I have always loved a good #IkeaHack and this plain Billy Bookcase was screaming with potential. With some paint and a little crown molding, this Billy Bookcase went from bland to beautiful!
The Bare Bones
I started by going to my local Ikea to purchase the Billy Bookcase in White (linked here). I always suggest checking the Ikea website to see if the item is in stock at your local store before going! This feature on Ikea's website is super helpful and even tells you where in the warehouse the product is located!
The Billy bookcase is one of Ikea's top styles (It is estimated that every five seconds, one BILLY bookcase is sold somewhere in the world!!!) and is reasonably priced at only $49. One thing to note, the Billy box is almost 80" long so plan accordingly (I had to bribe my friend who has a HUGE SUV to come with me to pick it up!)
Assemble the Billy Bookcase per the included instructions. Assembly probably took around 30 min and compared to a lot of other Ikea pieces I have constructed, it was relatively easy. Stop when the instructions say to slide the back panel into the bookshelf---this is where the fun begins!
Getting Creative
This is where you can take your creativity and run with it! The possibilities are endless in terms of the design you would like for the back of your bookshelf. Anyone who has been to my house knows I love grey, but I decided to shake it up and go for a bold pop of color for this piece! The materials used for this step included:
Primer (I used this one)--DON'T skip this step!
Sample Size of Paint from your local hardware store
1 inch paint brush
Start by applying one coat of the primer to the back panel of the bookshelf and let it completely dry.
After the primer is dry, the fun begins! I chose a simple design of straight vertical brush strokes, only re-dipping my brush after the paint was BARELY spreading. This helped create some dimension between all the different strokes. Keep going until the full panel is filled with your design. Once your are done, let fully dry
Insert your finished back panel into the bookcase once it is fully dry!
Crown Molding
This step is optional and a little more advanced (aka my husband did it all), but I feel like it really elevated the piece!
For this step you will need the following materials:
It is important to buy excess crown molding, if you are anything like us, it will take a little bit of trial and error to get the angles correct and it will save you time and frustration (we had to go back to the store quite a few times!). The Billy Bookshelf is 31.5" wide and 11" deep so I would account for at least 35" for the front piece and 15" for each side (2 pieces-one for each side).
Measure out the three pieces (front and 2 sides) and using a miter saw cut 45 degree angles on both ends of the front piece and the sides of the two side pieces that will attach to the front section so the pieces conjoin with each other.
After the three pieces are cut, use your nail gun to attach the base of each to the bookshelf starting with the front piece and working your way to the sides. Use caulk to fill any seams and voila!
Finishing Touches
My favorite part of any project is the finishing touches! All the decor in my bookshelf came from HomeGoods and Homesense, my two favorite stores!!
I tried to get an assortment of decorative items with a range of size, scale, and materials to keep the bookshelf interesting and visually appealing. As you can see in the close ups below, I filled my shelves with a wide variety of:
Baskets
Greenery
Decorative Gold Shapes
Framed Artwork
Animals
Clocks
Agate and Stones
Books
Candles
I am extremely happy with the finished project and in total it took about 5 hours (including drying time and assembly).
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