Alright, I spent an afternoon rummaging through all of my receipts from this project and added everything up. It was very scary, and honestly, the total I spent was a bit more than I expected.
Below is the total cost I spent on this project. I linked each item to the actual place I purchased it, though a couple prices listed online are different than the price I paid.
| Ikea PAX Wardrobe Cost | |
| Three 29.5×13.75in Pax Wardrobe Frames @ $60 each | $180 |
| 39.25×13.75in Pax Wardrobe Frame | $65 |
| 19.5×13.75in Pax Wardrobe Frame | $50 |
| Three 39.25x23in Pax Wardrobe Frames @ $90 each | $270 |
| Twelve 29.5×13.75in Shelves @$10 each | $120 |
| Four 39.24×13.75in Shelves @ $10 each | $40 |
| Nine 39.23x23in Shelves @ $15 each | $135 |
| Three 39.25in Clothes Rails @ $10 each | $30 |
| Two 29.5in Clothes Rails @ $10 each | $20 |
| 19.5 in Clothes Rail | $5 |
| Ikea Total | $915 |
| Plus West Covine Sales Tax of 9% | $82.35 |
| Grand Ikea Total | $997.35 |
That makes me feel a bit better! It should be noted that the Ikea supplies do not include the price of the wood I would have had to buy to build the base for the cabinets, or the wood for the crown moulding. It also doesn’t factor in all of the filler pieces of wood I would have had to buy to make up for the fixed width of each cabinet, nor the space I would have lost due to the fixed cabinet widths and height (54.5 cubic feet of space!). It also obviously doesn’t include any doors to hide the more unsightly items in my closet, nor does it include the vanity space I have created. And finally, the Ikea wardrobes are made out of particleboard, which is much less sturdy and reliable material than the plywood I used.
That all is said mostly to make me feel better though…I can’t knock Ikea! I have many, MANY Ikea products in my house, and if you don’t have access to the tools that I have already amassed, the PAX system is a great choice. While I spent a little bit more than I intended to on my closet, it still comes in less than the price of the PAX wardrobe I could have bought. Mine is truly a custom closet, and by designing and building it from scratch I was able to make the most out of the space and tailor it to my needs. And, although I didn’t get estimates, I believe it is still much less than it would have been to have a custom closet installed, which according to this website costs about $125 per linear foot. I have 25 linear feet of closet space that I utilized (a 3 foot wall, 4 foot wall, 7 foot wall and a 12 foot wall), so by their estimate it would have been around $3,125 to have a custom system installed for me.
Overall, I love my closet, and I think that the value it will add to the house will make the price-tag worth it when we go to sell someday. Not to mention the value it has added to our lives to have a more organized and functional space that we use everyday!
