When I saw John J.’s hack, I was thrilled. His clever integration of IKEA wardrobes with kitchen units answered so many questions our community had been grappling with. It felt like he’d cracked a code, opening up possibilities for combining these IKEA ranges.
John successfully mixed elements from the IKEA PAX wardrobe and METOD kitchen range to create a built-in wardrobe with drawers and horizontal storage cabinets above the PAX wardrobes. It certainly goes beyond the typical wood frame and drywall setups we often see.
“I wanted snug fitted wardrobes and drawer units, which PAX don’t have,” John explains the reasons for merging these two ranges. “While I could have used three 75 cm wide wardrobes, that would have left a big gap on each side.”
The project consists of two PAX double wardrobes flanking METOD cabinets with a base drawer unit beneath them. The result is so cohesive that you’d never guess these pieces originated from different IKEA ranges.
Hacking A Height Extension Unit Above the PAX Wardrobe
One of the most clever aspects of John’s design is the use of two METOD high wall units installed on their sides at the top, cut down to fit snugly against the ceiling. This hack achieves what many IKEA enthusiasts have long desired: a height extension for the PAX system.
While IKEA hasn’t yet blessed us with an official BILLY-style height extension for PAX wardrobes (a dream many of us still hold onto), John’s solution fills this gap.
He picked the METOD 100×40 cm wall frames (laid sideways) for this. To get them to fit the gap between the wardrobe and ceiling, he cut the wall frames from 40 to 30 cm wide. The doors for this unit were also cut to 30cm. (This step won’t be necessary if you have higher ceilings.)
Lack of Depth
To match the holes for assembly, he clamped the cut piece onto the side as a template. The doors are fitted with UTRUSTA hinges which come with a drilling guide.
The only drawback is the depth discrepancy between the METOD cabinet and PAX wardrobes. METOD wall cabinets are relatively shallow at 37 cm, falling short of the PAX’s 58 cm depth. To counter that John left the backs off. “The top cabinets do not have backs, so space can be fully used,” John explains, “Rigidity is provided by screwing the cabinet to other units that are already squared.”
The other frustrating thing is this particular METOD wall cabinet frame that John used isn’t available in all IKEA stores globally.
Seamless Plinths
He used standard METOD legs to raise the METOD drawer unit. To align it with the height of the PAX plinth John cut the leg’s thread and adjusted them down to match. Then, he used fitted skirting made from standard trimmed MDF to span the entire front of the PAX and METOD units, giving it a cohesive look.
Matching PAX and METOD Doors
Interestingly, John’s choice of doors came from two different IKEA ranges — FARDAL and KALLARP. “Despite IKEA’s claims, the doors matched perfectly in color,” he notes. “One was labeled high gloss blue-grey, and the other grey blue.”
To add a custom touch, John created a center trim at the top of the wardrobe using a trimmed offcut from one of the doors. This small detail contributes to the bespoke feel of the finished product.
What’s particularly inspiring about John’s project is that it was completed using just a hand saw. I’ve always been saying that power tools would make the project go quicker, but not having them shouldn’t be an obstacle to hacking.
“I cut them with a standard hand tennon saw. Normally, I would route the edges,” he explained, “But they (the upper horizontal cabinets) were so neat and the cut edges were facing up to the ceiling, so it wasn’t necessary.”
Push To Open Cabinet Doors
The final touch to this custom wardrobe solution was the installation of push-to-open fittings on all doors and drawers, eliminating handles for a streamlined appearance.
For those looking to embark on a similar project, John’s materials list is below:
Materials used:
- 2 x PAX frames (201 x 100 cm)
- 4 x FARDAL high-gloss light grey-blue door for PAX frames
- 1 x METOD Base Cabinet with drawers (80 x 80 cm) with KALLARP drawer fronts
- 2 x METOD frames (200 x 40 cm) – placed above drawer unit
- 2 x KALLARP high-gloss light grey-blue door for METOD frame (40 x 140cm)
- 2 x METOD Wall Cabinet Frame (40 x 100) – placed horizontally above PAX
- 2 x KALLARP high-gloss light grey-blue door for METOD frame (40 x 100cm) – for horizontal cabinets
- UTRUSTA hinges for horizontal cabinets
- UTRUSTA push openers
As I wrapped up my conversation with John about his ingenious PAX-METOD hybrid, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of excitement and frustration. His hack is a perfect example of why I started IKEAHackers in the first place – to showcase the incredible creativity of IKEA enthusiasts who see possibilities where others see limitations. Yet, it also highlights the challenges we face as a global community of hackers, with product availability varying across markets.
And while not everyone may be able to recreate this exact hack, I’m certain it will spark new ideas to sidestep IKEA limitations. Can we do this with a PAX-SEKTION? It’s possible (hint: look up the 40″ tall SEKTION wall cabinet) and I hope one of you bold hackers will give it a go.