How Do You Know What Side of Crown Moulding Goes on Ceiling

When I first started imagining how I wanted my closet to look, I became stuck on this image of Jenny Wolf'south closet. I admittedly adored the blueish, custom cabinetry and decided I was going to figure out a way to become a similar look in my own house with a non-custom upkeep.

I initially causeless that we would brand all the cabinetry from scratch, simply Cory brought me back to reality with the truths that 1) we'd never congenital a cabinet in our lives, let alone lots of drawers, shelves and boxes, and 2) the cabinetry would take forever, and would make this room impossible to accomplish for the One Room Challenge.

So, I sought out a closet system that I could customize and pigment to friction match my vision. And in this search, the IKEA Pax kept coming up as the well-nigh mutual, highest-rated, and budget-friendly closet arrangement. I'thousand no stranger to the concept of hacking IKEA products, though we really had never washed it ourselves. In my research, I discovered that lots of people have hacked the IKEA Pax or IKEA Billy systems to create a congenital-in look. But in that location were some upgrades that I wasn't able to find any examples of in the wild, including recessing in-cabinet lighting and calculation drawer fronts for an inset, total custom cabinetry expect. The drawer fronts were disquisitional to my vision: the IKEA Pax drawers expect very modular and modern to me, making them stick out similar a sore thumb in our 1940's home. Virtually people hid the drawers past adding doors on the wardrobe units, but we didn't have the space, or the desire to add so many unnecessary cabinet doors to our space.

The transformation

So, let's get started on how we transformed our closet from this:

To this.

The Loftier-Level

In order to accomplish the high-end custom wait I envisioned, we added baseboards, crown moulding, shoe moulding, recessed puck lights for in-cabinet lighting, refaced the fronts and sides of the wardrobe units with wood strips, added forest drawer fronts, added plugs to embrace the unused shelving holes, wallpapered the dorsum of the units, primed and painted everything, and then swapped out the metal hanging rods for stained wooden rods, and finally added drawer hardware.

We tried to exist every bit detailed equally possible in the below steps, and then I'm going to requite a disclaimer that this post is massive. Allow me know in the comments if annihilation needs further description and I can update to address those questions.

How we did it

1. Planned the size of the wardrobe units and the placement of the organizational accessories

This is where the Pax Planning tool on the IKEA website comes in handy. We cataloged how much space nosotros each needed for our clothes (Loftier, Medium, Low) and storage blazon by wearable category in a spreadsheet, and so I referenced it as I created each of our sides of the cupboard to ensure we had enough space for our existing wardrobe items and our storage preferences. For instance, I fold my jeans, while Cory prefers to hang his, and he dresses business casual for work, meaning there'south a lot of shirts to hang. When information technology came to choosing accessories, I opted out of the slightly gimmicky IKEA accessories, like the pants hanger, the shoe trees, etc. in favour of clean, classic cupboard designs. This isn't to say that they aren't helpful to maximize storage, just information technology'southward very challenging to make them look seamless in a high-terminate custom closet. This express our options downwardly to hanging rods, drawers and shelves.

For reference, the room is 14.6′ long past 6.five′ wide, and we opted for the deeper IKEA Pax units on one side (23″ deep) and shallower units on the other wall (13″ deep), which allowed for a wide walkway between the 2 units.

ii. Congenital the units and made certain they were level.

We only have standard viii" ceilings, so nosotros had to build the units in the room and likewise couldn't build a platform for the wardrobe units to sit down on. If we had higher ceilings we would have elevated the units on a wooden base to ensure that we weren't losing whatsoever potential storage infinite when we added baseboards. We shimmed under the units to ensure they were completely level, ensuring that the units were level to one some other, so when we ran the baseboards beyond the front of them, everything looked flush.

3. Installed the puck lights

We ordered these puck lights off Amazon and hardwired them into an electrical box, then nosotros could switch them on and off when inbound the room. In gild to achieve all six of our closet units, we had to guild extra extension cords. We fed these cords in a chain, where for each unit, i light branched off and fed into the unit of measurement from the very superlative in the back. Because we knew we were going to accept rattan boxes on a tiptop shelf, nosotros knew the cords would be invisible.

In order to make the lights look very custom, we recessed them into the front of the top shelf in every unit. To recess the lights, we used a router to trace a template nosotros made in a scrap piece of wood. If we had more than fourth dimension, we would have used a Kreg Concealed Jig with a Forstner Drill Chip for a more than perfect round circle, simply they look pretty groovy. We set a routing depth equal to the thickness of the puck calorie-free, so it would be completely flush with the lower surface of the shelf.

