroom and not sure where best to attach it so that you don’t see the strip itself. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. I added LED lighting strip to the insides of the right and left units to light the shelves, sticking the strip to the back of the frames I had made. The mirrors were from a local glass shop. It’s important during this step to ensure that the edges of the chipboard are perfectly in-line with the edges of the CLS, or the skirting board later would not be square: Now the platform was perfectly level and perfectly sized it was time for the next stage of the project: the PAX frames. Can you explain to me how you did the frame pieces for the part in the middle since it’s not flush with the others. I fitted the side pieces to the walls – but you could just as easily not have the bookshelf parts if you didn’t want them and cut a filler to fit between the end PAX units at the walls. Yep I did think of that – I’m still keen to try it. The interior are fitted with KOMPLEMENT drawers and hangers. I was seeing stars with the fumes after doing this, despite all the windows being open. Also, the approach is very modular so if one part got damaged it would be fairly easy to remove a section and replace it. These sophisticated looking closets from Bright … Any glass cutting shop could make them. thanks! Thanks. . May 27, 2015 Rick Patterson Reply. So we combined the cabinets to fit either side of the chimney breast as best as we could. The whole idea was that if we decided we didn’t like it in five years’ time, the whole thing could be removed without much impact on the room. Five pieces of industrial grade double sided sticky foam are used to stick each mirror to the recess, so they shouldn’t fall out. In this design the top has quite a gap which looks nice with the cornice. I made sure that I did not paint the panels as the paint may have come off with the foam tape otherwise. I don’t have any more pictures than the ones shown I’m afraid. it looks like professionaly done. I suggest taking in one door to let them measure the recess so that its their problem if they do it wrong! Divider pieces were added to the left and right frame –dowel joints were used here again and these frames were then disassembled and reassembled with glue. With the PAX frames constructed the assembly now looked like this: Luckily the width of the room perfectly fit the correct number of PAX frames and required gaps. You’re bound to find something to inspire you. I would then plan on installing the PAX units in the space, and using trim pieces to bridge the gap on the sides and top, securing the trim to the drywall and having it abut the edges of the PAX unit. To prevent the wasted space above the wardrobe happening all over again, we decided to go full height at 236cm. First I carefully removed the tile baseboard pieces around the wardrobe area. PAX traditional fitted wardrobe hack - IKEA Hackers How to use standard IKEA PAX wardrobe frames and doors along with some extra timber framework to create that traditional custom fitted wardrobe look. Before lifting the PAX structures in place, I bolted drywall profiles to the upper part of the structures. Also where did you get the mirrors? Hi Reuben, Great hack. the way the mirrors make the room look bigger is amazing! I can’t remember the exact cost but I expect about £500 of PAX, then around £150 on other wood and around £75 on paint. The painting takes ages, and the priming of the melamine was a tricky job. Hackers Help: How to prevent shelf sag in large Pax wardrobes? Also, the fronts and edges of all the doors were primed in the same way, as were the IKEA shelves which would be used in the far left and right units. Our bedroom project had been on hold for months due to job commitments, and the looks coming from Mrs W were getting worse, so when work finally calmed down I figured I needed to win back some brownie points. 6 x 2 alone isn’t quite enough depending on how great you want the step to be. The seethrough doors are not to my taste, but each to their own. Amazing work! Any advice would be much appreciated. I used metal brackets to screw the platform to the chipboard floor, through the carpet. But if this is done correctly it will avoid a long narrow gap existing at the bottom of all the wardrobes when it’s finished. Amazing job by the way. Sure, why not. Since I am planning on putting in the PAX units after the contractor completes his work, I was planning on giving him dimensions for the closets that added an additional inch to each of the sides and top (beyond the actual dimensions of the PAX unit) so he can create spaces out of drywall/sheetrock to the dimensions I specify. However, this did mean that the far right and left frames were tight to the wall and as a result were sitting slightly on the existing skirting boards. We both like the traditional bespoke hand painted look but to commission a 3.6meter stretch of handmade wardrobes would have cost a fortune so I decided to tackle this project myself, with the help of Ikea and PAX. After the drywall was bolted I did the usual taping/plastering on the bolt heads, panel unions and wall-ceiling corners, metal corner beads. With these fillers in place, their front face was not only flush with the closed doors of the PAX units but also the edges of the platform, as intended. One thing–I would put mirroring film on the windows. The Pax wardrobe frames come in two heights, 201cm and 236cm. We are using your design as a model to do something very similar. The mirrors were a great addition and really complete the look. My husband and I are amateur painters at best. Hello, a little late to the party but I have a question about how to install my own Pax wardrobes. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. You did a fab job that is truly worth showing! May I suggest a continous LED-strip right behind the top skirting? The freestanding full depth wardrobe we had before made the room feel small, so in order to maximise floor space and storage space at the same time, I convinced Mrs W that a shallow fitted wardrobe would best meet our needs. And great workmanship. From a sad PAX left in a side of the room …. Hats off to your creativity, such great work you are truly an artist. I’m in the slow process of remodeling my house and once I had all the walls and ceiling done in the main bedroom I decided to make my new PAX wardrobe look built in. Thank you for sharing all your tips on this website too! Taping and mudding correctly is much harder than most folks think. Then I used the router again to create a simple molding on the top edge of the skirting. The screw holes in the skirting board were filled and painted as were the small gaps in the cornice mitre joints. Thanks for replying and for your help. Can I ask how long this took? Could you tell me roughly how much this cost you please (materials and time) as I’m looking for a cheaper alternative to fitted wardrobes and these just look amazing. Learn how your comment data is processed. Two coats of water based primer were used on all the bare timber, with a light sand using 240 grit paper between coats. I normally spend quite a bit of time designing and thinking through the project as that saves time when you actually do it (and makes it better!). The frames were attached to the PAX wardrobes with small plastic angle brackets. ... IKEA hackers is all about modding, repurposing and customizing IKEA products. The sketch below shows a side view of the normal PAX wardrobe construction: As you can see, the kickboard is set back from the sides of the frame, which makes sense normally, but for this hack we need it to lie flush with the edges of the sides. hacks from all over the globe. They were screwed to the sides of the PAX units and also the kickboards. After a lot of sketches I began to figure out what might work. Luckily by flipping the kickboards the dowels end up sufficiently far from their old positions, thus avoiding this problem. Very nicely built. The whole thing now looked like this: The small cupboard doors were routed from the back to accept 6mm ply panels which were glued and pinned into place. Great job, definitely looks built in. This means no gaps, and no fiddling around with different thickness filler pieces, which would have driven me mad.