13 IKEA BRIMNES Hacks For An Organized Wardrobe Without Much Space

Sure, you can pay an expert to explain the best way to organize your closet, but that's only money well spent if you have a workable closet in the first place. Clothes, shoes, and accessories require different storage solutions, as do other things you might want to store behind doors, like house cleaning equipment or outdoor gear. That's where IKEA's two BRIMNES closets — part of the BRIMNES bedroom series that's iconic amongst owners of small homes — come in. These pieces of furniture are simple, affordable, and — perhaps most importantly — can be easily transformed by even beginner DIYers. Add and subtract shelving to create more efficient storage. Join two or three wardrobes together to create a custom built-in. Switch out the handles. Add a vacuum cleaner charging station. You're really only limited by your imagination with these basic units.

Both regularly pop up on best-of lists as superior options for tight spaces and value for money, and it's easy to see why. The BRIMNES wardrobe with three doors goes for $200 and measures 46 by 74.75 by 19.75 inches. It features a mirror in the middle panel and comes in black or white. It's considered a medium-sized closet, so it would suit some small spaces, but not the very smallest. If you live somewhere with even less square footage, you'll probably want to work with the two-door BRIMNES wardrobe, which measures a more diminutive 30.75 by 74.75 by 19.625 inches and sells for $150. The latter seems more popular with passionate IKEA hackers on a budget, especially since the closet can be doubled or tripled up along a wall.

In need of more hanging space? Use that gap between the side of your stand-alone closet and the wall to install a pole. You'll need some plastic or metal wardrobe pole sockets — like these stainless steel Closet Wall Brackets from Suzald — and 1-inch PVC plumbers pipe cut to fit the space between your wall and the wardrobe. Screw one socket into the wall, place the cut pipe using a level to check it's sitting straight, and screw the other socket into the side of the wardrobe. A super simple alternative for the DIY-challenged is to use a tension rod instead.

Entryways in small homes are notoriously awkward. They're typically just a bit of a hallway, crammed behind a door, or squished next to a stairway. Getting something custom-built is going to cost you. If you're lucky and an IKEA BRIMNES closet fits nicely into the space in question, you can create something that looks like it's always been there. Simply push the closet in place and finish the edges with wood trim and crown molding for a cohesive look. Adding a bench next to or even in between two BRIMNES adds more storage and gives people a place to remove or put on their shoes.

Have a baby on the way and don't have a dedicated room in your home for a nursery? Transform a corner of a playroom or kid's room into a functional (but still cute!) nursery using the BRIMNES wardrobe — among other nursery furniture, of course. Hang those teeny clothes on the closet pole so you can easily see what you have and what you need to buy at a glance. Fill the shelves with soft blankets, stuffed animals, socks, and practical things like diapers and wipes. The three-door BRIMNES comes with a full length mirror built-in, meaning that's one less item you need to buy.

A time-tested way of making the small space feel larger is by including custom-built furniture. Of course, that's not in everyone's budget, and it's particularly difficult for renters. BRIMNES is cheap, so you can easily make it yours — or rather, make it your room's. Cover the wardrobe in wild wallpaper or paint it so it blends into your existing decor. If you don't have the budget for an entire furniture renovation, focus on the panels only. Use overlays designed for BRIMNES (yes, they exist!), create patterns with colored tape, or affix some stick-on wallpaper.

Few closets are going to reach right to the ceiling of a standard U.S. home, and the BRIMNES offerings are no exception. Use that gap between the top of the wardrobe and your ceiling as extra storage space. You won't want to put anything heavy up there due to the fall risk, and that makes baskets — wicker, textile, or otherwise — the perfect option. A row of matching baskets that fits snuggly along the length of the wardrobe looks smart and is the perfect place to store out-of-season clothing. If the closet is in your mudroom, consider using this space as the spot for your vegetable garden harvesting or wood basket.

Pair a BRIMNES wardrobe with a BILLY bookcase for an IKEA hack that'll create an open closet in the smallest bedroom — or, more aptly, combination open and closed wall storage. Or, if you're a dab hand with a few power tools and some timber planks, you can combine multiple BRIMNES wardrobes, either the two or three door options, to create an entire wall of storage that looks like it came with the house. You'll need to create a floor frame and false ceiling to sit the closets inside of and maybe also some shelving to close any gaps between the wall and wardrobes.

IKEA designed their BRIMNES closets with shelving and a closet pole, but just because they're in there, doesn't mean you have to adhere to them. The best way to make the most of a small closet is to configure the space to suit whatever you want to stow away. Make use of all that empty space between the floor and any hanging clothes by adding a small dresser, or re-fill it with shelves cut to fit at your hardware store.

Hang a fabric shelf from the closet pole to store delicate, lightweight items like scarves, intimates, and leggings. Dollar Tree's Essentials Three Shelf Collapsible Fabric Closet Storage is sold at a price that honestly can't be beat. Or, go fancy with the Pipishell Hanging Closet Organizer — three of the six shelves have removable drawers! To be fair, this idea will work in just about any tall wardrobe that features a closet pole, but it's a simple organizational transformation that pairs perfectly with the BRIMNES closets.

We talked already about painting or wallpapering your BRIMNES closet, but this idea takes DIY decor a step further. You're going to replace the door panels with something more practical than plain ol' wood. Cork board is a great option: It's cheap, easy to cut to size, and you can use it — along with thumb tacks — to display to-do lists, affirmations, or your necklace collection. Cane panels turn the closet mid-century modern and keep air circulating in a cramped space. Plus, they add functionality, since you can hang accessories — think hook earrings — from them.

Though BRIMNES wardrobes are undeniably value for money, few would claim they're a high end product. This means they come with utilitarian fixtures that, honestly, wouldn't take much to upgrade. Therefore, a switcheroo to prettier handles is in order. Buy any set of handles with a 6 5/16-inch center — the Goo-Ki Brush Brass Modern Cabinet Pulls are a great option. Unscrew the old handles and screw the new in their place. We're not the only ones to think of this idea. Search sites like Etsy and you'll find lots of independent makers crafting handles for BRIMNES wardrobes specifically.

Where would professional organizers be without the humble hook? Whether we're talking the 3M Command Hooks, which come in a whole bunch of sizes and styles, or something more complicated like wall mounted broom holders, there's an option for every closet renovation — and that includes your BRIMNES wardrobe! Screw in a couple of hooks to the outside wall of your closet to hang grab-and-go items like backpacks. Inside, you can affix hooks to any space-free wall or the doors. Again, adorning them with things you need quickly, like accessories, or items that are awkward to store, like mops, is the best use for hooks.

Are shoes cluttering the floor of your closet? BRIMNES wardrobes are so basic on the inside that it's easy to slot a shoe rack in and get those clod-hoppers off the ground. IKEA has the SKUBB shoe boxes, but you might get more space-saving for your buck from a rack. For example, the Gonfoam three-tier expandable shoe rack would fit in the three-door BRIMNES no problem. It's multiple tiers equate to more organized shoe storage.

Small spaces are notorious for having no space for big cleaning equipment. We briefly mentioned storing brooms and mops in a BRIMNES closet, but why not innovate even more and turn the back wall of your wardrobe into a cordless vacuum cleaner charging stand. No more unsightly cleaning device sitting on the wall of your living room. Instead, you'll tuck it away discreetly to power up, ready for when you need it. This so-called hack is as simple as following the charging station mounting instructions provided by the manufacturer of your vacuum cleaner.