IKEA PAX or bespoke fitted wardrobes: how to choose

What each one is

Bespoke means made to measure. The room is surveyed, a workshop builds the cabinets and doors to those dimensions, and a fitter installs them. You can pick almost any finish, and the cabinets can follow a wall that is out of square.

PAX is IKEA's modular wardrobe system. Frames come in set widths and in 201 cm and 236 cm heights. Doors, hinges and interiors are sold separately, so a PAX wardrobe is assembled from parts: frames first, then doors, then rails, shelves and drawers inside.

Where the money goes

Any price given without seeing your room is a guess, so here is what each kind of quote is made of.

A bespoke quote usually bundles the survey, the workshop build and the fitting into one figure. It costs more and takes longer to arrive because the wardrobe is only made after the survey.

With PAX the cost splits in two. You pay IKEA for the frames, doors and interiors, and you pay for the fitting. The fitting price depends on the number of units, the type of doors and how much trim and finishing the room needs.

When you compare, check that the PAX figure includes the filler above the frames and the trims at the sides. Without them you are pricing a wardrobe that still looks flat-pack.

Your finish and your room decide it

Start with the finish. If the colour or material you want is not in IKEA's range, that settles it and you need bespoke. If one of IKEA's door styles suits the room, move on to the room itself.

A straight run along a plain wall suits PAX well. Alcoves, chimney breasts and uneven walls are everyday work for us. We scribe each trim to its wall, meaning we mark the wall's line onto the trim and cut to it, so no gap shows. Sloping ceilings are the hard case. PAX frames are rectangular and a roof line is not, so we look at those rooms one by one and tell you honestly if PAX is the wrong system.

The gap above the wardrobe

A PAX frame stops short of most ceilings. The gap above it is closed with a filler panel or a box-out, which is what lets the run reach the ceiling. A bespoke wardrobe is made to your actual ceiling height, so there is no gap to close.

Choose the tall frame with care. IKEA's UK page for the 236 cm frame gives a minimum ceiling height of 237 cm to build it upright, and 240 cm if you want sliding doors. If your ceiling is close to those figures, measure it in several places before you order.

What goes inside

PAX interiors are a set range of rails, shelves and drawers that fit into the frames, and they are well tested. Bespoke interiors can follow any layout you describe, which helps if your storage needs are unusual.

Questions to ask before you pay anyone

Put these to every supplier, bespoke or PAX, and ask for the answers in writing.

• Who measures the room, and do they also fit it?
• What happens if a wall turns out to be out of square on fitting day?
• Are the ceiling filler, side trims and painting included?
• How long from agreeing the job to the finished wardrobe?
• What does the quote leave out?

How we would decide

Go with PAX if IKEA's doors and interiors give you what you want, the ceiling is flat, and cost or speed matters. Go bespoke if you need a finish IKEA does not sell, the ceiling slopes, or the room has a shape the standard widths cannot fill. For sloping ceilings and alcoves, see loft and alcove wardrobes.

If you are on the line, send photos and measurements on WhatsApp and we will tell you which way we would go, even when the answer is not PAX. IKEA PAX wardrobe fitting explains how a PAX job runs, and flat-pack assembly covers building units you have already bought.