Billy-Benno Corner Bookshelves

Materials: Billy Bookshelves, Benno DVD Tower

Description: Billy has corner bookshelves combo. However it doesn't fit in my root neatly.

So what I did is to use Benno DVD tower as corner shelf. Billy corner hardware can be used as is.

I also put on height extension. However, Benno DVD tower doesn't have height extension. I have to use 15 3/4" Billy height extension and cut narrower. Benno tower is also shallower then Billy. So I have to use the left over of back board to fill up the rear bottom half of the narrowed Billy (now Benno) height extension.

It looks great and fit in my room perfectly.

~ Henry, USA

Bathroom makeover

Materials: Billy, Billy Morebo, LILLANGEN, Capita, ANNO STRA

Description:
We have a very small bathroom (barely 4,5 square meters) and where sick of looking at the old plastic-and-glass thing that held our towels. So we went out to Ikea to get some ideas.

First we introduced a new carpet matching the tiling. Than we looked for a replacement for the ugly glass rack. The space is really tight and has the connectors for a washing machine in the middle, we needed some way around that.

We settled for a 40x106cm Billy shelf with a Billy Morebo door to keep out the dust.

We found two Lillangen top opening wall cabinets that would fit neatly over the door, so we bought them as well.

We have a big rattan clothes basket and wanted to make the door look in the kind of same look. The Anno Stra curtain was the closest thing we could find, so we fitted it inside the Morebo door.

To get some more space that would be accessible from the bathtub we mounted 4 Capita legs up the Billy shelf and glued a glass plate from the old rack on top.

So here are the results. We are really happy this turned out, our small bath has suddenly a lot of space.

~ Tarwin, Munich, Germany

Wardrobe hiding wires and fuse

Materials: Billy, Besta, Tombo doors, Grundtal rails, brackets and hinges from hardware store

Description: In our 1903 apartment we were facing the typical problem of an ugly surface-mounted fuse box that we wanted to hide. As the ceiling is quite high, we couldn't find a piece furniture tall enough. So we took a Billy bookcase (79 1/2", 202 cm tall) and fixed it to the wall with metal brackets.

The fuse box is now hidden behind a Tombo door. All the extra wiring for the wifi-hardware is behind the door we built from one of the Billy shelves that we didn't need anymore.

To complete the wardrobe and get space for all our winter gear and helmets we hung a Besta shelf-unit/height extension (47 1/4", 120 cm wide) next the Billy, also with Tombo doors. The Besta had to be turned upside down because of the holes for the feet. The rod is made of two Grundtal rails. The Trones shoe storage makes the all-white wardrobe perfect. Unfortunately IKEA has discontinued the white Trones.

~ Jochen and Edith, Germany

Billy Tobo hybrid TV unit

Materials: Tobo, Billy

Description: We got a new 37" flatscreen TV but I couldn't find anything that would suit for the base unit.

Our apartment is not the biggest and space is always at a premium so we needed something on wheels that would take up as little space as possible whilst containing the TV, the HTPC and all the junk.

By combining a Tobo, a bit of some Billy shelving some castors and some pine board we ended up with a nice unit that has lots of storage and is easy to move into position for movie nights but pushes up against the wall when we want more space.

See more of the Tobo-Billy TV unit.

~ Matt Casey, Barcelona

1 1/2 Billy entertainment centre

Materials: Billy bookshelves, Besta Jagra

Description: I wanted an entertainment centre to fit our new, bigger TV, plus some much needed storage space. Shopping around only revealed that getting something the size I wanted would end up costing $3000 and up.

I have a six year old son who owns the house with his toys, so the TV room was more like his play room. I wanted to ensure that his toys stayed in the same place, but hidden.

Initially, I thought about buying a couple of Pax wardrobes and cutting half the doors to fit the TV, but the TV size did not flow with the Paxes. After browsing IKEA for a day, I settled on the Billy bookshelves and a Besta Jagra, all of these in black-brown... but I still had no storage room for the toys.

Then I stumbled across this site. It inspired me, and I got the idea to simply buy two smaller "Billys" (1/2 the size of the big ones), adding some doors to the smaller ones, not installing the backer board and shelves in the small ones, and fusing these smaller Billys to the big ones, to create the extra space.

I used some pieces of MDF painted black, and some screws to hold the thing in place and make it easy to take apart if needed and the result looks great (in my opinion, of course).

Hope you guys like it!

~ Daniel, Nemarket, Ontario, Canada

Table Head Cabinet

Materials:
From Ikea: Billy bookcase, Billy Height extension, 2 Faktum base cabninets 40cm wide, Faktum wall cabinet (40 x 92cm).
Other stuff: Plasterboard, wooden slats, monitor arm and wallpaper (Cole & Son Wood).

