PS- I think the link to Jenny Komendas post is wrong! Others have chosen to put some space between each bookcase and cover up the gaps when framing the units at the end. Read My Story , About Us Adding trim to the top of the unit is the most important step in creating custom, built-in appeal. As a final step in this phase I glued some fake supports for the shelves with wood glue and filled up all the little tell-tale holes with wood filler. For you, it might mean looking for the stud in the wall and using anchors to secure the Billy bookcase built-ins. Scribing a piece of trim to fit creates a more finished look when installing against a wall. The Easiest IKEA Billy Bookcase Built Ins Ever | Love Love Love Here's How You Can Turn IKEA's Billy Bookshelf Into Your Very Own Built If you cant find a spot that will be covered by trim, then choose somewhere inconspicuous that will most likely not be visible after filling your bookshelves. Clamp it into position. owel to the back of the bottom shelves of each bookcase so that nothing could fall below and be lost forever. which color blinds are these? The closed cabinets help to keep cords and wires concealed. He has been a house guest in many homes all over the world for almost 50 years now. Plus, it can be a fantastic alternative to paint. If so, what did you use?Or, was enough stability achieved bythe tight fitting of the case between floor and ceiling? Impressive! Install the frame, using a carpenter's square to make sure that it is level. Sarah Lyon is a freelance writer and home decor enthusiast, who enjoys sharing good finds on home items. Alternately, fill all of the extra holes in the bookcase with spackle to disguise them. That's largely because the scale of the unit perfect fits its corner. Get creative ideas for recipes, crafts, decor, and more in your inbox! The molding is glued to doors from IKEA's OXBERG line, and it's also been attached to the bookcase back for a cohesive look. There are hack ideas for short Billy bookcases, Billy bookcases with doors, and more. Billy bookcases in the guest room/office of our Subdivision Sweetheart. Six Billy bookcases, two tall units for the sides, and four small central units, all with Oxberg doors, provide a wall of built-in organized pantry storage and two height extension units with glass doors make full use of the tall ceilings for maximum concealed . The IKEA Billy bookcase is an ultra popular piece. Your Billy Bookcase now looks like a custom carpenter was at your home. For this project, we first built the BILLY bookshelves according to the IKEA instructions. ), ToolsPower drill equipped with drill bits, drivers, and a countersink bitCarpenter squareTape measureNail gun or hammer-Saw (A stationary table saw is best for perfectly square cuts, but I got by with a circular saw plus a clamped straight edgeand then a sliding miter saw for the shorter cuts.). Make sure to measure your space and plan accordingly. I was able to caulk the gaps and make it work, but I think prepasted would have been WAY better! Likewise, you might apply some quarter-round to the wall at that gap. What's great about hacking a Billy bookcase is you can design an end product that truly fits your needs. Years ago, I used a brand (which shall not be named) to paint the inside of wooden kitchen cabinets at my brothers house. With this simple hack make your Billy bookcase look more beautiful by hiding the holes for the adjustable shelves. The reason I added lauan here is to cover the gap between the Billy bookcases on top and the plywood addition I built below them. This IKEA hack actually features two items from the store to create a hutch: the Billy bookcase and a dresser below it. A sophisticated paint color, modern knobs, and traditional trim help to make the unit look classy and expensive in this home office. However, you could use any lumber in those dimensions. (probably like you used for the crown molding) the other is some trim, possibly cove.I have the same problem in my bedroom where I just put down new baseboard. If your wall is relatively square, skip this step. Well, this particular Billy was at least 10 years old, but still going strong. I also filled all of my brad nail holes with the wood filler. Try a Billy bookcase hack for a built-in like this one. So follow along with my building adventure and at the end of it, you will know how to make your own Built-in Billy Bookcase too, and how to avoid my mistakes! Hi, Marianne, I'm so happy to see your project, so that I can get an idea of all that went wrong! What a difference kinda like Semi-Homemade. The doors are just rattan sheets framed in wood, and then the whole unit is painted so that the doors match the shelves. when to use caulk and when to use wood filler, How to Build Easy Built Ins from IKEA Bookcases, Lime Washed Coffee Table Makeover with Liming Wax, How to Use Gel Stain to Change the Color of Stained and Finished Wood, How to Build Built-Ins from IKEA Billy Bookcases, https://www.lovelyetc.com/the-best-way-to-fill-billy-bookcase-holes/, https://www.rugstudio.com/artistic-weavers-egypt-lara-teal-bluesilver-area-rug.aspx, https://www.lovelyetc.com/do-you-need-power-tools-to-diy/, https://www.lovelyetc.com/turn-any-cardboard-box-into-beautiful-storage/, https://www.vintagepaintandmore.com/2013/11/book-page-wreath-tutorial.html, https://www.oneprojectcloser.com/cut-baseboard-molding-with-a-coping-saw/. I love this hack and I loved the color choice for the bookcase. Accessibility Policy | Contact Us | Cookie Policy | Disclosure Policy | Photo Policy | Privacy Policy | Web StoriesCopyright 2023 The Mom Love Blog, This post contains affiliate links. This is one of the best DIY ideas I have ever seen on a blog, thank you so much for posting! In this step-by-step beginners guide, Ill show you how I transformed a basic Billy Bookcase into a stunning built-in that looks like it was custom-made for my home. And sure, your shelves will really no longer be reposition-able But hey, at least you can fill those rows of unsightly holes inside each bookcase, since you wont be needing them any more. Ive been really happy with Benjamin Moore paint, so I used their satin paint in the color Oil Cloth for this project. That way, you can access items on both sides of the shelving units. I love it, and I'm so glad you shared it with us. But as I learned from past experience of cutting moulding, compound angles are very confusing to cut, and its very easy to ruin entire lengths of expensive moulding! Fill in any tiny gaps which who with caulk. Thats a lot of books and tchotchkes sitting on those shelves! You cant find my Billy Built-in there too. The space between the wall and the case could be fixed by using a strip of narrow moulding and then paintedjust a thought. When considering painting your IKEA furniture, you need to focus on two things: 1. The amount of material you will need varies depending on how many bookcases you are attaching together. Remind me on Twitter to come back and add you so I can keep up with your posts. Youve covered it all! How-To Make a Laminate Bookcase Look Like a Built-In Bookshelf Ive always loved the look and feel of built ins, whether they be built in cabinets or built in bookshelves. I'm totally going to write the GB company and tell them what a mistake this is. What a nice comment, you made my day. Kudo's on the power tool use. Grant's Built-In Billy Bookcases - Love & Renovations Attach the bookcases together by nailing a 1x4 board to the bottom shelf. Cut a hole for light switches and electrical. I followed some basic design rules when I styled my bookcase. You must love it. But it fit perfectly just behind the bed in our tiny guest room. Clamp it into place. Prep Time: 10 minutes. I got a lot of the decor for the built ins from Home Goods, but here are some similar options you can order online: If you liked this post, youll also love these DIY home projects: Out of all the DIY projects my husband and I have done, this was the easiest by far! Total Time: 20 minutes. You could use caulk along the left edge of the bookcase and it would just blend the wall and bookcase together and not show at all. Like the rest of the room, they needed some love! 12 ways to take your Billy bookcase from drab to fab Wood Screws. One of the tricky parts here was that we had an outlet and a light switch on the wall where the bookcases were going. I was going to use crown molding to add more height to a bookcase for it to reach the ceiling, but I still needed more height. glad you conquered your miter saw fear and just went for it. Be sure to scribe around baseboards as needed. But I do not like his colour anymore, so I was about to get rid of him (yeah, have to say "him" instead of "it"). Privacy and Ad Disclosure Cane and rattan are a popular way to add texture to a space. To maximize that space and make it look good in that tiny room I decided on giving a simple Billy bookcase a makeover. When I walked through this house for the first time last summer, I immediately envisioned a wall of custom bookshelves in this room. However, what we love about this furniture item isn't just its storage capacity and budget-friendly price tag. First, I built a base for my bookcases. I concealed the crack between the MDF and the bookcase with a small piece of shoe moulding. Move the bookcases into positionflush together. Een heel fijn weekend Irma, I love this!! Were so excited to finally have all of our books unpacked and displayed in the newly completed bookcases. You cannot pour shellac-based primer into a spray can and spray it on, or the primer will become very dusty as it dries. Built-In IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack - A Beautiful Mess There is nothing better than elivating the ordinary into something extraordinary. We raised the shelves up by building a small 24 frame. Ive seen other DIYers use a combination of Billy bookcase widths, such as a wider unit in the center surrounded on either side by more narrow units. Even without being staged, the green makes the books and other items on the bookshelves pop. Thank you, what a transformation, great job. We gave up the seamless look for the sake of time and ease. I love the color too! I covered the sides of each bookcase with pieces of lauan, which is a very thin and inexpensive plywood material. I also bought some MDF to fill up the space between the top of my extended bookcase and the ceiling (we have an old house with high ceilings), a nice long stretch of crown moulding and various small wood trimmings and started cutting. I'm so happy that your billy is no longer recognizable! You're an inspiration! I wonder what made them decide to change it? But there are some easy ways to dress up a Billy bookcase and to make it look more like a custom-built bookcase. Step 2: Cut the side pieces of the moulding with a chop saw. You can up your storage game by adding bins to the shelves, as well as shelf dividers. The end result? This is easily done while one person holds the bookcases tight and even and the other person uses the nail gun. Additionally, our room does not have crown molding. Thanks for sharing your project with me. The pasted wallpaper dries up unevenly then and the edges shrink. Begin screwing your wood screws into the pilot holes that you drilled in step three. Your email address will not be published. Thanks, dad! You can do so much now. Our IKEA Built-in Billy Bookcase hack turned out really nice and was just what we needed. If using a scribed trim piece, install that before anything else. You could use a white flexible caulking so that small shifts in the house do not cause it to crack. Yay you for tackling, conquering, and mastering such a major project. Heres a breakdown of what I used: Please keep in mind that I was building a custom Billy for the space I had available in my guest room. . I used a sheet of beadboard paneling. Ciao! The gap to the right of the bookcase in the corner was covered by a 16 nailed to the blocks I put in place during step seven. Turned out great! Anyway, your Billy bookcase turned out fabulous, I love it. But first you need some framing wood in place so that you have something to attach the finishing wood to. Step 2: Cut filler pieces and crown moulding. What a beauty your Billy is now!! The bottom of the bookshelves would have sat flush to the floor, leaving no room for any trim. (4) 15 3/4 OXBERG doors. We live in a Mid Century Modern home, and the finishes in this room are very simple. 25 Ultra Clever IKEA Billy Bookcase Hacks - The Spruce The bookcases really give this bland little room quite a lot of personality, along with some snazzy new furniture. Fabulous!! Could you fill the gap by the wall with caulk or joint compound? Your Early-Owl Access to Garden Notes is here! But after gutting the entire first floor of the house last summer, and spending the past year rebuilding it, I had definitely run out of steam. Following you now. This is a really inexpensive project, and it would work on any bookcase with adjustable shelves. Simply add extra wood to divide the shelves, and then define each "room" by using different wallpaper, paint, or fabric. Step One: First, I built a base for my bookcases. All in all, about 120 million Billys have been sold to date. collection would be making quite a statement of its own. Anyone with young children knows how key it is to have proper playroom storage. YOU INSPIRE ME!! And then I measured and measured again to make sure that everything was correct before we purchased the bookshelves. It matches the finish of the bookcases, and doesnt require any painting. And when I say jam, I mean really jaminto place with a lot of hammering, and yeah, a lot of sweating. Dag, MarianneIk vind het nogal wat, schitterend en erg knap wat jij gepresteerd hebt, ik doe het je niet na!Ik vind het ook erg mooi geworden.Lieve groet,Joke. See for yourself in the tutorial. Youll love the look and storage you get with these built ins, without all of the fuss! Yeah for you!!! Then I imagined nailing leftover trim we had from finishing our basement to the front of the bookcases to hide the 2 x 4s and give the built ins a more finished look. Ikea Hack: Billy Built-in Bookshelves (Part 1) - Home Stories A to Z This project required a little more time and planning than what I thought it would take. Ready for her first paint job. Figure out where your first bookcase should be positioned. I also get an ugly brown billy, which I want to make white.. ThanX, Definetly worth it two thumbs up for new-and-improved Billy . (The sweating may have been a result of the anxiety I felt by what happened next.). To transform my Billy bookcases into a built-in unit, I used the following materials. Right then and there we nixed the idea of the trim and decided to leave space on either side of the bookshelf. Contact And the DIYer chose to paint the walls to match the bookshelf color for a more seamless appearance. We nailed each side of the bookcases for a total of 8 sides of nails. If you wanted to get rid of the space you could just put some vertical beading along it. For instance, you can paint an IKEA Billy bookcase to match the rest of your decor. I promise not to email you too often, and Id love to hear from you any time. Turns out that wallpaper paste needs to be able to suck into the wall it is pasted on. You handled a lot of issues and it looks fantastic. open plan kitchen living room with view of hall and stairs with black and white floor. If you want to learn more about this room makeover (Im calling it The Study), check out this blog post for more details on furnishings and the installation of the board and batten wall treatment. I love your space. For the crack along the wall I would suggest using the spray insulation crack filler Great Stuff. I'm so sorry you had such a problem with it though. There are four full Billy bookcases in my Workroom, and my husband and I worked some magic to make them look and feel built in. Im considering retro-fitting book shelves for a built in look too to put on either side of my fireplace. Nail to the tops of the bookcases, as well as the top of the wood pieces that are attached to the ceiling. Those same widths come in the 93-1/4, 79-1/2 or the 41-3/4 height. Thanks for being my newest follower! I nailed the two sides in place and then added the top piece. Replace with something else that was then painted? Billy lives in our family, too. way to think outside of the box (: THis looks so fantastic! The addition of glass doors allows you to display your fancy dining items. I love doing these kinds of DIY projects, but I don't know what I am doing and need every detail!!! Kellie Fundenberger 's Billy bookcase hack is so chic, you'd think it came with the house. However, this step requires power tools and a little carpentry know-how. Remove the large Billy bookcases one at a time and nail the baseboard back to the wall. I hate it too. How to Make a Billy Bookcase Look Built In - Love & Renovations If you plan to do this same project, youll most likely need different quantities to suit your project requirements. RELATED: The Ultimate List of Easy DIY Projects for Moms. Each Billy bookcase is 31.5 width by 79.5 tall and 11 deep. This is your primer. I never recommend something I dont like myself. Sure, committing to shelf placement right away and then painting inside each little cubby will be a bit more tedious. Please visit my, The Easiest IKEA Billy Bookcase Built Ins Ever, 115 Unique First Birthday Party Ideas and Themes for 2023, You Need These 15+ Newborn Baby Hacks In Your Life, 1000+ Modern Baby Names For Boys and Girls (2023 Guide), How To Clean Vomit From a Childs Car Seat, The Ultimate List of Cleaning Tips For Busy Moms, Heres a Quick Way to Make the Best Disinfectant Wipes. A week seemed to be long enough, as Ive had no issues with sticking or scraping since then. IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack - DIY Built-In Shelves - YouTube You might not need two extensions, but you could maybe accommodate two or more Ikea Billy bookshelves side by side. This built-in Billy bookcase project gave me an affordable way to create a custom-cabinetry feel for our home library. Copyright 2022. What kind of post-painting abrasion you can avoid. This IKEA hack was pretty intimidating for me at first. Also, will be waiting for that box tutorial Ive got 15 squares on an expedit to fill with my unsightly craft supplies. Did you fasten the bookshelves to your base / verticals at all? The design uses a bottom trim piece of wood that matches the moldings used throughout the rest of the house for an ultra custom look. It looks just lovelyand I'm so proud of you for learning to use that saw. how long does it take to finish this type of project? 25 Best IKEA Billy Bookcase Hacks (100%Free Plans) Avoid this major mistake of mine! Once the bookcases are all nailed together, drop the large pieces of baseboard behind the smaller bookcases to fill the gaps. Attach another piece of trim. My bookcase lived the first 10 years of his life as a very ordinary Ikea Billy Bookcase. Fill any gaps between the scribed board and the wall or bookcase with caulk for a clean finish. If you choose to remove the backs as we did, it is important that you compensate for that loss of vertical strength by attaching the bookcases securely to the wall into the studs. Repeat until all bookcases are attached to each other. "The project took a full (long) day, and my husband and dad did it together. If you don't need all the storage space that the tall bookcases provide, you can opt for the short variety and use the top as a bar or buffet. Now that you have all the necessary materials and tools, its time to move on to the next step. If you plan to wallpaper the inside of your bookcase too, beware of this: On the first try my wallpaper shrank after I had applied it to the back. Worth it I reckon. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. The IKEA Billy units are eventually going to look built-in because finishing timber will hide the gaps between each shelf unit and the contacting walls and ceiling.
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