Planning Your IKEA PAX Wardrobe: Everything UK Homeowners Need to Know
If you've spent any time browsing IKEA's bedroom range, chances are you've come across the PAX wardrobe system. It's one of the most popular flat-pack wardrobe solutions in the UK, and for good reason — it's modular, customisable, and surprisingly affordable. But before you load up a trolley at your nearest IKEA store, there's one critical step that many homeowners skip: properly planning your room layout.
This guide walks you through everything you need to know about using the IKEA PAX planner in the UK, what its limitations are, and how a free browser-based floor planner like the one at freeroomplanner.com can help you visualise your entire bedroom — not just the wardrobe itself — before you commit to a single purchase.
What Is the IKEA PAX Planner?
The IKEA PAX planner is an online tool provided by IKEA that allows you to configure PAX wardrobe frames, doors, and interior fittings. Available through the IKEA UK website, it lets you mix and match:
- Frame sizes (widths of 50cm, 75cm, and 100cm; heights of 201cm and 236cm)
- Door styles (sliding, hinged, mirrored, and more)
- Interior organisers (drawers, rails, shelves, shoe racks, and pull-out trays)
- Finishes and colours (white, oak effect, black-brown, and others)
Once you've built your configuration, the ikea pax planner uk tool gives you a shopping list and rough cost estimate. It's a genuinely useful starting point — but it only shows you the wardrobe in isolation, not how it will sit within your actual bedroom.
The Limitation of Wardrobe-Only Planning
Here's the problem that catches many UK homeowners out: a wardrobe that looks perfect on screen can become a nightmare in a real room. Common issues include:
- Door swing clearance — hinged PAX doors need up to 60cm of clearance in front of them. If your bed or chest of drawers is too close, the doors simply won't open fully.
- Alcove fit — many UK bedrooms have chimney breast alcoves or awkward recesses. A PAX unit might look like it fits, but without accurate room measurements, you could end up 5cm short or 10cm too wide.
- Traffic flow — can you still walk comfortably around the bed once the wardrobe is installed? Is there enough space to open all the drawers?
- Ceiling height and coving — older UK homes often have decorative coving that reduces usable wall height. The taller 236cm PAX frames may not fit without modification.
This is exactly where a proper room planning tool becomes essential — and where freeroomplanner.com fills the gap that the ikea pax planner uk tool leaves open.
How to Use freeroomplanner.com to Plan Your PAX Wardrobe
freeroomplanner.com is a free, browser-based floor planner designed specifically for homeowners renovating or redesigning any room in their home. There's no sign-up, no email address required, and nothing to download — you simply open it in your browser and start planning.
Here's how to use it to plan your PAX wardrobe project:
- Draw your room walls — Use the snap-to-grid drawing tool (which snaps to 10cm increments) to accurately trace the outline of your bedroom. Include doorways, windows, and any built-in features like radiators or chimney breasts.
- Add your existing furniture — Drag and drop your bed, bedside tables, chest of drawers, and any other existing pieces. You can resize each item to match your actual furniture dimensions.
- Position the wardrobe — Add a wardrobe item to represent your planned PAX configuration. Resize it to match the total width and depth of your chosen PAX setup.
- Check clearances and flow — With everything laid out to scale, you can instantly see whether there's enough space in front of the wardrobe for doors to open, whether the room still feels navigable, and whether the proportions look right.
- Measure everything — Live measurements display in metres, centimetres, or feet, so you can cross-reference your plan directly with IKEA's PAX dimensions.
- Export your plan — When you're happy, export your floor plan as a PNG to save, share with a partner, or hand to a fitter.
This approach means you can combine the wardrobe configuration detail from the IKEA PAX planner with the whole-room spatial awareness that freeroomplanner.com provides. Together, they give you a far more complete picture before you spend a penny.
Understanding PAX Dimensions: A Quick UK Reference
Before you start planning, it helps to have PAX dimensions to hand. Here are the standard frame sizes available through IKEA UK:
Frame Widths
- 50cm wide — ideal for tighter spaces or filling gaps
- 75cm wide — the most versatile size for standard bedrooms
- 100cm wide — great for maximising storage, but check your wall space
Frame Heights
- 201cm — suits most standard UK ceiling heights (typically 240cm), leaving room for coving
- 236cm — better for rooms with higher ceilings; may need a gap filler or ceiling trim for a built-in look
Frame Depth
- 35cm or 58cm — the deeper option accommodates hanging clothes more comfortably and is the most popular choice
When you draw your wardrobe on freeroomplanner.com, use these exact dimensions so your floor plan reflects what you'll actually be installing.
Tips for Getting Your PAX Wardrobe Right First Time
Planning a PAX wardrobe in a UK home comes with its own set of quirks. Here are some practical tips based on common challenges:
Measure Your Room Accurately
Use a laser measure or steel tape measure — not a fabric tape — for the most accurate results. Measure each wall at least twice, and also check that your walls are square (they often aren't in older UK properties). Enter these measurements into your freeroomplanner.com floor plan as your starting point.