Description: We needed to add some extra storage space in the our living room and we were looking for a cabinet that would blend in. We came up with the idea to make a cabinet at the head of the table. First we thought to make the cabinet entirely from MDF, but we also wanted the wallpaper that we have in our kitchen to repeat somewhere in the living room. Wallpaper on the side of a thin plate of MDF didn't feel right and for that reason the side of the cabinet had to have a more "wall like" appearance.

Finally we came up with this solution. We stacked up 3 Faktum cabinets (for hidden storage) on one side and a Billy bookcase with height extension (for books) on the other. Both sides with their backs to each other. Both Billy and Faktum have a width of 40cm. In front of the Ikea storage heap we constructed a frame of wooden slats, which in turn was covered with plasterboard. We took 36 mm slats and 12.5 mm plasterboard. This results in a "wall" of approx 5cm. After plastering the bumps we gave this "wall" a wallpaper finish.

Finally we mounted our monitor on the wall with a monitor arm that can fold back completely. This way we have a working space on the table that can easily be pushed aside or made into a interactive picture frame for a diner with friends.

The only thing missing now is a nice colorful fake bird on the wall. A new table project will be next.

~ Roel, Netherlands

Billy Built-in with a top

Materials: Half Height Billy Bookcases

Description: I love built-ins, I can't afford built-ins so I made my own out of 5 Billy bookcases.
Step 1) Assemble bookcases! Easier said then done.
Step 2) Screw bookcases together, pulling the middle section out 3-4 inches. Creating some interest!

Step 3) Cut MDF into three sections, glue and nail to top
Step 4) Attach chair rail or crown molding to the face (a chair rail is much easier to work with than crown)

Step 5) Fill seams and gaps. Once dry sand
Step 6) Paint, we chose Martha Stewart's Talc color to match the white Billy bookcases, not an exact match but pretty darn close.

See more of the Billy built-in with a top.

~ Ashli c/o Maillardville Manor, Vancouver, BC

Horizontal Floating Billy

Materials: Billy Wall Shelf

Description: I loved the floating Billys, but for our apartment we needed a horizontal line, not vertical one.

The Billy Planner let us conceive of lots of different options, but we ultimately settled on this.

It is made entirely of Billy wall shelves which are typically used with the Billy book cases, but we used them alone.

The open space between each is equal to one Billy wall shelf for 3 reasons. 1. Aesthetics; 2. Ease of installation (I could use a spare Billy Wall Shelf as spacer), 3. It allows me to fill in with new Billys if I get more books. Once I set the bottom one at right height, it was easy to build it up.

Note that the side walls of Billy Wall shelves extend a little above the top horizontal and bottom horizontal which creates a space between the units. I was going to shave them down first, but figured I'd %*#(@ everything up, so then I thought I'd add trim after the fact, but ultimately, it didn't bother me.

I did lay a piece of painted wood over bottom unit to give more finished look.

~ DJ, Harlem, NYC

Billy bookcase redux

Materials: Billy bookcase, wrapping paper, mod podge

Description: I've posted all the instructions and step by step photos here.

See more of Sharon's Billy bookcase

~ Sharon Pakir, Melbourne, Australia

Custom-made bookshelf wall

Materials: Billy bookshelf

Description: When I moved in here I hade several old Billy shelves in a dark reddish colour that didn't match the new place. I also needed more shelves than I had for all my books.

With some help I dismantled the shelves, and sawed away the part where the backside is. Doing this shelves and sides got the same depth. Also painted them white.

We then screwed the sides to the wall and added the shelves, to get more parts I bought Billy tops. Some of the shelves are placed using the old holes, other are screwed into place.

All that is missing is a list at the top to make it look built in.

~ Jessica, Sundsvall, Sweden

Billy Bookcase becomes Built-in

Materials: Billy, molding, wallpaper, paint

Description: A ten year old Billy, boring but still going strong got another ten years of glamor filled life by being turned into a built-in.

By adding mdf and crown molding the bookcase was extended up to the ceiling.

More molding was used to decorate the edges and make 'fake' supports.

Beadboard wallpaper gives the impression of a real beadboard back.

White paint ties it all in.

Full tutorial for the Billy built in.

~ Marianne@Songbird, Netherlands

Billy rat cage

Materials: Billy bookcase, some shelves, hinges, ...

Description: The cage of our rats became too small and we had problems with the old cage because of litter falling all the time. So I reused a Billy bookcase (because I bought a new bookcase) and I separate it into three parts: one part storage, one part for our young rats and a part for our adult rats.

I bought some shelves and put an edge of 5 cm attached with dowels to prevent the litter from falling. Finally I painted everything.

For the doors, I assembled boards with dowels and wood glue and I put the grate recovered from the old cage.

