IKEA PAX Wardrobe — Installation Tips from a Pro
1 May 2026 · 5 min read
The order of operations, how to scribe to walls and floors, and the steps the IKEA manual leaves out.
PAX wardrobes are the unsung hero of UK bedrooms — affordable, tall, deep enough to hang properly, and surprisingly forgiving if you fit them right. Here's what we'd tell anyone tackling theirs at home.
1. Build the carcasses on edge, not flat
If you assemble them flat on the floor, you'll struggle to stand them up in a normal-height bedroom. Build on edge, near the wall they'll live against.
2. Always anchor to the wall
Tall furniture without a wall fix tips. Use the supplied bracket into a stud, or a proper plasterboard fixing rated for the weight.
3. Floors aren't level
Use the adjustable feet to bring the carcass plumb before you fix anything. The doors will tell you instantly if it isn't — if they don't sit flush, the carcass isn't square.
4. Coving and trim turn it into joinery
A simple run of MDF coving across the top, plinth at the bottom and a vertical scribe to the wall transforms three flat-pack wardrobes into something that reads as fitted furniture. This is the upgrade most people don't realise is possible.
5. Fit the doors last, after the unit is fixed
Hanging doors first and then trying to plumb the carcass is a guaranteed alignment headache.