A Closet Design that can grow with your kid: DIY, IKEA PAX and budget friendly

The After

Starting out this blog post with the end game

Jump to

Pieces that are needed to make this closet

Dimensions of Closet

Budget Breakdown

Tools I used

How to

Why it makes more $/time sense to go with IKEA PAX (for me at least)

The end result pictures

Our current situation

Because my 7 year old needed a better and more efficient closet solution. If you take a look at the current situation, you will understand why what we currently have falls short.

THE BEFORE

A standard sized closet that made do till it didn't

Note, the teeny 6" of room to access the corner ... not a great way to utilize this space.

Not a great use of space

This IKEA Malm dresser was something we had that wasn’t in use. To be honest, before my daughter turned 7, a chest of drawers on its own worked great. Clothes are little and need drawers to be stored efficiently. Now that she is getting older, articles of clothes are getting bigger and her needs (and wants) are expanding. Also, the most obvious glaring inefficiency is the lack of accessible use of the corners of the closet. The dresser takes up the majority of the accessible entrance space and blocks out access to the corners. There was no space for an easy to grab laundry basket. The other thing is this large Keepers bin we have that needs to be stored in the closet. It’s the box of collecting important artwork, keepsakes, important stuff that I’m sure she won’t want in the future - but, just in case she continues to be nostalgic into her adult self, I’ll keep it.

What's Needed

Make a closet that my seven year old can grow into. Accessibility into the corners, space to easily access the keepers bin (where she keeps all that art we should recycle), drawer space, ample shelving and hanging bars. After building my closet (which I will make a blog post about), I realize I’m not a dedicated cabinet maker. Building out drawers, I can do, however I know I can get pre-made drawers that take a fraction of the time and cost compared to building myself. Also, I need to finish this project with minimal disruption to daily life…so, no custom flourishes and keep it simple and smart.

The solution: utilize IKEA PAX for drawers, customize some shelves, keep it in a budget of under $600.

Make a drawing of your closet

I use Sketchup to model designs for clients and to plan builds out for myself. Below, I drew out my daughter's closet and added true to life bifold doors which helps me visualize how much space is accessible when the doors are open.

A blank slate

Closet Dimensions

Dimensions of the interior with front walls and doors removed

It’s not a huge closet. Definitely not walk-in size territory. The depth of the closet, 24”, is somewhat limiting for adding pre-built furnishing as storage. But, it’s a good size and in reality, the kid is lucky to have dedicated space for a closet, let alone her very own bedroom. At 8 feet height and just over 6.5' width, it's a lot of room to work with. The major limiting factor is how much accessibility there is to the entrance of the closet because of the bifold doors. But, it's important to me to be able to close this closet - because this is real life and I know it's not going to look tidy when the kid takes over.

After a bunch of pinning on pinterest, and a few iterations of drawings, plus google searching what is available (and in stock), I came up with this scenario.

A view into what you would see when the doors are open.

Drawers, shelves, hanging bars and accessibility to the corners. A marriage of what we need. But, when you look into the closet ...

A view of the closet with the bifold doors removed and front walls removed.

And more measurements, because this helps take the guesswork out of everything.

A 2 dimensional front view of the closet, front walls removed.

The Thing I Love

The hidden shelves on the left side of the closet! Yes. Sure, a young kid needs some long and tall hanging space, but really, their stuff isn't quite that tall yet. They need a lot of shelf space at this age - folded hoodies, bulkier pants, accessible bins of art supplies, lego builds, folded animal onesies they seem to love at this age ...it just made sense to add more shelves. Plus, having floor space available for a laundry hamper and bulky stuff is essential. This is the closet that can grow with my seven year old.

The Plans

A breakdown of where materials came from:

Middle Section of Closet:

Drawers and Shelf unit = IKEA PAX

Left Side Shelf Sections and Shelves above Hanging Bars:

Pre-painted MDF = DIY

Hanging Bars:

Purchase from Home Depot

Budget (Try to keep things under $600)

What I Purchased:

IKEA PAX Closet Unit (includes frame, 5 shelves, and 5 drawers but, not including tax): $405

Home Depot MDF Shelves Bullnosed White Shelving 5/8" x 11-1/4" x 96" (2 at $19.98ea) = $39.96

Home Depot shelf brackets 9.25"D in white (6 at $6.47ea) = $38.82

Home Depot White Adjustable Closet Rods (3 at $14.97ea) = $44.91

Shelf brackets for left side shelf (use scrap MDF I have on hand) = free

In theory the total should be: $528.69 not including tax ...so this puts me in a good spot to get started and get ordering.

