IKEA PAX is one of the most adaptable wardrobe frames you can buy. Most of what makes a PAX look custom happens outside the frame: the doors, what goes above and beside it, and the details. Here are ten ways to do it, each using parts from our PAX range.
1. Use doors that cover the kickboard
Our PAX doors are 51 mm longer than IKEA's standard doors, so they run down over the kickboard at the base of the frame. It is a small change that makes a big difference to how built-in the wardrobe looks. They fit the 50, 75 and 100 cm frames at 201 or 236 cm tall, and hang on IKEA's standard hinges. See the full range of PAX wardrobe doors.
2. Take it to the ceiling
The gap between the top of a PAX and the ceiling is the biggest giveaway. Our extension cabinets sit on top of the frames, in 50, 75 and 100 cm widths and 30, 40, 50 or 60 cm heights, with or without doors in your finish. Browse the PAX extension cabinets.
3. Cover the frame sides
Where a PAX run ends against a wall or stands open at the end, a side panel in the same finish as the doors hides the frame. Our worked example of a 100 cm wide painted PAX uses two side panels for exactly this.
4. Put drawers below the doors
For 236 cm frames there are doors-and-drawers sets: doors on top, four drawer fronts below. A 100 or 75 cm frame takes two doors over the drawers, and a 50 cm frame takes one door, hung left or right. The doors hang on IKEA hinges and the fronts screw onto IKEA's KOMPLEMENT drawers, with an install guide included.
5. Paint it to match the room
Painted PAX doors come in any Dulux colour. A wardrobe in the same colour as the walls recedes; a deep colour makes it a feature. One of our PAX storage walls uses Arch doors in Porters Dark Newport Blue.
6. Choose a profile with character
Our PAX profiles include Coastal (square vertical grooves every 100 mm), Round Shaker, French Shaker and Arch, which fits select sizes. Shaker profiles are also available with a centre rail, which splits a tall door into two panels.
7. Try a woodgrain
Woodgrain laminate PAX doors start from $195 a door. Our gallery includes PAX wardrobes in Walnut and in Autumn Oak woodgrain laminate. For a deeper, embossed grain there is also NAVURBANâ„¢, from $280 a door.
8. Add open shelving beside it
Our open cabinets in NAVURBANâ„¢ are 40 cm wide and sit alongside a PAX run, giving you display shelving that lines up with the wardrobe.
9. Use PAX outside the bedroom
PAX frames make good storage anywhere you need full-height cupboards. In our gallery: a home office with PAX cabinets and Coastal doors either side of a desk, and a design studio fit-out with Plain PAX doors in a custom colour.
10. Finish with the handles
Handles are the last detail and the easiest to change later. Our handles and knobs range includes timber pulls and knobs in oak and walnut, and metal handles in finishes such as brass, brushed gold and matt black. Finger Pull doors skip handles altogether.
What does a PAX makeover cost?
Our PAX projects start from about $1,500 per wardrobe, and most fall between $2,000 and $4,500 depending on size, finish and profile. For a quick price from your own plan, export your PAX design from IKEA's planner as a PDF and upload it to our Instant Quote tool. It prices the doors; add panels and extension cabinets separately.
Not sure which finish? Start with a finish sample, or read our guide on how to choose wardrobe doors.