~ Laura V, Liège (Belgium)

Upside-down billy bathroom wall cabinet

Materials: Ikea BILLY bookcase, scraps of plywood and hardwood, cordless drill/driver, various screws

Description: We needed a tall, skinny wall cabinet above the toilet in our tiny bathroom. We could have used a kitchen cabinet but at the time the white BILLY bookcase was on sale for $20 and it was a much better size. The bookcase is constructed quite similarly to the AKURUM wall cabinet so I figured it would hold up fine for the application. With a bit of hacking, of course.

WARNING: If you try this, you do so at your own risk. This is no joke. A BILLY bookcase was just not intended to be hung on the wall. If it falls, it is going do a lot of damage to itself and anything and anyone below it. The following information is for entertainment purposes only and I can't take responsibility if you try this at home and it falls off your wall.

Here's how I did it:

First I assembled the bookcase according to the splendid pictograms provided with the BILLY bookcase.

After some noodling I decided the bookcase would work best flipped upside down and pushed against the ceiling, and secured to the wall with hardwood cleats screwed to the studs. Or rather, stud, since there was only one. Fortunately it was right in the middle of where I wanted to hang the cabinet.

I used half-inch thick, four-inch wide plywood "mounting strips" as one would use a steel mounting rail for an AKURUM cabinet. I placed one where the top of the cabinet would go and the other at the bottom. I mounted the strips to the stud with two 2" screws each so they wouldn't rotate, and more importantly, so they would not separate from the wall. I had to measure carefully to keep them centered, plumb, and located where I could screw through the cleats, the back of the bookcase, and into the mounting strips.

Then I hung the bookcase/cabinet by driving multiple 1-5/8" screws through hardwood 1x2 cleats, the fiberboard back, and into the plywood. I located the top cleat immediately below the top of the cabinet and the bottom cleat immediately above the bottom, as you might see in a typical wall cab install. I used 4 screws in each cleat, evenly spaced. I used screws long enough to penetrate the entire plywood mounting strip, ensuring 1/2" of penetration at each fastener. I used four screws in each because of the relatively shallow penetration and because the plywood strips were only secured to a single stud; I did not want the weight of the cabinet to cause the plywood to bend and pull away from the wall.

We attached a MOREBO glass door and now all our toiletries, shampoos, and hygiene products are hidden and out of reach of children. LOVE the space, clean look, and functionality.

~ Ryan McCulley, Tucson, Arizona

Billy Bookcase door hides furnace or closet or secret room.

Materials: 2 Billy Bookcases

Description: My friend needed to hide a furnace in her basement office so I devised a hinged door out of Billy Bookcases.

Materials:

2 Billy Bookcases
4 2" Swivel Casters (125# capacity)
12 1/4 20 x 9/16 T-nuts
6 1/4 20 x 1 1/2 Flathead screws
6 1/4 20 x 1 Flathead screws
16 #10 x 1 1/2 inch wood screws
2 heavy duty Gate hinges

Power Drill
Screwdriver
Clamps


1. Glue 2 2x4s to the left and right bottom of bookcase #1 using polyurethane glue and clamps.

2. Mount 4 2 inch swivel casters to the 2 x 4s using #10 x 1 1/2 inch screws; one in each corner of the bookcase. Be careful that the cast swivals completely. Caster wheel should protrude 1 inch or so below bottom of the bookcase skirt

3. Lay bookcase #1 on its side and set bookcase #2 on top. Align the edges.

4. Drill 6 holes to accommodate 1/4 20 x 9/16 T-nuts. Two near bottom of bookcase, two near top of bookcase and two near the middle. Insert t-nuts and bolt the bookcases together using 1/4 20 x 1 1/2 inch Flathead screws.

5. Set bookcase upright. (see note)

6. Mount hinges to door jam or wall

7. Mount hinges to Billy Bookcase #2 using t-nuts and 1/4 20 x 1" screws in appropriate location to match hinges from previous step. Hinge end of bookcase will have to be temporarily shimmed up to level the top as the hinges are installed. Bookcase should open easily and may need latch to hold it closed as you floor may not be level.

NOTE: Use caution from step 5 onwards as bookcases are unstable until hinges are installed. It is best to use 2 persons at this point.

~ Bill Lefler, Pittsburgh, PA

(Yet another) floating Billies

Materials: two 80cm extended Billies and one 40 cm extended Billy.

Description: Inspired by Karine and Erik here we decided to make our own floating Billies.

We did almost the same as Karine and Erik. The whole project didn't cost more than $230.

We used six L brackets for the small Billy and nine for the large ones.

The 24 Fischer safety holds were the most expensive part of the whole project: $120.

We fixed this in two afternoons. All billy's are extended to make maximum use of the height of the room.

The final result makes the room a lot more spacier than before. We get lots of compliments by friends and family and we're very satisfied with the result.

~ Tom Suter, Lochem, The Netherlands