From Billy Bookcase to built-ins

Materials: Billy Bookshelves

Description: The room is in our basement and has this awkward ledge that runs across two walls. The area above the ledge was always challenging to decorate and seemed like wasted space. This solution provided an architectural focal point for the room as well as the one thing no kiddo can have enough of - storage!


We used 5 Ikea Billy bookshelves (3 small and 2 large) to make this entire wall have "built-ins". When we assembled the bookcases, we left the backs off so that we could paint the wall behind blue. We centered the bookshelves on the ledge and attached them with L-brackets so they won't topple over. We took one of the shelves to Home Depot and had them color-match the paint. We then custom cut and fit pieces of MDF at each edge to cover any gap between shelf and wall. Lastly, we attached crown molding painted to match the shelves across the entire top to make it read visually as one unit.

Here is the cost breakdown:

Ikea Billy Bookcases - $270
Blue Paint - Free (leftover from previous project)
Black Paint to Match (1 quart) - $13
Wood for sides - $10
Molding - $19
L-Brackets - $6
Total - $318


See more on of Anne's Billy Built-ins.

~ Anne Drager, Twin Cities metro