Ikea Pax Wardrobes vs building myself

[Kelly Colin Mark]

My closet and personal space is a mess. Clothes are everywhere and this is causing strife with my wife (I think I just wrote a country music song there). No joke, it's probably leading to a separation.

Although the latter situation is probably not salvageable at this point, I still need to fix this space for myself, and I feel like the fastest way to is to buy a Pax system from Ikea. I can put two of their wardrobes in my closet and only have about 6-8" of space from the side to the closet wall, and they look fine to me. I know they have lots of options (sliding doors, drawers, etc) with hardware that is already sourced so there would be almost no work on my part besides designing what I want.

On the other hand, the woodworker in me says I should be able to easily build this and save some money and make it fit my space perfectly. I started looking online for hardware (e.g. pull out trouser rails, etc) and it wasn't the easiest thing to do, finding all the parts needed to build my own equivalent to an Ikea wardrobe. The value of my time aside, I know that when I take on a seemingly simple project it often seems to stretch on forever. And in this scenario figuring out what I want involves sourcing out and ordering out all the required hardware and figuring out how to make it all work together. And then there's the question of whether or not the cost for that hardware would anywhere be near the price of the Ikea hardware.

The other thing I thought was I could build my own frame around Ikea hardware and just buy that stuff from them, but since their dimensions are pretty much standard I think I'd still end up with unused space.

So my question is, if I am satisfied with the general look of an Ikea wardrobe, should I just buy one ? Are there any self-respecting woodworkers here who have opted to buy Ikea in some situations ?

Thanks all !

[Frederick Skelly]

Nothing wrong with buying it, IMO. Some questions to ask yourself:
* Is building your own something that interests you as a project? Or would it be just a chore?
* Will building your own save you significant money? If so, how much does that matter to you?
* Can the IKEA system be configured in a way that pleases you, at a cost you can afford?
* Which would please your wife more - building it exactly the way she wants or resolving the clutter more quickly (via IKEA)?

Good luck!
Fred

[Kelly Colin Mark]

Frederick, thanks for the reply.

- I don't think this is a particularly interesting project. I'd probably be building something very similar to what Ikea has - it's simple, and I personally like the aesthetics of frameless design.
- saving money is always a plus, but since a wardrobe from Ikea might cost ~ 1000-1500 for what I'm looking at, I *feel* like I'd be hard-pressed to come close to that. I'm having trouble figuring out where to source all the required hardware and therefore the associated costs, some of the places I've found seem to require a commercial account for pricing. I was hoping someone here had already been in a similar situation and had an idea of how the numbers work out for Ikea vs DIY.


I'm sure I could build the structure for less, but I'd also have to spend time finishing it. I suspect, though don't know for sure, that the hardware would cost for me to source myself at retail then it would just to buy it from Ikea.
- I'm leaving my wife out of the equation for now - I think separation is a done deal. But I do want to solve the problem for myself.

Thanks again !

[Mark Bolton]

I dont mean anything by this but perhaps if your space is a mess adding a construction project, the tools, and the associated time and more mess that will go along with it, and the potential for it to never reach full completion, may heavily sway one to the purchased option.

There are times to be construction minded and dive into all the flexibility of custom and quality and all the other things we con ourselves into thinking (the biggest one being that it will be cheaper, it never is) but then there are times when its just poop or get off the pot time. The third option may be to just call a closet company in your area and have them show up one day when she is at work and drop the finished units in place, you take the afternoon off, and she walks home to a ty pennington transformation.

Just my 0.02. But when I hear the words "leading to separation" it sounds like go time and go time doesnt equate to sawblades and sawdust, and may not even equate to levels, instruction sheets, and screw drivers lol.

[Lee Schierer]

My closet and personal space is a mess. Clothes are everywhere and this is causing strife with my wife (I think I just wrote a country music song there). No joke, it's probably leading to a separation.

Sorry to be blunt, but the first question you have to answer is whether you will control your mess yourself with either the Ikea product of your choice or the one you build yourself. If you can't take care of your own stuff, having a fancy wardrobe won't help. If you think you are having problems now, wait until your stuff is still all over the place and you spent a lot of money on a new wardrobe. Once you answer that basic question you can decide the best design for your needs and budget.

[glenn bradley]

I am also from the camp that buys things I do not want to spend my shop time building. Kitchen, bath, wardrobe . . . meh; I'd buy.

[Jim Becker]

I did our master bedroom closet with two PAX stacks separated by an Ikea dresser that was turned into a built-in. It was a no-brainer to do that rather than build for both speed and avoiding a boring project that wouldn't really be seen by anyone other than us. Ikea makes a number of good products and the PAX system is one of them. The only thing I don't like is that the old-style baskets (from 2008) we have are lacking and I'm likely going to replace them with the current version or drawers if I ever remember to do it.

[Paul F Franklin]

I doubt you will save money unless you use the cheapest of materials and hardware and maybe not even then. And certainly not if you consider value of your time. But you will likely end up with a higher quality system that fits the space better and is ideal for your needs. If it interests you more than some other project you might work on, then go for it.

