Planning Your IKEA PAX Wardrobe: What You Need to Know
If you're redesigning a bedroom and considering an IKEA PAX wardrobe system, you already know that getting the layout right before you buy is absolutely essential. The IKEA PAX planner UK tool offered directly on IKEA's website is a popular starting point — but it only shows you the wardrobe itself, not how it fits within the context of your actual room. That's where a dedicated floor planner makes all the difference.
Whether you're squeezing a PAX unit into an alcove, lining an entire wall, or trying to work out whether the doors will clear your bed frame, you need to visualise the full picture. In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to plan your IKEA PAX wardrobe effectively, how to use the Free Room Planner alongside IKEA's own tool, and how to avoid the costly mistakes that trip up so many homeowners during a bedroom renovation.
What Is the IKEA PAX System and Why Is Planning So Important?
The IKEA PAX is one of the UK's most popular wardrobe systems. It's modular, meaning you can combine frames of different widths (50cm, 75cm, and 100cm) and heights (201cm and 236cm), then fill them with interior fittings like drawers, shelves, pull-out rails, and shoe racks. The variety of door styles — from hinged to sliding — makes PAX incredibly versatile.
But that modularity is precisely why planning is so critical. A small miscalculation can mean:
- A frame that doesn't fit the available wall space
- Sliding doors that clash with a radiator or window
- Hinged doors that won't open fully because a bed is too close
- A configuration that technically fits but makes the room feel cramped
Using the IKEA PAX planner UK tool on IKEA's website helps you configure the internal layout of each unit. But it doesn't show you the room. That's the gap that a proper floor planner fills.
Using the IKEA PAX Planner UK Tool: Strengths and Limitations
What IKEA's Own PAX Planner Does Well
IKEA's built-in planner is genuinely useful for selecting the right combination of frames and internal fittings. You can:
- Choose frame widths and heights
- Add internal organisers like drawers, shelves, and trouser hangers
- Select door styles and colours
- Get a full shopping list with prices
For planning the inside of the wardrobe, it's hard to beat. It even lets you switch between different colour finishes to see how the unit might look aesthetically.
Where the IKEA PAX Planner Falls Short
The key limitation is that IKEA's planner is wardrobe-focused, not room-focused. Once you close that browser tab and look at your actual bedroom, you're left trying to mentally overlay a wardrobe configuration onto a real space — and that's where mistakes happen.
Common issues UK homeowners run into include:
- Not accounting for skirting boards — PAX frames don't sit flush against the wall if there's a skirting board, which can affect fit in alcoves
- Door clearance — hinged doors need clearance space in front of them; this affects where the bed, chest of drawers, or dressing table can sit
- Ceiling height variance — older UK homes often have uneven ceilings, and the 236cm tall PAX frames may need gap-fillers or may not fit at all
- Radiator and socket positions — these are never shown in IKEA's planner but are critical in a real room
The Better Approach: Combine IKEA's Planner With a Full Room Floor Plan
The most effective way to plan an IKEA PAX installation is to use both tools together:
- Use the IKEA PAX planner UK tool to design the internal configuration of your wardrobe — shelves, drawers, rails, and doors. For a deeper look at the full process, see our guide to free PAX planning tools and tips.
- Use a free online room planner to place the wardrobe in the context of your actual bedroom, so you can check clearances, furniture spacing, and overall flow.
The Free Bedroom Planner at freeroomplanner.com is ideal for this second step. You can draw your room to scale using snap-to-grid walls (accurate to 10cm), then drag and resize furniture items to represent your PAX unit and every other piece of furniture in the room. Live measurements in metres, centimetres, and feet update as you work, so you're always working with accurate figures.
Step-by-Step: Planning Your PAX Wardrobe With a Free Room Planner
Step 1: Measure Your Room Accurately
Before you open any planning tool, grab a tape measure and note down:
- The full length and width of the room
- The position and width of every door and window
- The height and depth of skirting boards
- The location of radiators and plug sockets
- Any alcoves, chimney breasts, or recesses
In UK homes, bedrooms come in all shapes and sizes — from the generous master bedrooms of Victorian terraces to the compact second bedrooms of 1980s new-builds. Having precise measurements before you start saves enormous time.
Step 2: Draw Your Room to Scale
Open the Free Room Planner in your browser — no sign-up, no download, and no email address required. Use the wall drawing tool to trace your room outline. The snap-to-grid system works in 10cm increments, so your plan stays accurate and tidy.
Add doorways and windows in the correct positions. If your room has an alcove where you're planning to fit the PAX, draw that in too. At this stage, you're building a birds-eye-view blueprint of the actual space.
Step 3: Add the PAX Wardrobe to Your Floor Plan
Now add a furniture item to represent your wardrobe. PAX frames come in standard widths (50cm, 75cm, or 100cm) and a standard depth of 58cm (or 35cm for the shallow version). You can drag furniture items and resize them to match your chosen PAX configuration exactly.
For example, if you're planning a three-frame combination of 100cm + 100cm + 50cm, that gives you a total width of 250cm. Drag the wardrobe block to your chosen wall and resize it to 250cm × 58cm. Instantly, you can see how much floor space remains on either side.
