Unbelievable Ikea Pax Primary Closet Reveal

The base of this closet is made up of Ikea Pax frames, shelves and drawers. By adding trim and a beautiful decorative crown moulding, I made this Ikea Pax closet look custom made.

This closet remodel was part of our Fall 2022 One Room Challenge. It is a part of our primary ensuite and after our house flood, we had to be rebuild it.

I took this as an opportunity to improve the areas that bothered me after I built it the first time.

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Before: Primary ensuite closet

When we bought this house all of the closet had wire shelving. Mike and I were shocked to find that not a single screw was placed into a stud. Every screw was held in by drywall anchors.

First Initial Ikea Pax Closet Installation

Our closet was one of the first projects we tackled after we moved in. We had built our closets with Ikea Pax frames in our last house. Moving in to a new home with very little organization quickly took its toll.

Mike realized he had a lot more shoes than he thought. After the flood we installed a couple more Ikea shoe trays for his side of the closet.

I was very happy with everything I had done on my side to organize my space. I like to fold my jeans on shelves and hang up my slacks and skirts on hangers. There was also plenty of space for all of my shoes.

If I didn’t need all of the drawer space I would have preferred hanging my pants and skirts on the top closet rods and the shirts on the lower rods. This would have made the space appear cleaner because the bulky shirts would be lower and less in view.

What did we Change on the Next Ikea Pax Install

Removed dead space and dust collectors

We realized, very quickly, that we did not use the space we left open on the top of the Ikea Pax frames between the crown and the ceiling. I decided I would close that in to avoid all the dust that accumulated there.

Fine tuned trim work

The area that I store my dresses and jackets felt a little bit off. I wanted it to appear like it was planned rather than an after thought. I hid the fact that it had a dropped ceiling by making it look just like the Ikea Pax frames.

The baseboards had to be reworked. The new floor is lower than the previous floor. I added some lattice trim and shoe moulding to our baseboards and now it is a three piece continuous baseboard.

Added Dentil Crown Moulding

When we raised the height of the Pax closet frames I added crown moulding around the entire perimeter of the room rather than just over the closet frames. In order to continue to crown without interruption I moved the wall hvac register down about 6″. Then I made a decorative register cover for it.

Added extra shoe storage for Mike

We added two more shoe trays to Mike’s side of the closet. It looks so much more balanced.

Support the Drawer Fronts for Shoe Drawers

My shoe trays needed added support to hold a drawer front, so I created these cute brackets that I installed with pocket screws and glue. The slab drawer fronts are attached via pocket screws into the brackets as well as into the lower tray.

Paint it all the same

We love a moody vibe and what better way than to paint the ceiling, trim and closet frames all the same color. This color by Benjamin Moore called Carolina Gull is a beautiful green with just the hint of gray. It brings drama and a little bit of masculinity to a closet that would normally feel very feminine.

Closet Sources:

Some of these items are no longer available, every effort to find a similar replacement has been made

• Rug
• Hamper
• Brass pulls
• Woven Baskets
• Robe Hook

Check out some of our other posts in this series: Primary Bathroom Reveal or Installing Baseboards