One Room Challenge
For week threee of The One Room Challenge® I’ll be talking through the overall design plan for our custom IKEA PAX closet & sharing all the challenges we encountered mid build & how we overcame each one.
See my previous ORC post here:
Closet Goals
As with any renovation, proper planning is everything. My two biggest goals for this project were:
- Maximize storage
- Create a balanced, symmetrical layout that feels high-end and looks like a true built-in.
And let’s be real — you don’t know what you don’t know when starting a closet build. That’s why I want to walk through all the sticky points we faced, so you have the tools and insight to make your own IKEA PAX installation as smooth as possible.
Design Constraints & Layout Limitations
While the Ikea Pax Planner tool is very helpful – it does not take into account specific aspects of your room. In our case we had to plan around:
- Outlets and light switches
- Door swing clearance for the door & the wardrobes
- Attic hatch (had to remain accessible)
- AC vent (couldn’t be blocked by a cabinet)
- Ceiling light placement (had to be centered on the cabinets and clear of the doors)
Our contractor was able to move the AC vent, which helped a lot. But the light fixture was trickier — my perfectly centered plan fell directly over a stud. Thankfully, we had about 8″ of dead space between the wall of cabinets, so we adjusted the placement slightly to the right to keep the light centered above the doors.
Choosing the Right Height
I initially planned to use the taller PAX units, but I’m so glad I switched to the shorter ones last minute.
Here’s why:
- With 8′ ceilings, the shorter doors give a clean, proportional look.
- We ended up needing to shift the cabinets again to center the light fixture.
- The shorter doors completely clear the light fixture.
Closet Layout
While a U-shaped layout was the dream, it created too much dead space in the corners. Instead, we went with a T-shaped layout that feels open and functional.
- Left wall: Two 29″ PAX units (for my husband)
- Back wall: A 19″, a 39″, and a 29″ unit (for all my hanging clothes)
- Right wall: One 29″ shallow-depth unit (perfect for shoes)
The back wall features drawers on both ends that can be accessed from the center — even with just 16–17 inches of clearance in front.
Ordering the Pax System
We visited IKEA to finalize our picks in person, which I highly recommend. After loading everything into my online cart, I placed the order on a Saturday and had it delivered by Monday — just 40 hours later. 910 pounds of product delivered to our second-floor bedroom. Worth every penny of the $79 delivery fee!
Building the Base
To create a built-in look, we trimmed back the carpet in sections and built wooden bases from 2x4s directly on the subfloor.
Why this matters:
- It gives a sturdy foundation for trimming out the wardrobes later
- I was able to level each section — and our floor had over 1” of discrepancy!
Once leveled, I assembled the wardrobes directly on top — and surprisingly, no micro-adjustments were needed.
IKEA PAX Assembly Challenges
For the most part, assembly went smoothly. But here were a couple of hiccups I wish I’d known about earlier:
1. Door Hinges Aren’t Symmetrical
If you have one left-opening door and one right-opening door, the middle hinges are at different heights. This meant I had to uninstall and reinstall: a shelf, a tray and two drawers – just to make room for hinges.
2. Komplement Divider Orientation Confusion
The C-shaped Komplement divider is the same for both left and right configurations — even though the website makes it sound like you need to choose.
I accidentally installed it backwards. Removing those cam lock nuts was such a pain! After aligning the arrows and yanking the boards apart – I had to use a tiny drill bit to extract them.
Pro Tip: Install the divider without securing the top board until after your drawers are in. In a narrow space like ours, fully extending a drawer requires 17–19″ of clearance — especially if you add knobs or drawer fronts.
Build Timeline
Day 1 & 2: Built wooden bases and assembled six wardrobes
Day 3: Installed drawers, trays, and Komplement organizers
(Remaining shelves and rods will be added post-paint)
This part of the project took three full days which is a solid investment for what will become a dreamy custom closet.
Links
What’s Next?
Follow along over the next few weeks on Instagram as I continue building out this walk in closet & turn these basic Ikea Pax units into a fully custom closet complete with trim paint & all of the finishing details to make it into a dreamy dressing room.
