A Classy High Gloss Bespoke Loft Wardrobe (Under Eaves)

IKEA products required:

• 1 x PAX wardrobe frame (50x35x236) (One of the side panels used on tallest left hand panel. The other side to be used for frame top and to construct the 350mm frame.)
• 2 x wardrobe frame (100x35x201) (One of the side panels used on the tallest right hand panel. The other side for frame top and to construct 350mm frame)
• 3 x BALLSTAD door (50×195)
• 1 x BALLSTAD door 50×229)
• 4 x KOMPLEMENT drawer (100×35)
• 4 x KOMPLEMENT mesh basket (100×35)
• 2 x KOMPLEMENT shelf (100×35)
• 3 x 12 hinges (3 pack of 4 soft closing hinges)

Other materials required:

• 1 box of screws (various sizes)
• 15mm white gloss Fablon vinyl wrap (similar one here)
• 15m roll of iron on veneer
• Plastic joining block, pack of 20

Tools required:

• Square
• Circular saw
• Chop saw
• Various size clamps
• 150mm.300mm,500mm.1000mm steel ruler
• Tape measure
• Drill gun
• Spirit level
• Screw drivers (various)
• Digital protractor
• 2 work benches joined together with large piece of chip board to create work station
• 35mm pocket drill to cut hinge holes in doors
• Drill pack 1mm to 6mm
• Veneer cutter tool

I was really struggling in sourcing a bespoke built-in wardrobe for a recent loft conversion I had done. After researching on the Internet I realised this would run into thousands of pounds which I didn’t want to spend so I decided to tackle it myself.

As you can see from the photos, the first task was to build the standard frames up (two 35×100 frames) then measure them against the eaves to get the correct height for the sides that need to be cut down.

A digital protractor is required as you would need to cut the tops off at the same angle as your eaves so it runs in the same line. Your wardrobe frame top panel will fit between the side panels (as on a standard set up) so the top edges of the side panels would also need to be cut at the correct angle to fit in snugly.

Once you have achieved this, fix the 2 frames together with clamps then use the joining bolts that came with the wardrobe frames to pin them together. The small cupboard was made by purchasing a 50×35 wardrobe frame then cutting it down on one side to fit the gap on the left end of the room, which was about 350mm wide.

You need to copy all drill holes from the cut off section (which is your scrap piece) back onto the sawn face to enable you to assemble the wardrobe like a standard wardrobe frame.

All wardrobe top shelf supports on all frames are the tops that came with the standard wardrobe frames as the panels are too short to build the top of your completed frame of your finished wardrobe. I then reinforced with 2 additional 100×35 shelves.

The actual top frame for the wardrobe was made from the 2 sides that were left over from the wardrobe frame that was cut down (no extra wood was purchased. Use all the cut off pieces.) This was the main frame completed.

I only purchased 4 doors as when I cut down to the correct angle the small 350mm frame door was made from an off cut, as you can see I cut down the doors all square to start.

All the doors required new 35mm holes to be pocket drilled into them to accommodate the new frame to fix hinges, some of the original holes could be used but new ones were required to enable the doors to be mounted. I used several steel rulers as they were more accurate.

I used the centre of the bottom original 35mm hole on the 4 doors as the datum edge to measure were the new pocket holes were going to be drilled. As for matching them up to fit the pre drilled holes in the wardrobe frame I used the centre of the the original first hinge fixing holes as the datum edge. That way all hinges would line up perfect.

Once this was achieved I mounted all the doors onto the frame. I then drew a pencil line from the back to get the correct angle on all the doors (mitre saw was required for all cuts. Cut upside down to prevent chipping.) All sawn edges were finished with iron on veneer tape.

The 350mm frame was tricky as it needed cutting down a lot more. The 2 small shelf sections on the frame were made with the off cuts of wood left over. I then fitted all the drawer, shelves into the frame (no drilling required as it simply fit all the pre drilled original holes).

I wanted gloss finish doors but at £50 a door I know they would be spoilt as soon as I tried to cut them down with the mitre saw due to chipping on edge. I got round this by using a roll of vinyl gloss sheet (15m roll) to cover the cheaper BALLSTAD doors. I’m going to install push to open catches on the frame as I don’t want any door handles to give a flush fitting look.

As you can see because there are no centre supports in the frames I needed to fit 2 false panels to finish of the design, fixed down with plastic joining blocks.

~ by Dave Hartland

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