IKEA PAX Closet

With the boyfriend moving in towards the end of August and me taking up all of the current closet space, I decided it was time to DIY the closet. I did my research and the PAX system seemed very doable. It was doable but so much more difficult than I had planned.

The first thing I did was ask my contractor how much it would cost for him to build :) to make sure this would be worth my time because I knew it was going to be a big undertaking. He said the build alone was $4,500 which didn't seem awful to me, I'll tell you about the paint quote later. Even though it seemed like a good cost, I still decided I wanted to do it myself and instead of have my clothes, shoes and bags scattered throughout the house for a week I preferred to have them there for the whole summer (SMH.)

First step was taking out all the wire rails and wooden shelves in the closet. We discovered our builder put a nail through our water line so that was fun but a blessing in disguise because it could have corroded over time. Once we got that fixed I bought all the PAX units (I'll include a full breakdown of what I bought at the end.) The newer PAX units are all connected, so pretty easy to put together but highly difficult to move. Our closet isn't huge so I built them in our room and moved them to the closet, they are not sturdy at all. Once built I was able to lay them out exactly how I wanted and from there built the frame for them to sit on. This step is optional, but I wanted them to sit closer to the ceiling and it makes them look more built in IMO. I made the base out of 2x4's in the exact length and width of the units once they were placed. Then Josh helped me set all of the units on top of the base. I immediately screwed the units into the studs because as I mentioned, they are not sturdy. I connected the units to the walls using L brackets to the top so you wouldn't see them once the molding was up.

I saw some blogs where they took out the original PAX backing and replaced it with plywood but I couldn't find anyone doing this with the newer units where the back is attached to the sides. Since everything is attached, taking the back off made me nervous. I decided to use hardboard to cut backs out for each of the units and attached using liquid nails. This is another optional step to avoid the seams that are in the original backing of the units. Honestly, once finished the clothes hide the seams, so not sure I'd do this step again. Plus it was hot outside and I had to cut the hardboard down with my circular saw.

I placed spare wood in between the units so I could create enough space for the trim. There were two areas where I had about 6-12 inches to work with and I wanted to use ALL of the space. I used 1X6's and 1x10's to build shelving and attached them to the units. Now that the unit is done; I'm glad I did this, makes room for my larger purses and boots. From here, I started adding the Pax Komplements (drawers, rails and pull out units.) I filled in the remaining holes with joint compound.

I cut the trim using my table saw and attached it to the spare wood I originally placed between the units. I used a 1X6 on the bottom to cover the base and then (against my better judgement) did crown molding on top, spoiler alert it's still freaking hard.

I wanted to add drawer fronts to the Komplement drawers because without them there is a lot of space between them. I used a 1x8 and some tile spacers to make sure they were spaced out evenly. I was so scared of this step and looking back I have no idea why, it was so easy.

Once everything was build it was time to wood fill, caulk, sand and get everything ready for painting. Here is where things started getting difficult. Sanding is a bi***, I added tarp to separate the closet from the bathroom and dust still got everywhere, it was at this time I decided I was highly over this project and I also only had about 1 week left before Josh moved in. I ended up getting a quote for sand/paint ($2,000) to which I said "heck no" and got little sleep for the next week doing it myself. I decided to use my paint sprayer because it was a lot of area to cover and cabinets make for a lot of corners, I had used my sprayer once for a smaller project and it turned out great, this one not so much.

I have come to learn that great paint sprayers cost a lot of money and mine was about $100 from Lowe's. It created super uneven streaks and I ended up rolling by hand. If you look closely at the closet (if you ever come to see in person) it looks like it has mumps, it's an even but bumpy finish.

In conclusion, I feel eh with this DIY, I don't get the exciting/proud feelings I normally do when completing a project. It does look better than it did before, so that's a win AND I did come in cheaper than the professionals which I also deem an accomplishment because there were a lot of mistakes. The professionals (paint included) quoted around $6,500 and I came in around $3,200.

It was my first closet and I learned a lot if I'm ever brave enough to try again, this is one of the bad parts of the "good, bad and ugly" of DIY if you ask me.

Learnings:

• Walls are not even, so make sure the units are flush with each other and not the wall. Found myself trying to bend wood at one point because of this. Spoiler, wood doesn't bend.

• Just don't with crown molding. I don't do math and crown molding is hard for the normal person, enter me who can't compute and it's a mess. It took a whole day and still isn't perfect, next time just I'll choose something different.

• Don't paint the Komplement rails. The paint is already scraping off with the hangers.

• Do not use the Corner units, instead just form two regular units into an L shape. The corner units are a pain to put together and move.

• No time limit. This is the worst thing I did to myself, I was so over this project and when I'd normally take a break, I couldn't because Josh was moving in and our clothes were scattered all over the house. If you know me and how much clutter and unorganized mess give me anxiety then you know this wasn't a fun time.

IKEA Shopping List:

1. Komplement Units

   1. Shelf (39 3/8 x 13 3/4) x 3

   2. Drawer (39 3/8 x 13 3/4) x 4

   3. Drawer (19 5/8 x 13 3/4) x 5

   4. Clothes Rod (39 3/8 x 13 3/4) x 6

   5. Clothes Rod (19 5/8 x 13 3/4) x 1

   6. Shelf (19 5/8 x 22 7/8) x 3

   7. Clothes Rod (39 3/8 x 22 7/8) x 4

   8. Pull out Pants Hanger x 2

2. PAX Units

   1. Wall Mounted Storage Frame (39 3/8 x 22 7/8) x 2

   2. Wall Mounted Storage Frame (39 3/8 x 13 3/4) x 3

   3. Wall Mounted Storage Frame (19 5/8 x 13 3/4) x 1

   4. PAX Add-on Corner Units x 2