The Closet Before The Upgrade

Our charming old villa from 1932 just outside Copenhagen, Denmark is full of original details that give the house its personality. Unfortunately, over the years, some of these original features were removed by past owners. For example, most of the original stucco moldings were taken down instead of being restored, and the beautiful original windows were replaced. We have spent the last six months renovating the house, restoring it to its former glory with decorative panels and new stucco on the ground floor.

One lovely feature that has fortunately been preserved is an old built-in closet in our daughter Maya’s room. It’s worn down with uneven doors and no shelving, but it just needed a bit of TLC! So, instead of replacing it, we decided to upgrade it. Below, you can see what the closet looked like when we first moved in.

Maya’s room was the first room we focused on after moving in and starting the renovation. Since the room was empty, we figured it was the perfect time to tackle the closet project rather than wait until later. Unfortunately, I was on crutches after a foot surgery, so we enlisted the help of my wonderful parents. My dad, a skilled handyman, helped us create the amazing result!

Upgrading the Closet’s Exterior

The built-in closet definitely needed some love. The doors were uneven, and the closet itself was quite worn, with dents and scratches. We started by sanding and plastering dents in the surfaces to prepare them for painting. Next, we upgraded the doors with decorative trim to give the closet a more polished look. Finally, we spray-painted the closet in a beautiful dusty green color. Read on for a detailed account of the entire process.

Our first step was to remove the closet doors. It turned out there was nothing wrong with them; they were just screwed on crooked. Thankfully, that was an easy fix! With that sorted, we were ready to dive into the closet’s exterior: both the closet itself and the doors.

Tools and materials

• Orbital sander and sandpaper
• Spackle
• Floor and wall covers to protect from paint
• Spray gun for painting
• Primer
• Wood paint
• 4 new knobs in oak

Many Hours of Sanding

We began by sanding the exterior of the closet thoroughly with an orbital sander and fine sandpaper. It was cumbersome task that took several hours, as the closet was quite worn. Whether or not there are dents, sanding is essential before painting to ensure better paint adhesion. We also sanded both sides of the doors.

Next, we filled all the cracks and dents in the closet and the doors with spackle to achieve a smooth finish once painted. After spackling, we sanded the areas again. It’s crucial to sand down the spackle completely to ensure a perfectly flat surface; otherwise, any unevenness will be noticeable once the paint is applied.

Decorative Trim

We wanted to enhance the doors with trim to give the closet a more elegant look. So, we bought some nice trim and had one of my skilled carpenter friends cut and glue it onto the closet. It’s the same trim we’ve used as paneling in our entryway and hallway, and I think it’s really lovely how it ties the interior or the house together.

Spray Painting the Closet and Doors

The room was empty when we upgraded the closet, so we simply covered the floors and walls with plastic and drop cloths while painting the closet itself. We started by applying a primer to both the closet and the doors. Next, we spray-painted the interior of the closet white, including the walls, ceiling, and floor. Since we planned to install shelving inside the closet later, we didn’t sand the interior but applied a coat of white paint over the existing surface. We gave the interior two coats of white paint.

For the doors, we placed them flat on sawhorses and spray-painted the exterior with three coats of white. Fortunately, the weather was perfect for painting. We decided to wait until later to paint the interior of the doors.

Once the white paint was completely dry inside the closet, we covered the areas where the doors attach with plastic. This allowed us to spray-paint the exterior of the closet green without affecting the freshly painted white interior. We applied three coats of green paint to the exterior of the closet.

When the closet was fully dry, we reattached the doors and then spray-painted their interiors green with three coats as well. This method helped avoid smudges and marks on the paint as we worked on different sides of the doors.

The Finished Result

Finally, we installed new round handles made of untreated oak on the closet.

Important: We didn’t close the closet doors for three weeks to allow the paint to dry properly. It’s crucial to check the setting time for the paint you use, as it could otherwise remain sticky and may peel off!

Below, you can see the final result of the closet’s exterior.

IKEA Hack of the Closet’s Interior

We spent some time figuring out the best way to organize the inside of the built-in closet. It was completely empty but had some wooden pieces on one side where shelves might have once been installed. However, we thought that having only shelves was a bit impractical. Clothes tend to get pushed to the back and become wrinkled, and you end up needing boxes for socks, underwear, and so on. We feel it’s nice to have some hanging space for clothes to stay organized.

Instead of building shelves, drawers, and hanging rods from scratch, we decided to do an IKEA hack using the IKEA PAX and KOMPLEMENT systems. These IKEA series, with their frames and accessories, had everything we needed to create perfect storage inside Maya’s built-in closet.