A note of the depth of the IKEA PAX wardrobe:

The very cool thing is that PAX wardrobes have an option for a narrower frame depth that works well in closets that are 24" deep. We mostly see the deeper 22" deep PAX wardrobe that can easily be used in an open room setting. However, in a 24" deep contained closet like ours, the narrower PAX closet is 14" deep allowing for 10" of space to move around in front of the unit. Most dressers are 17" or more deep which is too cumbersome for this size closet.

The dimensions of the IKEA Pax Wardrobe frame I ordered

Tools Used:

Saws: Mitre Saw, Circular Saw, Table Saw

Drill

Brad Nailer

Level

Speed Square

Stud Finder

Hammer

Rubber Mallet

HOW TO

A reminder of The Before

1) DEMO

Sold the IKEA Malm dresser above for $40. And removed the existing shelving and hanger bars.

The shelving brackets that held up the previous shelf

If ever you are removing a contractor grade closets from the late 90's, it's tricky unscrewing anything because THERE AREN'T ANY SCREWS. At least with this kind of set up. I basically had to rip the plastic anchor bolts from the wall which left drywall damage.

The drywall damage left behind ... IRL it looks worse than this image.

2) Assemble the IKEA PAX Part

THE FRAME

The blank slate and the IKEA PAX frame box (which was heavy to bring upstairs on my own...I needed help for this part)

The nice thing about building this PAX unit was that it was really straightforward from the instructions. I was most worried about how I would have to construct it inside the closet (because if I built it laying on the ground first, it's completed height wouldn't fit when it came to time to move it into the closet...something I thought about a lot prior to starting). The PAX closet frame is written in the instructions to build vertically. Nice. I do have to note that I used to get frustrated, like most, when building anything from IKEA instructions. But lately, I've been grateful to build anything that has instructions...even basic and confusing instructions. I think this is just from my experience of building my own stuff that never has a step by step guide. Peeling back the logical steps of what your intended end goal is is so much easier when someone else has done it for you. It's nice to break up this project with something pre-fab that has instructions I didn't have to make myself.

Just follow the instructions.

I like to do stuff by myself, but if I can get help holding something up - I'll take it. This was much easier to do when you have someone helping you just keep it steady while installing. (Not impossible to do on your own).

The PAX frame assembled. Assembled and screwed into studs in wall. Again, just followed directions.

ASSEMBLED THE PREFAB 5 DRAWERS

Took a break ... even pre-fab quick to assemble stuff requires effort.

A note on cost comparison of DIY drawers vs IKEA PAX Drawers

Just because I was curious about this part, while I laid down and stared at the ceiling; I contemplated the cost difference between DIY and these pre-made drawers.

These PAX drawers are smooth MDF (which is important when storing clothing that can snag on anything rough), soft close hinges, and took me about 15 mins for each drawer from start to finish to make and install. Each drawer is $40.

If I built 5 drawers, I would have to purchase two sheets of 1/2" 4'x8' plywood ($50/sheet), cut them down, hinges (can run upwards of $50/pair [x5] for soft close full extension options), paint (primer then cabinetry paint ($100), edge banding (if I felt fancy - $30). Plus, cutting everything down, building, sanding, painting, installing using some sort of jig ($50 kregjig drawer holder thingamajig) - ie. no pre done holes that make it easy to line up your drawers as IKEA pre-does - , and likely making a mistake here or there ($costly). Time requirement: 5-7hours (with working full-ish time, and taking care of young kids, these hours get spread out to 2-4 weeks). One drawer with the cost above is coming in at $154. Yikes. Well, you see how a $40 pre-made drawer is looking pretty good right now...I mean, the hinges alone for one drawer is more expensive than the cost of a pre-made easily installable drawer from IKEA. So, in conclusion, while I rested, I rested my case. The resolve for pre-fab in this case (and many other times I've hacked IKEA stuff) is concrete. It just makes time and money-wise sense for me.

ADDED SOME SHELVES

I bought one less shelf than needed whoops ...back to IKEA I went (a few weeks later).

The IKEA PAX above took about 3ish hours to install broken up throughout the day.

3) THE DIY PART: CUT DOWN AND INSTALL THE SHELVING ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CLOSET

Using 5/8" MDF bullnose shelves, this was pretty easy. TBH, I purchased shelves that had a 15" depth and cut them down to 11". This was because the shelves on the left side were 11" and the shelves above the hanger bars are at 12" deep. You could do all your shelves with the 11.25" depth as seen above in the 'what to purchase' section. But, I made my life a little harder and this closet a little more custom by varying the depth of each shelf.

Dimensions detailing shelf spacing

Above, I used a level and marked out exactly where I wanted each shelf positioned.

Used a mitre saw to cut down scrap MDF 1x3's and 1x2's for the brackets. This was MDF leftover from past window casing and wainscotting jobs. Nailed them in for install. Then screwed each board into place at the studs for added stability.

