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Small Walk-in Closet Makeover Reveal {with Ikea Pax & Removable Wallpaper}

When I started out with the One Room Challenge six weeks ago, I originally thought that we would focus on the closet.

If you had a chance to check out our bedroom makeover reveal the other day; you may have noticed that the project kind of snowballed to include pretty much our entire bedroom…

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But despite how much I love our newly tweaked bedroom; the closet is now one of my favourite spots in our house!

I can’t get over how organized and bright and pretty it is!

Especially when I look back at the before….

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Eek!

It was a disorganized hodgepodge full of builder-grade wire shelving.

Nothing was working. The baskets were overflowing and needed to be sorted and purged. The back wall was used for hooks to hang sweatshirts etc. on but it was hard to access and difficult to use. The little jewelry area I had tried to create was covered by a disorganized mess of clothing. And it had become a depository for anything that had no home.

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I’ve had a vision of a beautifully organized closet and have been doing research on different types of closet units for nearly two years. I tried all kinds of programs to help you design your closet plan online; and still; the space just didn’t add up.

With the somewhat small depth of our closet (64″ inches), any kind of corner units took up way too much space to be useful. So I started to look in a different direction. The Ikea PAX wardrobe system.

And it became clear that two long walls of storage with a beautiful feature wall in the center was going to be the best way to go.

So I started to focus on the feature wall!

And the choice was clear: Wallpaper!

And not just any wallpaper: removable wallpaper.

Because I’m kind of a commitment-phobe like that.

So after clearing out the whole closet, and installing our PAX units, we added two 20″ wide 8′ lengths of The Palms in White from Walls Need Love.

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My husband and I worked together to put the wallpaper up after the PAX units had been installed…

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We noticed that in order to make the pattern match up, you have to overlap the pattern slightly; but once it is up, you don’t really notice the overlap.

The wallpaper on the feature wall definitely adds the WOW to this closet, don’t you think?

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The lighting that I ordered for our closet is the perfect height (thankfully!) and I love the mix of silver and gold from the sunburst mirror against the crisp, beachy pattern of the wallpaper. And the rug is the same design as our large rug in our master bedroom – but in a 3×5 size.

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Now, let’s check out the rest of this closet!

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We managed to downsize a little bit – but purged a lot less then you might have expected. I can’t believe how much better all of our clothing fit into these organized units.

We even managed to eliminate one dresser in our bedroom because of the drawer units that are part of the Ikea Pax system.

And these photos. They aren’t staged. This is my entire hanging wardrobe. I wanted you all to see just how much stuff you can actually fit in an organized way!

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I love the features available with the Pax system; like the pullout hooks. They are perfect for scarves, necklaces, ties etc. and take up almost no additional space!

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And the little pullout trays that are available?!?

LOVE!

I have a couple for my jewelry and my husband has one for his belts and watches etc.

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We even have room to store our laundry basket in my long hanging unit – but I didn’t figure you needed to see all my dirty laundry.

My husband loves that he has his own “side” on the closet…. he has so much space that he was able to get rid of his dresser in the bedroom and he still has an EMPTY drawer!! {I may just take that over eventually…}

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How cool is this special pants hanger?? And his special little storage tray…

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Well!?!

I definitely love it! And so far it is staying immaculately organized.

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Want to tackle your walk-in closet?!? Pin this to remember it!

This is awesome! Pin it to remember it!

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48 Comments

  1. Hi Krista, Love your Closet Re-Do. My Walk-In Closet is similar sq Footage as yours ( 55 Deep X 106 Wide & 8ft ceiling height). Someone asked you about how much this project cost but I couldn’t find an answer so I was wondering if you could include that in your answer. Also the cost of the Mirror & the Chandelier because I probably will not add those items to my closet.

  2. Hi, I love your closet. I am just starting my Pax planning and I was wondering about the glass front drawers. I am thinking of using them but they seem a little more delicate and sharp than the solid wood ones. And like they would get finger prints on them easily. However, I like the idea that I can see whats in the drawer with out opening it first. How are your thoughts on the glass front drawer from a practical stand point and an aesthetic perspective?

    1. Hi Cindy,
      We didn’t find that they got dirty and they really don’t feel delicate or sharp. We did solid drawers on our current closet, because it has doors, but I would use glass ones again on a walk-in closet for sure!
      Krista

  3. Krista, I have a “step-in” closet as you mentioned; it is 48″ deep x 60″ wide and 92″ high (not even 8′!). I have current season clothes and shoes plus my handbags in there (thank goodness I don’t have to share it!), but it’s definitely not the closet of my dreams. You did a fantastic job with yours and I love removable wallpaper! Any suggestions for me?

  4. I need this in my life! My walk-in is pretty big but, it’s not only my clothes closet it’s also used for craft supply storage. It’s a mess!

  5. Hi – I know this an older post but do you know which pieces you used exactly for this and approximate total cost? I just looked at Ikea and they have 11 pages of PAX lol…and I get frustrated. Yours is absolutely perfect for my closet. I like the pieces you used.