Tools and Materials

• 1 IKEA PAX white frame, 75 x 58 x 201 cm (29.5 x 22.8 x 79.1 inches), 480 DKK ($72)
• 1 IKEA PAX white frame, 50 x 58 x 201 cm (19.7 x 22.8 x 79.1 inches), 430 DKK ($64)
• 5 IKEA KOMPLEMENT white drawers, 50 x 58 cm (19.7 x 22.8 inches), 950 DKK ($142)
• 3 IKEA KOMPLEMENT white shelves, 75 x 58 cm (29.5 x 22.8 inches), 180 DKK ($27)
• 1 IKEA KOMPLEMENT white shelf, 50 x 58 cm (19.7 x 22.8 inches), 50 DKK ($7.50)
• 1 IKEA KOMPLEMENT white hanging rod, 50 cm (19.7 inches), 40 DKK ($6)
• 1 IKEA KOMPLEMENT white hanging rod, 75 cm (29.5 inches), 50 DKK ($7.50)
• Saw
• Level
• Drill
• Small jigsaw
• Coarse sandpaper

Assessing Frame Width and Height

The first step was to determine which frame configuration would work best inside the closet. IKEA PAX frames come in two different depths:

• 35 cm (13.8 inches) deep
• 58 cm (22.8 inches) deep

Our closet’s depth was 60 cm (23.6 inches), so the deepest PAX frame was a good fit. However, the width of our closet didn’t align with the PAX series, which only offers the following frame widths:

• 50 cm (19.7 inches) wide
• 75 cm (29.5 inches) wide
• 100 cm (39.4 inches) wide

Vores skab er nemlig 118 cm bredt indeni. Vi havde dermed to muligheder:

Our closet’s interior width is 118 cm (46.5 inches). We had two options:

A) Buy two 75 cm (29.5 inches) wide frames and cut them both down. This would make it quite challenging to use IKEA’s drawers, as they would need to be resized, which is a complex task. In this scenario, we would need to settle for hanging rods and shelves only.

B) Buy one 50 cm (19.7 inches) wide frame and one 75 cm (29.5 inches) wide frame, and cut down the wider frame. This option would allow us to include drawers in the 50 cm frame, though it would result in one side of the closet’s interior being wider than the other, while the doors remain evenly spaced.

We chose option B because having drawers in the closet was very important to us.

IKEA PAX frames come in two heights:

• 201 cm (79.1 inches)
• 236 cm (92.9 inches)

Since the lower part of our closet is 194 cm (76.4 inches), we opted for the 201 cm frames and trimmed them to fit.

Tips for Cutting and Adjusting IKEA Furniture

When hacking IKEA furniture, it’s essential to consider the material you’re working with. Many of IKEA’s products are made from particle board or similar materials, which can be tricky to cut cleanly. Here are some tips:

• Apply painter’s tape to the area of the particle board you’ll be cutting. This helps keep the surface from chipping and splintering.
• Always cut from the side you want to be the cleanest.
• Use a fine-toothed saw when possible, and sand the edges to achieve a smoother finish.
• For cutting metal parts, use a jigsaw.

Left Side of the Closet

We began with the left side of the closet, which has a 50 cm (19.7 inches) wide frame.

First, we measured the height that the IKEA PAX frame would need to be and cut the sides of the frame to fit. We skipped the back panel as we had already painted the interior of the closet white, so it was unnecessary to use it.

We trimmed a small corner off the back edge of the bottom sides to accommodate the floor molding inside the built-in closet. This way, we avoided damaging the molding. We double-checked to ensure that the drawer rails would fit, and they did just perfectly.

We placed the left side of the IKEA PAX frame into the closet, ensuring it was level. The floor inside the closet was a bit uneven, so we made sure the frame was properly aligned. We then secured the frame to the side of the closet to make sure it was firmly in place.

Next, we assembled the IKEA PAX frame according to the instructions inside the built-in closet, except for the back panel and the top, which we decided to discard. Here you can see my parents hard at work while I sat on the floor with my crutches, capturing the process with my camera 😉

After that, we organized the left side of the closet with a hanging rod, a shelf, and drawers that fit the 50 cm (19.7 inches) frame size.

Right Side of the Closet

Next, we tackled the right side of the closet, which was more challenging due to the need for precise adjustments. We decided to attach the frame sides and skip using the bottom panel of the IKEA PAX frame to simplify the cutting process. While you can use the bottom panel for a more uniform look, we found it too cumbersome.

We began by cutting the sides of the 75 cm (29.5 inches) wide frame to the desired height, just as we had done with the left frame. We also trimmed a small corner off the two sides to fit around the floor molding, as we had on the left side.

We installed the left side of the frame first, securing it to the left frame. Then, we positioned and attached the right side to the right wall of the closet.

We cut the 75 cm (29.5 inches) long hanging rod with a jigsaw to fit our closet and secured it as shown in the instructions. We also trimmed the four shelves and fixed them in place according to the assembly guide.

The Finished Closet

We are absolutely thrilled with the final result! We’ve preserved a piece of the house’s history while giving it a much-needed modern upgrade, and the closet is now incredibly functional. It’s also fantastic that we can adjust the closet’s layout as Maya grows older and her wardrobe expands.