Easy IKEA Billy Bookcase Built-In Hack
When I was a little girl, I dreamed that one day I would have a house with its very own library. Somewhere I could hide away and go on adventures all over the world without ever leaving my house. Now that I am grown up, I still secretly dream of having a library in my home. Unfortunately, our budget just doesn’t allow for that. Of course, I wasn’t going to let a silly thing like practicality and budgets prevent me from having a small taste of that childhood dream. So today, I am sharing my Ikea Billy Bookcase built-in hack.
This is not a sponsored post but links contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my links (at no additional cost to you), I may earn a small commission. Thank you so much for your support!
If you have been following along with the projects I am slowly completing around our new house, you have probably already seen the original plan for my master bedroom. If you haven’t, you can read it here. Guys, don’t hate me but I went rogue… I felt a call to go bold. To enter a new frontier where my usual neutrals are complimented with some richer colors. As a designer, I see lots of lovely things and colors all day. At home, I usually need a space that gives my eyes (and brain) a rest. I decided to break the mold and invite my favorite deep green into our new home inspired by the surrounding landscape! Here is where we started.
I purchased two Ikea Billy Bookcases with extensions to take full advantage of our ceiling height.
After securing the bookcases, I trimmed them out with a 1x6 for the top header(I’m hoping to add two picture lights here later on), three 1x3’s for the vertical trim, one 1x12 on the exposed side of the bookcase and a small, flexible flat trim for the top to close any gaps.
I used my nail gun to attach the trim directly to the bookcases. If you are attaching directly to the bookcases like me, be sure to use the correct length of nails or you will pierce right through the bookcase leaving some damage behind. I found out the hard way…
I used this primer so I could skip the step of lightly sanding the bookcases before primer and paint. It worked out well, but if you want a really smooth finish, don’t skip the sanding step. A quick tip I wish I had known, tape off the shelving sides. If you don’t and paint drips down them, you will have a tough time fitting them back into the bookcase. You can avoid this by keeping the shelves in the bookcase before painting. I wanted the option of adjusting the shelves later on and not having to worry about missing paint, so I removed mine.
Shop The Post
After testing out many different green paints (8 to be exact), Sherwin Williams Secret Garden won. I love the deep green hue that feels fresh and classic. It gives me the same vibe I get from seeing fresh cut flowers and greenery in my home! This color has a low LRV but it doesn’t feel dull. I choose to use my go to HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Showcase Ultra White Eggshell Interior Paint so it would have more of a matte finish vs a glossy finish. Satin is another great option with just a little sheen!
I noticed in bright, direct sunlight this color can take on more of an avocado hue (see image below). Be wary when using this color in a bright area of your home. The end results are just as I had imagined! I loathe painting but it was well worth the effort and multiple trips to the paint store to find the perfect green. Check out my other post all about my favorite green paints here!
I cannot wait to fill these shelves with more books and recoup the book collection I lost during the move. It will be a true mini library and I couldn’t be happier. I am so glad I took a risk and choose green for the bookcase!
#SWCOLORLOVE
Update
Follow me on the LIKEtoKNOW.it shopping app to get the product details for this look and others http://liketk.it/36LGC
A year later, the bookcase is still looking sharp!
See the bookcase updated with wireless picture lights here.
Got any design questions? Send us a message or leave your question in the comments for a chance to get them answered in a blog post and for more inspiration, check out our Pinterest page.