Account for Skirting Boards
PAX frames don't sit flush against a wall if there are skirting boards in the way. Standard UK skirting boards are typically 1.5cm to 2cm deep. You can either cut back the skirting where the wardrobe will sit, or factor this into your available wall space by subtracting the skirting depth from your wall measurement.
Think About the Lighting
PAX wardrobes can feel dark inside, especially in a bedroom that doesn't get a lot of natural light. IKEA sells internal LED strip lights that fit the PAX system — factor these into your budget, and consider whether a nearby plug socket will be accessible once the wardrobe is in place.
Plan Your Interior Storage Before You Buy
The beauty of the PAX system is its interior flexibility, but it can also be its downfall if you don't plan it properly. Before configuring drawers and shelves in the IKEA PAX planner UK, make a list of exactly what you need to store — long dresses, folded jumpers, shoes, suits — and work backwards from there to select the right fittings.
Consider a Built-In Look
Many UK homeowners want their PAX to look like bespoke fitted furniture rather than flat-pack. This can be achieved with infill panels, crown moulding at the top, and careful painting of the surrounding walls. Planning this in advance — including how you'll handle gaps and edges — makes the installation process much smoother.
When to Involve a Professional
The DIY route works well for most PAX installations, but there are situations where bringing in a professional makes sense:
- If your bedroom has very uneven floors or ceilings that need levelling before installation
- If you're planning an integrated lighting setup that requires new electrical work
- If you want a truly bespoke built-in look with carpentry work around the unit
- If you're working with an unusual alcove shape that requires custom modifications
In these cases, a contractor or bedroom fitter will often ask you for a room plan before they visit. Exporting your freeroomplanner.com floor plan as a PNG gives them exactly what they need to understand your space and quote accurately — saving time for everyone involved.
Beyond the Bedroom: Other Room Planners on freeroomplanner.com
While you might have landed here specifically to plan your PAX wardrobe, freeroomplanner.com offers a full suite of room-specific planning tools that are worth bookmarking for your next project:
- Kitchen Planner — Design your kitchen layout, position appliances, and check worktop runs before ordering units or booking a fitter.
- Bathroom Planner — Plan the position of your bath, shower, toilet, and basin to ensure everything fits and plumbing runs make sense.
- Living Room Planner — Arrange sofas, TV units, coffee tables, and bookshelves to find the layout that works best for your lifestyle.
- Multi-Room Floor Plan Maker — If you're doing a larger renovation, draw your entire home floor plan in one place.
Each tool is free, browser-based, and requires no account. They're built with the same snap-to-grid accuracy and live measurement features that make the bedroom planner so useful for PAX wardrobe planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free alternative to the IKEA PAX planner for UK users?
Yes — while the IKEA PAX planner UK tool is great for configuring the wardrobe itself, freeroomplanner.com offers a free browser-based bedroom planner that lets you place your PAX wardrobe within your actual room layout. This helps you check clearances, door swing space, and overall room flow before you buy. No sign-up or download is needed.
How do I know if my PAX wardrobe will fit in my bedroom?
The best approach is to draw your bedroom to scale using a floor planner. freeroomplanner.com uses a 10cm snap-to-grid system and displays live measurements in metres, centimetres, or feet, making it straightforward to input your room dimensions and test whether your planned PAX configuration fits — including checking for door clearance and walkway space.
Can I use freeroomplanner.com on my phone or tablet?
freeroomplanner.com is a browser-based tool built with React and Canvas, so it runs in modern web browsers without any installation. It works best on a desktop or laptop where you have more screen space for detailed room planning, though it can be accessed on tablets too.
Do I need to create an account to use the bedroom planner?
No. freeroomplanner.com requires no sign-up, no email address, and no account. You can open the planner in your browser and start designing immediately. When you're ready, export your finished floor plan as a PNG image to save or share.
What furniture items are available in the room planner?
The planner includes over 30 furniture items covering bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and living rooms. In the bedroom, you can add beds, wardrobes, bedside tables, chests of drawers, dressing tables, and more. Every item can be dragged, dropped, and resized to match your actual furniture dimensions — including your PAX wardrobe configuration.
Start Planning Your PAX Wardrobe Today
Getting a PAX wardrobe right is about more than picking the right doors and interior fittings. It's about understanding how it will sit in your room, how it will affect the flow of space, and whether your room can actually accommodate it. The ikea pax planner uk tool is a great starting point for the wardrobe configuration itself, but pairing it with a full room planner is what separates a stressful installation from a seamless one.
freeroomplanner.com gives you the spatial awareness you need — for free, in your browser, right now. Draw your bedroom, position your PAX, check the clearances, and export your plan. Whether you're doing it yourself or handing the plan to a professional fitter, you'll go into your project with confidence and clarity.
Ready to start? Open the free bedroom planner at freeroomplanner.com and design your perfect PAX wardrobe layout today — no account required.