Once nosotros routed the holes for the lights, we drilled a hole straight through to adjust the string for the puck light itself. Then nosotros installed the shelf and ran the puck lite through information technology on each unit of measurement. We used a small bead of structure adhesive on the back of the puck light to secure it into the recessed hole in the shelf. Once all the lights were installed, we moved on to the next footstep.

iv. Installed the baseboards

Next up, was installing the baseboards to the front of the units. We ran the baseboards all the style effectually the room, for a fully-congenital in wait. We used these baseboards from Metrie, which are part of their Manner Forward collection and play very nicely with practical wood trim. Considering the acme of the baseboard contour is apartment horizontally, it allows the wood that we applied later on to the fronts of the cabinetry to flow seamlessly.

We fastened the baseboards to the front of the wardrobe units with construction adhesive, and added nails where the baseboards sat flush with the vertical sides of each private wardrobe unit. If your floors are not level (old firm bug), always start at the lowest betoken in the room and simulate where the top border of the baseboard will autumn, and so you don't get into any trouble every bit you make your way around the room. We ready our laser level (we've named it our tool of the twelvemonth since it has made our lives Then much easier) to go on our baseboards level. Information technology's critical that your baseboards are level across all the units, because yous need to create square openings for your drawer fronts later on.

5. Build upwardly bottom of unit to be affluent with baseboards

Using some spare Pax/Komplement shelves, we installed them on superlative of the interior base of the units to bring it up to flush with the baseboards, since we had to use them to the front end of the Pax units themselves. For this, we used some scrap strips of 1/8th inch tempered hardboard to bring the shelf upwardly to level and secured it with screws. This pace was only relevant for the wardrobe units without drawers at the bottom.

6. Installed the wood trim

This is where things get-go to really begin to expect custom. We used 1/2 inch thick Poplar boards that we cut down on the table saw to create strips to cover where the wardrobe units met and the filler boards on the sides, where the wardrobe units didn't quite achieve the wall. The poplar had to exist ordered for delivery to our firm, since it wasn't available in stores. We used a nail gun and finish nails to attach the vertical wood strips to the Pax units.

We so added horizontal poplar strips that aligned with the bottom of the crown moulding, so the bottom edge of the crown would wait properly congenital onto the units and not recessed into it (in the above photo you tin see that there's some wood behind the crown moulding). Nosotros found it was easiest to sand the edges of the poplar strip that would be exposed earlier installing. Nosotros also used an orbital sander to sand downwardly whatever visible faces as well, since this makes a huge difference in the finished wait.

On the exterior sides of the Pax units, we added some additional strips of poplar to give the sides a more finished look once painted.  These nosotros attached with construction adhesive and used clamps to hold them in place. We couldn't use nails here, because at that place was no solid surface for them to grip into or they might take go visible on the inside of the units.

Finally, nosotros added the smaller horizontal strips. This was something I was very concerned about because the shelves in the Pax units don't sit flush with the sides of the Pax units, so the depth of wood needed hither was thicker than the 1/2 inch Poplar we used everywhere else. Turns out they don't sell 5/8 inch Poplar, so Cory ended up finding stain grade flat pino board at Lowes that worked like a charm. You can see that the color looks unlike, but in one case it was all painted, you're none the wiser.

One time all the woods was installed, we used Bondo to fill all the holes and seams where the wood strips met. We too used glue to add shoe moulding to cap off the infinite between the baseboard and the floors.

7. Hung the crown moulding

We again used the same Mode Forrard crown moulding from Metrie and installed it along the elevation edge of all the wardrobe units. This really capped off the congenital-in look and totally hid the gap from the top of the wardrobes to the ceiling. We then caulked all the seams.

8. Created drawer fronts

Using the vanity in our adjacent bath as the guide for how nosotros wanted the drawer fronts to look, we opted for a flat front, which is a overnice streamlined expect and likewise lower endeavor than a shaker style. The drawer fronts were really simpler than expected, where we used the aforementioned i/2 inch Poplar board and just cut it down to size. We left an 1/8 inch gap around the drawers. We sanded the drawer fronts down and then brought them into the room.

We then test fit all the drawer fronts on to the drawers themselves using two screws per drawer, drilled from the within of the drawer into the new front (make sure your screws aren't besides long that they come through the forepart of the drawer face up). Here, we used a laser level to ensure the drawers lined up throughout the room horizontally in each unit. Don't worry that the drawer fronts may not sit down flush with the trim on the front end of the units, we address that later. In one case we had test fit all the drawer fronts, we used record to characterization the drawer and the drawer front, so we could lucifer them up later one time they were painted, and so separated the drawer fronts from the drawers.

8. Wallpapered the backs of the wardrobe units

One of the tell-tale signs of an IKEA Pax is the seam that runs down the back wall of the wardrobe unis. Because the MDF comes folded 1-ii times, there'south an unightly seam that definitely screams depression quality. I didn't want to put all this work into making the Pax look custom only to have a seam give it abroad that these are indeed IKEA!

