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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Anyone have a pax wardrobe from Ikea?

42 replies

Honey1975 · 05/10/2017 20:24

Just moved house and am off to IKEA this weekend to order a pax wardrobe as I like the fact you can design it to suit your needs. I am however not great at this sort of thing and wondered if anyone who has one had any tips? It could end up costing a fair bit so I want to get it right.
Should I work out what I need before I go or do the staff there help you with designing it?

OP posts:

chicaguapa · 05/10/2017 20:26

Have a think about what you want to store in there. And look at Pinterest for ideas.

Bunglemyjungle · 05/10/2017 20:29

We did. It was a nightmare tbh. They don’t help in store - we switched from one door type to another after we had designed it on the computer and (despite asking) nobody told us the hinges were incompatible with the doors we had chosen. It was a huge ballache to put together - every evening for six nights - and is so heavy we are considering leaving it here when we move house! It hasn’t lasted well either and the drawers come off their runners. Sorry, but I wanted to be honest.

NoCryLilSoftSoft · 05/10/2017 20:30

I have one but I don't use it as a wardrobe. It's a storage cupboard in my kitchen as I'm in a new build with no cupboards to store hoover, ironing board, coats etc. It's perfect specifically because I could design every hook and shelf to suit my exact needs. I also got the gloss doors for easy cleaning. I love it. I planned it out before I went to IKEA. I drew myself a diagram of what I wanted and took it with me.

Topsyloulou · 05/10/2017 20:30

I used the planner online. They have some already modelled with different storage ideas and you can then tweak them as you need to. I'd definitely look online before you go to the store as it could save you a lot of time.

We have a large one with sliding doors in our room & just ordered a double with normal doors for the nursery. It gives us all the storage we need & worked out much cheaper than buying something ready made that didn't give us what we needed.

BitOutOfPractice · 05/10/2017 20:31

I have and it’s great.

But. I got done one in to assemble it as the doors (sliding) are a nightmare and I speak as a woman who is very very happy to tackle flat pack projects.

ggirl · 05/10/2017 20:32

We have pax wardrobes , the normal height ones are easier to put together than the ones that almost reach ceiling height ..purely because of the difficulty in manoeuvring

I watched You tube videos which helped .

dementedpixie · 05/10/2017 20:33

We have one in ds's room. We didn't find it that bad to put together. We have a full hanging rail, a couple of shelves underneath and 3 mesh drawers that Ds uses as a chest of drawers as he has no room for a separate one. He has doors with slow close hinges. We used the online planner to design ours

NoCryLilSoftSoft · 05/10/2017 20:33

Yep I also got someone in to assemble it - my dad, who is a joiner. It took him ages. I'm very comfortable with a flat pack too but no way I could have managed the pax.

dementedpixie · 05/10/2017 20:37

The inside of ds's

thiskittenbarks · 05/10/2017 20:43

We have one in our old flat. They weren't any use in the store at designing it. The drawers I put inside weren't compatible with the doors or hinges we bought and it was pretty annoying to put together (and I actually love building ikea furniture usually).
It was good in the end though and cost a lot less than a proper wardrobe company and is obviously a lot more flexible than buying a standard wardrobe. A good comprise in the end when looking at other options.
I would look on Pinterest (but a lot of the Pinterest ones don't have doors on so beware and check doors can go on etc) and then try to find someone who seems semi-competent at the store to check it will all work and fit together.

takesnoprisoners · 05/10/2017 20:46

We have one with sliding doors. Absolutely amazing but a pain to put together. I recommend using the online design tool to figure out what you want before you go in. We paid for them to pick, pack and deliver so saved us a lot of time.

NoCryLilSoftSoft · 05/10/2017 20:48

The website is very good for telling you what drawers etc are compatible with Pax wardrobes.