Ripping down the 15" MDF shelves to 11" and 12" depth.

CUT CUT CUT

This was my first time using my saws in 2025. And it felt very good. (Although, it's January and I was shivering for most of this part.)

The cut and install shelf routine:

A) Mitre Saw: to cut down the scrap MDF brackets ...installed brackets using brad nailer.

B) Circular Saw: to cut down the 8' MDF shelves into 24"W and 25"W sections.

C) Table Saw: to cut down the 15" depth shelves to be 11" and 12" deep respectively.

Placed the 11"D shelves on the bracket. Brad nailed them in to place onto the brackets made of scraps.

Above, you can see a close up view of countersunk screws to hold the brackets to add more stability to the brad nails and allow a heavier load. (These can hold a hefty amount of heavy sweaters one day. Necessary? I was really just thinking about how my kids play hide and seek a lot ...and how kids prefer to hide in closets and perhaps sit on shelves just like this).

I pivoted and changed the direction of the top shelf (see below). When viewing the closet from the open doors, it will visually look better and store more if all the hanging bars have shelves above them to cap them off.

For the shelves above the hanging bars, I used brackets from Home Depot (Home Depot shelf brackets 9.25"D in white (6 at $6.47ea) = $38.82)

3) COVER NAILS HOLES WITH SPACKLE, PATCH WALLS AND CAULK SHELF SEAMS

Is this necessary? Nope, but, yes if you want things to look good. The main goal is a more functional closet, but having an end result that is finished and pretty needs caulking, patching and time dedicated to make it look ...not DIY. Plus, the end look is way more satisfying.

4) INSTALL PREFAB HANGING BARS

Below, I will detail the heights in which I hung things. I specifically measured my kids clothes and my clothes to ensure that today and years from now the spacing is useful. Each bar needed to be reachable (a couple of them, using a stepstool for my kiddo, which is fine). I really thought about how my daughter would use this closet as an adult (not that I think my kids will live with me as an adult, but tbh the housing market in the Lower Mainland will have them save till they're 80 to buy a home. And, because I am from an immigrant upbringing, I'm not providing them with generational wealth...so maybe they will live with us in the end.)

The ability to hang longer clothes at the 73" hanger, dresses/long skirts/pants at the 46"hanger, shirts/sweaters/skirts at the 28.25" hanger. Each hanger bar was spaced 11" away from the wall to make room for hangers and have the 12" shelves hanging above them have 1" of overage to 'cap' the bars.

5) PAINT EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS PAINT

I just used leftover paint we had on hand. The closet walls are Benjamin Moore in Simply White. Note: I only painted the scrap MDF brackets, but, didn't paint the actual shelves and left them primed white. Anything shelf related that's painted can chip - so, I just left them as is...and honestly, the primed white look just fine against the Simply White. With everything caulked and spackled in, the shelves look seamless. I repaired the walls from demo and painted them, good as new.

A Reminder Of The Before

AFTER PICTURES

You've seen this before, but just act as if you didn't.

Those handy hidden side shelves. Also, one long bar she doesn't need now...but will one day.

Two bars, two shelves. Upper bar is great for shirts, short skirts and folded pants. Lower bar is fitted for all of her dresses, and longer coats.

A stacked view of the above

AND VIEWS OF HER CLOTHES ACTUALLY IN IT

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/85bf99_7d86f55f1f3147d8a995150cb077f5f1/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Clothes mess up the look, haha. But, it's what the closet is here for so...

A note on how much these drawers hold

I was a little concerned over how much the drawers would hold since I went with the PAX wardrobe with less depth (13.5"D). But, it actually gave me a good lesson on haves and have nots.

Pajama Drawer

These drawers hold all her undies, socks, bathing suits, pajamas, shirts, legging style pants and shorts.

Her pajama drawer for instance can hold up to 16 pairs of pajamas folded in a Marie Kondo type of format (not as tidy as seen in image).

Her dedicated t-shirt drawer holds upwards of 36 pieces of clothing.

In reality, she doesn't need over two weeks of pajamas and a lot of the shirts that are stored in these drawers aren't worn. She, like most of us adults, stick to a rotation of 6-7 outfits she feels most comfortable in.

So, what I'm saying is this: If I start noticing that I don't have enough room for her clothes coming in, I need to purge from what she has.

OR

If her drawers are already full, she doesn't need more clothes.

Her tank, tee and long sleeve drawer (at the end of the week...ie. her laundry hamper is full and more clothes will be in it eventually).

This closet has provided me better storage and taught me insight beyond what I anticipated. Lolz. Well done project, well done.

The End

Hope you found this helpful! Thanks for reading along. Follow along my Instagram account for more video content on how this shelf came together. If you have any questions, feel free to share them below!