Small walk-in closet makeover

Our walk in wardrobe is small and was very badly laid out. We had very little storage and it just didn’t work for us. We had put up with it for long enough. It was time for us to do a small walk-in closet makeover 👏

We had tried to make the most of the space by adding an extra shelf at the top and shelving for shoes but it just didn’t work. First we had to strip out all the old shelving which was pretty straight forward. We started by removing the trim on the top shelf and then took out everything else. We also removed the skirting boards because we wanted the new cabinetry to be able to fit against the wall. After removing the large upright post we had to repair the hole it left in the flooring before we could proceed.

Planning the new layout took a really really long time. Working with such a small space is difficult, add to that two doorways, and it becomes even more challenging. We didn’t have a huge budget for this so decided to use the IKEA Pax system. They have two depths for their cabinets and we chose the smaller of the two which has a depth of 35cm. In doing this we knew that we would not be able to add doors to the wardrobe as the hangers extend past the cabinet. However we felt that help us fit in more cabinetry. We also wanted it to be as tall as we could fit in to get as much storage as possible.

Ikea pieces used for the makeover

We chose the following pieces for our small walk-in closet makeover:-

• 100cm x 35 x 236 – Four of these
• 50cm x 35 x 236 – One of these
• We chose the Komplement drawer – 100cm x 35cm – Six of these
• Komplement Shelf – 100cm x 35cm – Nineteen purchased
• Komplement Shelf – 50 x 35 – Seven of these ones. For some reason I couldn’t find a link to these on their website
• Bergsbo doors (with frosted glass) – three purchased.
• Komplement clothes rail – four of these

Rebuilding the closet

To get started and before we ordered our pieces from IKEA. We made sure we had our measurements right by taping out the size of each unit on the floor of the closet. We also did the same thing with our kitchen. It just saves you ordering something that wont fit.

I wanted a cupboard for all my accessories like scarves, jewellery, glasses, belts etc. To achieve this we ordered the 50 x 35 unit and then cut it down so that it was only 25cm deep. Luckily Tony is very handy and has a good collection of tools so was able to do this with no trouble. It also meant that he had to trim some the shelves too. Let me just say it was worth it. I absolutely love it.

The reveal of the small walk-in closet makeover

We are so excited by how the closet came out. All the things I wanted were incorporated.

The drawers are fantastic. They’re only 35cm deep and this is actually great because it makes it easy to keep things clean. I use the Kon Mari method to fold our clothes and the narrow drawers work really well for this. I have long storage on the one side and two rows of hanging for shirts and shorts on the other. Tony’s shirts are hung above the drawers because I cannot reach them easily.

One of the things I really wanted was a shoe closet. I wanted to get rid of all the old boxes but I didn’t want my shoes to get dusty. I am rapt with how this worked out. All the shelves are adjustable so I was really able to make it work for the shoes I had.

Organisational items used

As the closet is not huge I store our seasonal clothes in the boxes at the top of the wardrobe to give us extra space. The organisational items used in the small walk-in makeover are as follows:-

• Inside the drawers I used felt drawer organisers from Kmart. 6 fit perfectly in each drawer. I filled the top two drawers with the organisers for underwear and socks etc.
• Felt storage boxes for seasonal clothes also from Kmart. We used 6.
• Clear shoe boxes for Tony’s shoes. I found great ones at Kmart.
• Felt drawers were used in the accessories closet to store items like scarves. These also came from Kmart.

Another feature I love in the wardrobe is the hook at the end of the long hanging unit. I use it to hang my clothes while working out my outfit for the day. At the moment it’s a boring white hook but I’m looking for something beautiful to put there.

I hope you like what we did with our small walk-in closet makeover. Its definitely much more practical now. I still have a few things I’d like to do such as labels for my boxes and a beautiful hook but for now I couldn’t be happier (well I could be with a massive beautiful dressing room!!🤣)

If you’d like to see another one of our makeovers have a look at our kitchen reveal.