Craft A Convenient IKEA Closet Island On A Budget With This DIY

Having a well-appointed wardrobe or closet space is always important, especially if you have a lot of clothes and accessories. While the trend in newly built homes is larger walk-in closets and entire rooms outfitted with racks, rods, and storage for clothes, a very important part of the room is often overlooked in terms of usable space. The center of a larger closet or wardrobe is usually left open. Adding a central island can not only help make getting dressed easier with a surface to set things down, but can harbor extra storage and display space. While there are many options for installing and creating islands in your wardrobe, YouTube's NeesieDoesIT shows you how to create an easy DIY using inexpensive dressers from Amazon and the IKEA PAX wardrobe system. The result is a perfectly customizable island for the center of your dressing room. 

If your wardrobe or closet needs an island, this DIY can be customized in size, configuration, and storage type, meaning you can make it work specifically for your wardrobe with ample drawers, shelves, and counter space. The process to create a sturdy island involves a few modifications of the existing pieces to make them more stable and functional so that all parts work together well. With the dressers costing around $100 each and the PAX components averaging from $20-30, this project costs around $300-400 total, making it much cheaper than custom-built islands. 

You will need two bureaus from Amazon. The video tutorial uses the FOTOSOK White Dresser, but you can choose other dressers for their style, height, or number of drawers. The main criteria for the perfect dresser for this project is that they are able to accommodate the width of the PAX system pieces you will add to the island. The DIYer uses the KOMPLEMENT shelves and sliding trays, which measure 22 ⅞-inches wide, so look for a dresser roughly that width across. You will be placing the dressers back to back a couple feet apart and adding the PAX elements to connect them together.

To modify an inexpensive dresser to add the IKEA shelves, you will want to reinforce the existing particle board with real wood along the back. Use a thin sheet of solid wood cut down to size that covers the back panels, either separately or as a whole.  Attach the panels with Gorilla Glue construction adhesive and some screws driven from inside the back of the dresser. These stronger pieces of wood are perfect for screwing in the shelf support brackets of the PAX after you've removed the tiny plastic pegs that would normally fit in IKEA's pre-drilled holes.

Install the brackets for your PAX system down the back of each dresser, then insert the shelves and trays. Use a flat shelf for the top or a clear glass shelf, which will give you a view into the contents below. Configure these elements to best fit the type of storage you need. Large, deep shelves are ideal for folded clothing, handbags, or bins, while the smaller drawers work excellently for holding things like tights, underwear, bras, and workout wear. Sliding trays are perfect for jewelry, accessories, and cosmetics. You can also customize the look of your island with paint, added hardware, trim, and other elements. 

If your island will be mostly for storage, a taller counter-height surface can work best, accommodating more drawers and shelving beneath. If you intend to use the top regularly as a workspace, you may want a shorter vanity-height that allows you to leave the lower portion open underneath to make room for your legs or a small pull-out ottoman. 

IKEA has many shelving systems that offer pieces with other dimensions, as well as their own dressers and cabinets that can be used for building the perfect island for a joyfully organized walk-in closet. For a wider version of this island, use four dressers and two sets of PAX shelves and trays that open to either side. Or, for a larger closet island design, place two longer, wider dressers back to back for even more drawer space.