    1. Hi Laura – I plan to write a post soon with more detail about selecting a PAX for your closet – I know that it is an overwhelming process. I spent a few hours and used some graph paper to help me hammer out my design. Start by determining the width of the units that you would order (e.g. if your closet is 5′ wide then you could get one unit that is 39″ wide and another unit (or PAX frame) that is 19″ wide. They come in 39, 29, and 19 widths. Then decide what space you need inside – how much room for hanging items versus drawers, slide outs, and shelves. It is a bit tricky to do the planning but definitely worth the time spent. I used their online wardrobe planner, and added items to my cart as I selected them (and honestly sketched the whole thing out on paper first). You can also go into Ikea if it’s nearby and they will help you (I think you might even be able to make an appointment like they do with the kitchens?)! Hope that helps a bit…

  6. Waouh! I love what you did with your closet.
    I’ve been searching for months now how to make my closet look better and couldn’t find an inspiration cuz it seemed like no one had the kind of closet I have (I have the exact same as you – I mean the one before remodelling).
    My question though is, is that a rent appartment (or house) or it’s your own place? I’m asking cuz we’re renting and I can’t go to that extend for remodeling. The Appartment rules here do not permit me to.
    Do you have an alternative or a proposition for me please?
    Thanks,
    Corine.

    1. Hi Corine,
      The Pax wardrobes can be taken with you when you go – though it would definitely be some work to take it all apart again. You can build the armoire /wardrobes in the PAX series as freestanding and take them when you go. Hope that helps!
      Krista

  7. Mine is 55″ (sides) x 95″ (back). I love the way yours is organized. Have been searching for ideas for a small walk in closet & this is very similar to ours. Thank you for sharing this. I think we are are trying to get the best out of spaces to use in our homes in the most cost effective ways. I haven’t done anything for years because I couldn’t find it.

  8. I know I am really late but I was hoping you could tell me what depth (13” or 22”) PAX system you used for your closet.

    1. Hi Christen,
      We used the full 22″ depth on all our closets. The height was more the issue – we bought the taller ones but you probably don’t need to (and we built them in place). Hope that helps,
      Krista

  9. Hello! Beautiful wardrobe! I know this is an older post, but I recently found it on Pinterest. Just wondering if you had to remove the baseboards in your closet to install the PAX system?
    Thanks!

    1. Hi Laura,
      Yes – we did remove the baseboards so that the PAX could be attached directly to the wall. Good luck with your project!

  10. You guys did a great job maximizing your space! Just a helpful tip, we use to have those white plastic hangers as well and we switched over to the velvet ones we saved about 40% more space. You have no idea how much more room you actually save by just doing the simple things. Keep up the great work, Cheers!

  11. may i ask what the dimensions of your space is without the closet? trying to see if this is similar to mine, as this solution looks so great and efficient!

    1. Hi Stephanie – the dimensions of the closet are approximately 63.5″(deep) by 86″(wide). We added trim work to help finish off the edges of the closet and give it that built-in feel. Hope that helps!

  12. Love your closet! I’m planning to do mine and it is almost the same size. I’m a bit concerned that if I build the larger Pax unit outside the closet, I won’t be able to get the unit through the door (too tall and not enough depth to tip it, get it through, and raise it. Did you have any trouble?

  13. Hi Krista,

    I’m just wondering if you customized the Pax System with IKEA? I mean height-wise, I can see that they touch your ceiling which make them look like built-in wardrobes.

    Thanks,
    Aqiellah

  14. Krista this is so pretty! I really, really love the pull out hooks for scarves:) I so need that. Do you go into it and just stand and smile? I know I would!

  15. I do love my Pax organized walk in closet!!!
    But looking at yours reminds me that I should go through it again and tidy everything up 😉

    1. I definitely have to keep on top of it to keep up with it Alice; I hate putting away laundry. But having a spot for everything has really helped!!

  16. Wow, what an amazing transformation! We have a similar walk-in closet in our new house that I would love to do something like this to. Maybe this would motivate me to keep my clothes cleaned up 😉

    1. Hi Erin! I was shocked at how much more space we had, as well. I can’t believe that we managed to eliminate a dresser from our bedroom and still fit all out stuff – I only purged one small bag worth! Crazy, how a system can work so much better then the wire shelving!

    1. Thank you Christy! I am! Putting away my clean clothes has long been my least favourite task- and now I honestly don’t mind it!

    1. Hi Sue! We keep our shoes on tall shoe shelves in the garage, because we only put them on when we leave the house (via our garage). So we have never needed to store them in our walk-in closet; though I do wish we had shoe storage in our laundry/mudroom instead!

    1. Having a walk-in, even a small one, is a treat – when we look at other houses that are for sale and they don’t have a walk-in I think about how much I would miss having one!

    1. These look lovely, Donna! I think I might need to order them and upgrade – I bet they would lay so flat! Thanks for the tip:)

  17. Wow, everything about your transformation is gorgeous! You have great taste! I can’t access the link to the mirror source, please mention where you purchased it. Thanks!

    1. Hi Anne – sorry about that, the link is working for me on my blog but sometimes in mobile links go wonky. I purchased it at a decor shop called HomeSense (the US version is HomeGoods) but I found and linked to a similar mirror through Wayfair. Search Gold Sunburst mirror!

    1. Thank you Cathy – it’s such an improvement! I’m loving the change, and it’s so much more practical now too:)

    1. Thank you Abby! I love the dramatic pop of wallpaper – and that space wasn’t going to work for any organizers anyhow:) I’m loving how huge and amazing your walk-in looks now!!

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