I once bought 3 IKEA bookcases because the boss wanted them quickly and I had several projects underway and more interesting projects on the list. They were cheap. They look cheap. But they serve the purpose until I get around to replacing them with custom built-ins. All about interests and priorities.

In my experience, nothing about IKEA hardware is standard. The shelf pins on those bookcases are 3.5mm, for example. Maybe on their higher end stuff they use standard hardware, but I doubt it.

[Kelly Colin Mark]

Sorry to be blunt, but the first question you have to answer is whether you will control your mess yourself with either the Ikea product of your choice or the one you build yourself. If you can't take care of your own stuff, having a fancy wardrobe won't help. If you think you are having problems now, wait until your stuff is still all over the place and you spent a lot of money on a new wardrobe. Once you answer that basic question you can decide the best design for your needs and budget.

Fair enough. Part of the current problem is I have way too many clothes, among other things. I am getting rid of a lot of stuff as we speak.

The other problem is that the current closet I have was built with Rubbermaid wire shelves and hangers and is completely open. There are no drawers or flat shelves that one can neatly lay shirts, undergarments, socks, ties, etc. in without looking like a mess. A wardrobe with doors and shelves would allow me to have all that stuff hidden behind drawer fronts and/or doors.

[Kelly Colin Mark]

Sorry to be blunt, but the first question you have to answer is whether you will control your mess yourself with either the Ikea product of your choice or the one you build yourself. If you can't take care of your own stuff, having a fancy wardrobe won't help. If you think you are having problems now, wait until your stuff is still all over the place and you spent a lot of money on a new wardrobe. Once you answer that basic question you can decide the best design for your needs and budget.

Fair enough. Part of the current problem is I have way too many clothes, among other things. I am getting rid of a lot of stuff as we speak.

The other problem is that the current closet I have was built with Rubbermaid wire shelves and hangers and is completely open. There are no drawers or flat shelves that one can neatly lay shirts, undergarments, socks, ties, etc. in without looking like a mess. A wardrobe with doors and shelves would allow me to have all that stuff hidden behind drawer fronts and/or doors.

I am also from the camp that buys things I do not want to spend my shop time building. Kitchen, bath, wardrobe . . . meh; I'd buy.

I did our master bedroom closet with two PAX stacks separated by an Ikea dresser that was turned into a built-in. It was a no-brainer to do that rather than build for both speed and avoiding a boring project that wouldn't really be seen by anyone other than us. Ikea makes a number of good products and the PAX system is one of them. The only thing I don't like is that the old-style baskets (from 2008) we have are lacking and I'm likely going to replace them with the current version or drawers if I ever remember to do it.

I dont mean anything by this but perhaps if your space is a mess adding a construction project, the tools, and the associated time and more mess that will go along with it, and the potential for it to never reach full completion, may heavily sway one to the purchased option.

Glenn, Jim, and Mark: Thanks. I think I am indeed going to go forward and just buy the system I need, and it's nice to know there are woodworkers who would do the same !

Jim, thanks for the feedback on the PAX system - it's good feedback to know the PAX system is good. I think with the wardrobe living in a closet it will also look a little less off-the-shelf.

There are times to be construction minded and dive into all the flexibility of custom and quality and all the other things we con ourselves into thinking (the biggest one being that it will be cheaper, it never is) but then there are times when its just poop or get off the pot time. The third option may be to just call a closet company in your area and have them show up one day when she is at work and drop the finished units in place, you take the afternoon off, and she walks home to a ty pennington transformation.

Just my 0.02. But when I hear the words "leading to separation" it sounds like go time and go time doesnt equate to sawblades and sawdust, and may not even equate to levels, instruction sheets, and screw drivers lol.

I think you just answered the frugal in me that wonders whether I could save money - I suspected I couldn't, but that part of me will be happy with confirmation that I probably can't. I had to google who Ty Pennington was, LOL. Even if I did deliver such a transformation, I think the separation is going to happen. At this point I am really just planning to fix things for myself.



Thank you, gentlemen, for your advice and suggestions. I can stop reading the Richelieu and Hafele catalogs now and just move on. That's worth a lot of to me - I tend to way overanalyze this stuff. Thanks again !

[Jon Nuckles]

Sounds like you’ve made your decision so my response is just assurance that you’ve made a good choice. I put 3 PAX units in a walk-in closet. I am certain I couldn’t have built anything for less money. Frankly, I don’t know how IKEA can make money selling at these prices. You could build something better, but you’d spend more and take more time. If you are happy with how they look, buy them. The drawers and accessories work well.

[Jim Becker]

Kelly, I forgot that I actually have a photo of that closet from when it was first installed prior to getting all filled up...

[Mark Bolton]

I think the separation is going to happen. At this point I am really just planning to fix things for myself

Very sad to hear that. Situations always are what they are but it's always very sad to hear about a failed relationship. I have one under my belt that has a million viable excuses on bot sides but it's a failure I will regret for all my days.

Do the things you feel you need to to better yourself but stay strong and dont ever hesitate to reach out and get help anywhere you fan if you feel you need it.