Everything You Need to Know to Design the IKEA Closet of Your Dreams
Those Swedes sure do love to organize. Flip through any edition of the IKEA catalog, and the first impression you’ll likely get is: a place for everything, and everything in its place. But don’t our cluttered, modern, go-go-go lifestyles make it seem impossible to live up to this standard? Most especially in that most dreaded place in our homes — the closet. Chances are, if you’re a Curbly reader, you love organization just as much as we do. And you may need a little help figuring out how to make your closet system work for you. That’s why today we are talking all about how to design the closet of your dreams using IKEA closets.
We’ll go over the entire range of IKEA closets, plus real-life examples of how they are used, hacks, tips for installing an IKEA closet, organizers, and more.
Let’s whip those IKEA closets in shape!
Closet Systems from IKEA
IKEA makes it easy to stay organized with their large range of closets. From wardrobes; to children’s closets; to totally customizable, open clothes storage systems; and more organizing accessories than you can count, they’ve got everything you need to turn your closet into your favorite part of your home.
Let’s start with their simplest system first: wardrobes.
IKEA Wardrobes
Possibly the biggest conundrum a renter or homeowner can face when struggling with storage is: no built-in closets. The worst! Thankfully, IKEA has lots of options if you’re looking to buy an inexpensive, fuss-free wardrobe to create, or add to, your clothes storage.
Check out these IKEA wardrobe options:
Best higher-end wardrobe: TYSSEDAL, $399
White and classic with a traditional build, this wardrobe features two mirrored doors, a clothes rail, shelf, and one drawer. The ledge on top prevents items from being pushed off when you’re grabbing things in a hurry.
Best bang for your buck: BRIMNES, $129
With two doors for hanging clothes, a full-height section for shelves, and a mirror, the BRIMNES provides the most clothing storage space in its budget. And it comes in black, too.
Best kids’ wardrobe: STUVA, $229
The STUVA is geared towards children and preteens, with its colorful FRITIDS doors available in blue, pink, red, or white.
Best compact wardrobe: TRYSIL, $199
The sliding doors of the TRYSIL make these IKEA closets a good choice for tight spaces.
Best temporary wardrobe: BREIM, $29.99
If you need something temporary, or to store off-season clothes in a spare room, the BREIM is super affordable at only 30 bucks!
Freestanding IKEA Closets
Sometimes a wardrobe is just too bulky for your room. Enter the freestanding closet system! A mix of open and closed storage is the key to keeping this type of closet organized and beautiful. That way you can display the pretty things, and hide the clutter.
Naturally, there is a wide range of modular IKEA closets to choose from:
ELVARLI
Forgive the upcoming gushing, it’s just that I’m a little in love with IKEA’s ELVARLI line. Those clean, minimal lines all in white just make my organization-loving heart race.
The ELVARLI was designed to be completely customizable, so while you can choose one of the pre-made options from the website, you can also build your own using the ELVARLI planning tool. I’ll go into more detail on IKEA’s handy planners below. For now, just know that the sky is the limit! (Or your budget. Your budget is the limit).
Think you’re too messy to make open storage work for you? Take a look at how much clothing Igor from Happy Interior Blog stuffed onto his ELVARLI:
It works, right??
Or, check out how to turn your ELVARLI storage unit into a standing vanity with tons of drawer space:
And I’m dying over designer Sam Szabla’s walk-in closet using ELVARLI!
ALGOT
The ALGOT series is one of IKEA’s most modular storage systems. Think of it as the ELVARLI’s more affordable, and more flexible, predecessor. Once you’ve attached the upright brackets to the wall, the shelves can be easily rearranged using the pop-in brackets, without tools. It’s very inexpensive, too; the configuration below costs only $152.50, and look how much clothing you can store!
IKEA’s ALGOT closet is a fabulous solution for small closets because of how much you can store in just a simple setup.
The ALGOT system is great for children’s closets, too!
Here Abby from Just a Girl and Her Blog breaks down how she designed a closet for herself and her husband. And she even shares how to measure for an IKEA ALGOT closet system:
Related to the ALGOT system, the ANTONIUS wire frames and baskets can be used in addition to an ALGOT closet, or as an entirely separate closet organizer, as in this storage idea from Personally Andrea.