Ruu · 05/10/2017 20:55

I like them but you need to spend quite a bit of time planning them. I've written a bit on my blog about them: blissfulbungalow.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/where-can-i-hang-that.html

Parietal · 05/10/2017 20:55

each of our children has one, v similar to the picture from pixie above and it works great.

do all your planning at home with the online tool - draw a picture, take measurements, decide what you need. It is v hard to make decisions in the shop when you can't see the spot where it will go and someone is trying to sell you extra stuff (or ignores you).

ferrier · 05/10/2017 21:01

I have two and have been very happy with them. Planned them both myself at home. Assembled them with eldest son. Was reasonably straightforward though time consuming. Two drawers have broken runners which I suspect was caused by ds2 standing in them but have managed to repair them so all in all pretty good and ten years old now.

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 05/10/2017 21:02

Yes. Love them but top tip - don't try and lift a double width one from the floor without attaching the back. We ended up with a rather wonky base! One of the hinges has come out the frame. But they fit great in the room and have loads of space inside. I'd buy them again.

superram · 05/10/2017 21:10

We have 3, two really tall ones. Love them. We have two with glass sliding doors and one with plain white-was worried it would look a bit plastic but is actually nice.

Original poster

Honey1975 · 05/10/2017 21:16

I tried doing it online but I want to be able to actually see the doors, handles etc. There were about 100 different types of handles!
I'm going there tomorrow and have drawn a plan of the space to take with me.
I have arthritis in my hands so wondering if handled hinged doors would be easier than sliding?

OP posts:

VioletCharlotte · 05/10/2017 21:28

Hello yes I have. I've only have mine a few months and love it. They're great value for money and love the fact you can design it yourself.

Word of warning, they are tricky to build... especially if you go for a mirrored sliding door! It takes two people and ideally someone who knows what they're doing and has had a bit of practise building furniture!

VioletCharlotte · 05/10/2017 21:30

Oh and make sure you measure the height of your room as there are two different heights. In the store the taller one looks like it'll be fine, but when I measured it was actually higher than my ceiling.

LordTrash · 05/10/2017 21:30

Dd1 has one. Definitely work out what you want in advance of visiting the store. We didn't, and spent over an hour trying to work out exactly what we wanted from the dizzying array of options.

It's a great wardrobe, though, and has worked really well for dd, who loves it. We got the version with a corner unit in the middle.

Hinged doors rather than sliding - dh was able to assemble it in a day.

BlackPeppercorn · 05/10/2017 21:31

Both my DC have them, with sliding doors, and a combination of hanging space, shelves and pull out baskets. The sliding doors are quite easy and you could also push them along with your elbow if needed.
We used the planner to design them and then printed out the list of components and the actual location of each in the store, went along on a late evening and blitzed it.
I find them great, all their clothes and shoes in one place.
If you'd have difficulty putting them together you could look locally for a handyman who does self assembly furniture.
My teens have had them 4 yrs now and they look and work as well as the day they were built.

SquirrelWatcher · 05/10/2017 21:32

Really tricky to build, we couldn't get our drawers to stay in the runners either.

The hinges weren't great either, both ending up with a door coming off one hinge each.

It probably was partly our DIY skills but other stuff we've put together has stayed together! We ended up just leaving them behind when we moved.

koalab · 05/10/2017 21:38

We looked in store first. Had a look at the ones they had set up. Adapted their ideas to suit us. Then went home to plan it properly and ordered it online. Cost a bit more for delivery but to be honest I don't think the packs would have fit in our car anyway.

Top tip - drill the holes for the handles before hanging the doors. Also you can get nice handles elsewhere. The Ikea ones can be a bit bland.

Neolara · 05/10/2017 21:38

Having just made 7 pax wardrobes and 18 pax drawers, I'm Pax Guru (preen....) Top tips include using the online planner, having two of you to lift the carcasses and getting them delivered by IKEA. They are very heavy and so big they would be unlikely to fit in your car. We bought the carcasses and are getting a carpenter to fit doors and make them look built in. They swallow an enormous amount of stuff.

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