Step 4: Add the Rest of Your Bedroom Furniture
This is where a room planner truly earns its value. Add your bed, bedside tables, chest of drawers, and dressing table. Check:
- Is there at least 60–75cm of clearance in front of hinged PAX doors?
- Does the bed have enough space on both sides for comfortable access?
- Do any doors (room or wardrobe) swing into each other?
- Is there enough circulation space to move around the room comfortably?
The live measurements update as you move furniture, so you can fine-tune positions with precision rather than guesswork.
Step 5: Export and Share Your Plan
Once you're happy with the layout, export your floor plan as a PNG image. This is invaluable for:
- Sharing with a partner or family member to get sign-off on the layout
- Sending to a kitchen or bedroom fitter to confirm the install plan
- Attaching to a planning document alongside your IKEA shopping list
- Keeping as a reference when items are delivered and installation begins
Tips for a Successful IKEA PAX Installation in a UK Home
Account for Skirting Boards
This catches many people out. PAX frames are designed to sit flat on the floor against a wall, but UK homes almost always have skirting boards. If the skirting board protrudes, the wardrobe will sit slightly away from the wall at the bottom, creating a gap. You can either cut the skirting, use IKEA's PAX plinth system, or build a small platform — but you need to plan for this in advance.
Consider Ceiling Height Carefully
PAX wardrobes come in 201cm and 236cm heights. Many UK homes — particularly period properties — have ceilings of around 240–245cm, which sounds perfect for the 236cm frame. But factor in skirting at the bottom and any slight ceiling slope, and you may need to use the gap-filling panels IKEA offers. Measure floor-to-ceiling in multiple places, as older UK homes are rarely perfectly level.
Plan for Hinged vs Sliding Doors
This is one of the most important decisions in the IKEA PAX planner UK process. Hinged doors are generally cheaper and offer better access, but require clearance space in front of the wardrobe. In a room where the bed is directly opposite, sliding doors are often the smarter choice — they need no clearance depth, just space to slide sideways.
When you lay this out on your floor plan, the answer often becomes immediately obvious. If there's only 80cm between the wardrobe wall and the bed, sliding doors are likely the only practical option.
Think About Lighting
PAX units can be fitted with internal LED lighting strips. If you're planning to add these, make sure there's a socket nearby or factor in the cost of having one installed. Floor plans don't capture electrical layouts, but noting socket positions during your measuring phase means you won't be surprised later.
Who Else Uses PAX Planning Tools?
While most users of the IKEA PAX planner UK approach are homeowners doing a bedroom refresh, the process is also common among professionals:
- Bedroom fitters and joiners who receive a client's room dimensions and need to confirm a layout before ordering units
- Interior designers putting together mood boards and spatial plans for clients
- Architects who include wardrobe positioning as part of a wider room remodel or extension project
- Letting agents and property developers who want to maximise the storage appeal of a bedroom before marketing
For all of these use cases, having a shareable floor plan alongside the IKEA shopping list creates a professional, coherent picture of the project.
Beyond the Bedroom: Plan Your Whole Home
If you're doing a full home renovation — or simply want to ensure your bedroom layout works alongside adjacent rooms — the multi-room floor plan maker at freeroomplanner.com lets you lay out an entire property. This is particularly useful if you're also planning changes to a neighbouring bathroom or en-suite at the same time.
Other free tools on the site include the kitchen planner, the bathroom planner, and the living room planner — all browser-based, all free, and all requiring nothing more than a few minutes to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the IKEA PAX planner UK tool free to use?
Yes, IKEA's online PAX planner is free to use on their website. It lets you configure the internal layout of PAX wardrobes and generates a shopping list. However, it only shows the wardrobe itself — not the wider room context. For that, use a free floor planner like freeroomplanner.com alongside it.
What are the standard IKEA PAX frame sizes available in the UK?
In the UK, PAX frames are available in three widths: 50cm, 75cm, and 100cm. They come in two heights: 201cm and 236cm. The standard depth is 58cm, with a slimline 35cm depth option also available. You can combine multiple frames side by side to create a full wardrobe wall.
How do I know if IKEA PAX sliding doors will fit my room?
Sliding doors require the combined width of the wardrobe unit to be at least the width of two door panels, as the doors overlap slightly in the middle. You also need to ensure there's nothing blocking the sliding track at either end. Drawing your wardrobe to scale in a room planner, with the bed and other furniture in place, makes it easy to confirm clearances before you buy.
Can I use freeroomplanner.com to plan an IKEA PAX wardrobe?
Absolutely. While the site doesn't have a dedicated IKEA PAX item, you can add a generic wardrobe or storage unit and resize it to match your exact PAX configuration. The snap-to-grid system and live measurements make it straightforward to recreate PAX frame dimensions accurately within your bedroom floor plan.
Do I need to create an account to use the Free Room Planner?
No. freeroomplanner.com requires no sign-up, no email address, and no download. Simply open the tool in your browser and start planning immediately. When you're done, export your layout as a PNG image to save or share.