Those homemade chalkboard labels started out as wall plate covers!
If you’ve never heard of PAX…you are in for a treat.
The PAX is IKEA’s luxury closet line that starts at budget prices. And as always, it’s completely modular and customizable. We are talking OPTIONS. So many, in fact, that it can be a bit overwhelming to shop for a PAX system. So let’s break it down!
What are IKEA PAX wardrobes?
The PAX is a customizable closet system that can be used to organize an existing closet, as a stand-alone closed wardrobe, or as an open clothes storage solution (like in that stunning example above).
How do you design and install a PAX closet?
Okay, so you’ve decided you want to organize your life with a PAX closet system. Now what? Here are some key things you need to know to get started:
Now that we’ve covered the very basic basics, let’s design an IKEA PAX closet!
IKEA loves making things easy for us. That’s why the brilliant minds behind the home furnishing giant created online planning tools for its storage systems. So we, too, could have a place for everything, and everything in its place.
IKEA PAX Planner
You can access IKEA’s PAX planner two ways: click “Customize this combination” on any PAX product page, or navigate to “Planning Tools” in IKEA’s footer.
You can find the ALGOT and ELVARLI Planning Tools on the main tool page, too!
Once you’ve launched the planner, you can choose an existing combination to customize, or “Create Pax from scratch” to design your own custom PAX closet.
Don’t forget to create an account so you can save your design!
The most fun part about designing your own closet is choosing interior closet organizers. These are the nitty-gritty organizing details that make me drool (yeah, I’m an organizing freak. You know you are too).
IKEA’s KOMPLEMENT series has every kind of closet organizer you can imagine to maximize storage space in your PAX.
But, my absolute favorite thing about IKEA’s planners is that once you are finished with your design, the tool will generate a shopping list and sort all the items by where they are located in the store. PURE. GENIUS.
Assembling and Installing IKEA Closets
So how hard is it to assemble your own IKEA closet system? Well, that depends a little on your level of patience. If there’s one negative association IKEA has, it’s that putting together furniture can be a pain in the [insert your favorite expletive here].
But remember, IKEA designs their furniture so that it can be assembled by absolute beginners, with a bare minimum of tools. So it’s really not THAT hard! In general, if you can follow directions, and know how to hang a picture with a nail and hammer, you can assemble an IKEA closet or wardrobe.
From my experience as a life-long IKEA fan, and frequent assembler of IKEA furniture, here is my advice on how to install all types of IKEA closets as painlessly as possible:
- Don’t go it alone! Large items, like the PAX, ALGOT, or ELVARLI systems, require two people.
- Triple check your shopping list before you leave the store to make sure you have ALL the parts.
- When you get home, organize the boxes in the order that you will need them, with the first items (usually, the largest) easily accessible.
- FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER. I know that seems redundant to say, but often when something goes wrong, it’s because a step was missed.
- Check out IKEA’s instructional assembly videos for tips.
- Use an electric drill or driver to insert screws, it will save you so much time!
And don’t forget, if you feel stuck, you can always hire help through IKEA’s assembly services!
IKEA PAX Hacks
We love IKEA hacks around here! Here are some gorgeous PAX closet hacks to inspire your own closet makeover.
How to make a PAX wardrobe look built-in:
This hack is not for the faint-hearted — a custom PAX installed under roof eaves!
This PAX wardrobe was raised onto a custom wooden platform and finished with floating shelves. The chunky knobs add a stunning touch!
A wallpapered back, plus framing added to the doors, make this PAX look like a totally different piece.
Or simplify this idea with squares of paper added to one of IKEA’s PAX door options:
This idea works for drawers, too!
Alternative IKEA Closet Hacks
So you’ve seen how to use an ELVARLI, ALGOT, or PAX system to organize your bedroom closet. But if you are really out to DIY, check out these other ways you can use IKEA products to build a custom closet.
KALLAX closet hack:
BILLY bookcase closet:
IKEA RAST wardrobe hack:
