It’s amazing what you can create with a bit of inspiration and the right materials. Of course it’s never without risk, but isn’t that part of the fun of trying something out? Will it turn out the way I think? Or am I going to balls it up and never want to tackle another DIY project again? Hopefully the project ends in an immense level of pride, satisfaction and something beautiful to add to your home at little cost.
One of the most popular DIYs I come across are “IKEA Billy bookcase hacks”. IKEA’s Billy bookcase was dreamed up in 1978 by an IKEA designer called Gillis Lundgren who sketched it on the back of a napkin to make sure he didn’t forget about his idea. Now there are 60-odd million in the world.
A Billy bookcase is instantly recognisable as an affordable IKEA item and you may think that such a ubiquitous piece of furniture is nothing to write home about, but creative people around the world are getting jiggy with the humble Billy and turning it into a thing of beauty. Here are my favourite 3 Billy bookcase hacks:
1. Wall hung shelving
This one by Malcolm of Design Sixty Nine just knocks it out of the park for me. Can you believe this bespoke-looking wall hung shelving is made from Billy bookcases and kitchen bridging units? Creating this wasn’t a smooth one-weekend project for Malcolm, but rather a project that evolved over time. Read about his process on his blog. If you’re thinking of creating custom looking shelves from Billy bookcases, you may well learn some pearls of wisdom from his clever ideas and detailed explanations. And his styling is absolutely gorgeous!
2. Built-in library
I adore this built-in library complete with beautiful lights created by Mysha of Remington Avenue and I can’t enough of her impeccable styling! I don’t think anyone could guess that this gorgeous storage is mostly made from Billy bookcases! Find Mysha’s tutorial on her blog.
3. Dressing room storage
Showing how versatile the Billy bookcase is, Kimberly of Swoon Worthy uses 2 of them in her dressing room for storage of shoes and accessories, all displayed beautifully. She gave the Billy bookcases the look of much more expensive shelving units by beefing them up with wider timber and adding timber door rain guards as moulding (hey if it works, why not?!), painting them to coordinate with the rest of the dressing room and wallpapering the backs in a fabulous leopard print. Check out Kimberly’s tutorial on her blog.
I’m sure you’ll agree these 3 very different ways with Billy bookcases are all nothing short of stunning! Have you attempted a bookcase hack? I’d love to know!
Ahhh I wasn’t expecting my hack to show up!! Hahaha!! You sweet thing, thank you! I’m blown away by the first one though – how utterly gorgeous us that?! Swoon!! Xxxx
Author
Your dressing room BILLY hack looks fabulous and you used a door rain guard for moulding – top marks for ingenuity! Had to include it 🙂 I’m with you about Malcolm’s hack, I love his outside-the-box thinking – upside down BILLYs and kitchen units, brilliant! xxx
Wow! I would never had know these are the Ikea bookshelves (apart from Kimberlys, just because I’m a big fan of her blog 🙂 ) What a great idea for a blog post, can’t wait for your next in the series.
Author
Kimberly’s blog is one of my favourites, so hello fellow fan! These hacks are AMAZING, aren’t they? I hope you’ll find the next post in the series equally inspiring!