Upgraded Ikea Billy Bookcase
We needed some living room storage and style. Inspired by some posts I saw on Hometalk, I had an idea of what I wanted to do using IKEA bookcases.
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We started out with 5 simple IKEA Billy bookcases
We wanted to create some storage space that wouldn't be on display, so we also bought IKEA cabinet doors from kitchen department and attached them on the bottom of some of the bookcases.
All assembled, it looks so nice and clean.
I bought pieces of wooden trimming to cover all of the seams between the bookcases.
Then my husband cut it to the right size
I painted them with 2 layers of white paint so that they were really covered.
I bought slats of wood that were cut the same width as the trimming, my husband then screwed the slats together in between the bookcases, and we glued the trimming onto the slats.
And here it is all put together, but, we are not quite finished yet...
I wanted to add lighting so it would be a nice display closet, so my husband drilled a round whole in the top of the closet cabinets.
Here's where we installed a spot light.
We then finished it up with trimming on the top and bottom and some led lighting on top.
Resources for this project:
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Comments
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Great job!
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This is such a smart hack! We did something similar in our dining room last fall, using Billy bookcases for board game storage. The cabinet doors at the bottom were genius for hiding the kids' clutter, and those slats with trim totally elevate it from basic IKEA to custom-built-in vibes. I love the LED lighting touch, ours has puck lights now that make pulling out puzzles feel like a little event after dinner. Before IKEA, I'd window-shopped some fancier brands and skimmed https://corinthian-furniture.pissedconsumer.com/review.html, but this was half the price and twice the satisfaction.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Hello, what IKEA kitchen doors did you use and what are the measurements? I’d love doors for my Billy bookcase but the ones sold for it are too tall for what I need. Thanks.
Why did you leave spaces between the bookcases other than joining them flush?
Why? A key resource that you left off your list is your husband! Very professional look. You two should go into business just making these bookcases /storage units. Thank you for the ideas.