Before and After: A $1,500 IKEA Closet Redo Looks Completely Custom and Seriously Luxe
Name: Chelsea Young (@chelseattlemma)
Redo: Closet
Level: DIY
A walk-in closet is a hot commodity, and finding a home with one feels like winning the storage lottery. Obviously, if you draw that dream ticket, you’d like your walk-in closet to actually be functional, not just a large room of minimal organization opportunities.
When Chelsea Young and her husband, Jordan, moved into their 2019 new construction home, they nabbed one of those walk-ins that wasn’t living up to its full potential. “Our walk-in closet consisted of beige walls and wire racking that weren’t going to work to best utilize the space,” Chelsea explains. “We wanted to transform it into my dream closet using a bold color to give the area some personality and make it functional for storage and organizing my clothing and shoe collection.”
So the couple got to work — in fact, the closet marked the first project they took on in their new home. They received a $5,000 quote for a professional closet redo and instead moved forward with redesigning the room themselves.
Over the course of about five months, Chelsea and Jordan installed an IKEA PAX wardrobe system, and brought in some major drama by painting both it and the walls in a deep green (PPG TIMELESS’ Night Watch). CB2 white marble pulls and knobs add to that sumptuous, custom feel, as do flowy white honeycomb curtains on the closet’s window.
Initially, the couple planned to stick with the original, neutral carpet — but one day Jordan decided to rip it out, and the pair installed herringbone porcelain tile floors in its place. “We’ve always wanted to try herringbone floors somewhere, so this small area was great practice,” explains Chelsea. “We found out they’re very challenging, although I love the look and wouldn’t mind running them through the bedroom.”
Overall, Chelsea estimates that they spent about $1,500 on the redo, including the wardrobe cabinetry, flooring, paint, hardware, and curtains — which is a far cry from that original $5,000 quote!
Chelsea is a big fan of the result, particularly “the feeling of having all my things organized, everything [having] a home and [being] beautifully displayed,” she says. “Although it’s a small room, it has big personality and uniqueness that adds to the character of the whole house.”
She says she’s most proud of herself and Jordan for getting “out of our comfort zone painting IKEA cabinets, picking out a bold color, and successfully installing herringbone tile flooring,” and of Jordan “for working so hard to finish it!” Next up for the space, according to Chelsea: “I would love to add a wallpaper with a hint of green to the ceiling, just haven’t found the right one!”
Oh, and she thinks you should go for a daring closet redo, too: “You begin your day in your closet,” she says, so “it should be a place that feels organized and beautiful to set the mood — you deserve it!”
Inspired? Submit your own project here.
Apartment Therapy’s Laundry, Sorted vertical was written and edited independently by the Apartment Therapy editorial team and generously underwritten by Samsung.