And so, I tracked down paintable imitation grasscloth wallpaper and installed it on the back wall of the wardrobe units. I wanted a paintable wallpaper so it looked seamless with the units and I too dearest the hint of added texture. Since the paper is pretty thick, it completely hides the seam when painted out (it was even so visible through the newspaper earlier it was painted as it was somewhat transparent). It's a small particular that you may not notice, only is one of those things that you lot certainly would have noticed had it not been installed.

9. Plugged holes

A little known secret is that IKEA sells packs of plugs designed to hide the many, many holes in the Pax system that are used for shelving, etc. They sell packs of 100 plugs for $ane, and while they are more difficult to install than expected they are totally worth the effort. I think we went through at to the lowest degree 12 packs of these plugs. Yous tin can see in the to a higher place shot that we had installed the plugs.

Every bit a note, nosotros didn't add in the plugs on the side where we accept merely shelves, since nosotros wanted them to be adjustable long-term.

ten. Primed Everything

A lot of yous expressed concern over how nosotros would pigment the shiny IKEA laminate finish, and I tin assure yous it's totally doable. The key is to prime with a shellac based primer (specifically this one) and you will have no problem at all painting over the IKEA terminate. I will warn y'all, this primer, Zinnser BIN Shellac Primer, is awful to use – it's runny and high-smoke, so I would recommend wearing a respirator and having some patience. I likewise read that leaving the paint tin can open for a little while can help thicken information technology up, but we didn't discover that.

Nosotros applied the primer with a high-density cream roller and a pigment brush in the spots that were most difficult to reach. Most tutorials I read online indicated that they primed once, we actually did two coats because the primer dries actually fast and we're a fiddling bit neurotic. Nosotros besides primed all the wood trimwork twice, to ensure we were creating the all-time possible base for the pigment. We primed the drawer fronts separately outside of the room using standard high-coverage primer.

11. Painted all the cabinetry

We painted the room using a spray gun, which allowed for a super professional await. Our biggest learnings from using a spray gun on a few projects now are: 1) preparation is everything, make sure to mask effectively and to totally cordon off the doorways, 2) make sure to spend the extra time cleaning your sprayer between uses, it will absolutely brand or break your finish, 3) make sure you exam spray a low visible area (or the masked off area) to ensure proper paint catamenia and that your glaze is not likewise thick, four) make certain to have a lot of light sources when you're spraying and so you can catch any drips early, and 5) use a depression grit (extra fine) sandpaper to smooth out whatever missed drips or errant spray between coats. When spraying, it'south better to exercise multiple thin coats of paint than heavier ones to allow for greater durability.

We painted the removable shelves and drawer fronts separately in our garage (we created a spray booth to keep the pigment contained).

For the pigment, we used Farrow and Ball Inchyra Blue in the Mod Eggshell finish, and it's one of my most favourite moody colours of all fourth dimension. Depending on the time of day information technology can change from a peacock blueish to a dark sage light-green. When it comes to paint, brand sure to go with a paint that is rated for cabinetry, since the closet gets a lot of easily on use. Some other go-to paint for cabinetry is Benjamin Moore Accelerate, which has held up really well on our downstairs bathroom vanity and is more widely available and more upkeep-friendly.

12. Installed the drawer fronts

Allow the paint to cure for a day or two before installing the drawer fronts. Once the drawer fronts were ready to go, we installed each drawer front 1 at a time, with screws in each of the four corners and a fifth screw forth the top edge in the eye to forbid the wood from flexing. Since the drawer fronts weren't quite flush with the added frame, we used washers between the IKEA Pax drawers and the woods fronts at each screw location to bump the drawer front end out slightly to be flush.

To install the drawer fronts, we taped the washers to concord them in place, as information technology is next to incommunicable to slip them in between the drawers and the woods front. Then we screwed the drawer fronts on from the dorsum, going right through the tape.

xiii. Installed the drawer hardware

We worked with Emtek on this project and opted for gorgeous, super heavy unlacquered brass cup pulls and fastened them through the drawer front and the drawer itself. We used our favourite light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation level to ensure all the drawer pulls were aligned horizontally on both sides of the closet.

14. Added forest hanging rods

Nosotros painted the original IKEA hanging rod hardware to match the cupboard paint and so cutting downwardly basic woods hanging rods to fit each wardrobe. We gave them a low-cal sand and stained the wood rods using leftover Rubio Monocoat Oil from when nosotros refinished the floors.

And that's it! Now the cupboard looks super custom and you tin can see how all components came together in a infinite that feels much more high-end than a basic IKEA hack!

Edited to include quick interior iPhone photos of the interior of the drawers:

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Source: https://erinkestenbaum.com/2018/12/12/hacking-the-ikea-pax-into-a-fully-custom-closet/

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