It feels like a small miracle: when we moved in our bedroom had no closet space at all—only dressers—yet now we have as much storage as our last house’s large walk-in closet. We previously shared how we installed Ikea Pax wardrobes and how we made them look built-in, so today we’re opening every door and drawer to show how we organized everything. If you want practical storage tips and product ideas to make your closet feel customized, this tour will be helpful.
A quick note: neither of us owns an enormous wardrobe. I do have a soft spot for shoes and jewelry, so there’s a healthy collection of those, but overall my closet is fairly streamlined. Over the last three years we’ve added a lot of bedroom storage, which gave me room to expand my clothing and accessories a bit—partly fueled by the fun of hunting secondhand finds now that we aren’t knee-deep in renovations.
Since our house is mostly finished now and we’re spending less on home projects, I’ve enjoyed shopping more for clothes, bags, shoes, and jewelry secondhand. You’ll see a few of those thrifted pieces in this tour, and there’s also a video walkthrough available if you prefer a visual tour.
Why We Love Ikea Pax Wardrobes
The Ikea Pax system remains popular for good reasons: it’s highly customizable, offers a wide range of interior fittings and organizers, and can be personalized with paint, hardware, and styling. This is the third house where we’ve used Pax, so it was an easy choice when we decided to add a wall of built-in-looking closets to our bedroom.
Along this wall we fit three 39″ wardrobe frames (double doors) and one 19″ single-door frame. The three larger units are our everyday closets; the smaller cabinet stores seasonal holiday decor and is only opened a couple of times a year. The three main wardrobes are filled with a mix of Ikea interior fittings and a few external organizers to make the most of every inch.
Closet Organization Video Tour
If you’d like to see every drawer and door opened and the contents explained, there’s a video tour available that walks through the full setup. It’s a great way to see how compartments and organizers function in real life.
The Left Closet: Shoes, Everyday Accessories, and Long Hanging Storage
The left wardrobe was added earlier this year and has been a game changer. It accommodates longer items—like boots and full-length dresses—by splitting the bottom into two 19″ sections with a divider instead of drawers. That configuration lets us use shelves to store footwear while preserving vertical space for tall items.
Lining shoes toe-to-heel allows me to store and see about 25 pairs here. The top of the divider becomes a convenient landing spot for belts, sunglasses, everyday jewelry, and small clutches. I use a stacking jewelry organizer and an acrylic divider for purses so items are easy to access and don’t topple over.
For larger bags and scarves we installed a pull-out multi-use hanger above the smaller items, and some bags are hung on hangers for quick visibility. A lightweight mirror stuck to the inside of the door makes it easy to try on sunglasses or finish jewelry adjustments without leaving the closet area.
The Middle Closet: Shorter Hanging Clothes, Folded Clothing & a Pull-Out Tray
The center wardrobe is where most of my daily clothes live. It has a hanging bar up top and six drawers below. The top drawer is a shallow pullout fitted with felt organizers that hold makeup, sunscreen, hair items, and extra sunglasses—everything I might need while getting ready.
I use slim velvet hangers throughout because they’re compact and non-slip. Shorter skirts hang here with clip attachments on the same hangers. The drawers below are organized by category: socks and underwear in the top full drawers, denim in the next drawer, tops in soft Ikea bins, colder-weather tops and sweaters beneath that, and a bottom wire basket for swimsuits and cover-ups. That wire basket works well at the bottom since standard drawers can’t sit flush with the door hinges in Pax systems.
The Right Closet: John’s Clothing, Hats, and Tools for Seasonal Storage
The rightmost large wardrobe is John’s. He keeps dress shirts on a hanging bar (we use the same slim hangers), and because he doesn’t have a huge number of collared shirts, we use remaining space to store winter coats seasonally. During warmer months those coats get vacuum-compressed into space bags and slide into suitcases that live under our son’s bed—an efficient way to reclaim closet space while keeping seasonal items accessible.
John added a cube organizer shelf on one side for folded items and fabric bins for gloves, hats, and sweatshirts. His drawers contain essentials—t-shirts, socks, underwear, swimwear, exercise clothes, and a drawer for messier work clothes and occasional formal items. Both of us keep a few toiletries in our closets so we don’t have to occupy the bathroom for quick tasks, and lightweight mirrors on the closet doors make that convenient.
The Bonus Closet: Seasonal Decor
The small 19″ Pax cabinet in the right corner houses all our holiday decor. It’s mostly blocked by a nightstand most of the year, but we open it twice annually—once to decorate and once to pack everything away. The cabinet fits ornaments and lights on top, miscellaneous decor in the middle, and our full-size Christmas tree (which breaks into sections) on the bottom. It’s a smart use of what could have been dead space.
Our Closet Organizing Essentials
Below are the main organizers and accessories we use to keep these Pax wardrobes tidy and functional:
- Slim no-slip hangers for space-saving, non-slip hanging
- Velvet hanger clips for skirts and items that need clipping
- Stacking jewelry boxes and felt drawer organizers for small accessories
- Acrylic purse dividers and pull-out multi-use hangers for bags and scarves
- Soft fabric bins and cube organizers for folded items and seasonal accessories
- Shrinkable vacuum storage bags for compressing bulky winter coats and bedding
- Boot shaper inserts and wire pullout baskets where standard drawers aren’t possible
Whether you have a custom closet or a small nook, choosing the right fittings and thinking about how you naturally search for items can make a big difference. Small additions—like a lightweight mirror inside a door or a dedicated pullout tray for jewelry—can save time and trips to other rooms. And if you keep a secret stash of candy in a top drawer, no judgment—sometimes small comforts matter.
Other Closet & Organization Posts
If you’d like more closet tours and organization ideas, we’ve shared a few other posts that dive deeper into Pax makeovers, minimalist wardrobes, and how to make Ikea systems feel built-in.
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