We’d been thinking about adding a bookcase to the office/guest room/playroom for a while — they’re great for storage, display, and adding architectural height. After measuring the wall to the left of the off-center window, we headed to Ikea with a scrap of paper in my purse. A few hours later we were back assembling a $69 Billy bookcase:
We considered other Ikea options like the Expedit and the Lack, but the Billy’s dimensions suited that wall perfectly and the price was hard to beat. Since the baseboard and shoe molding prevented the bookcase from sitting flush, we grabbed a coping saw and chiseled out the precise shape so it would tuck in neatly.
Ten minutes of cutting and we had a custom fit. A flush bookcase felt like a small victory.
Stepping back, we loved how the bookcase balanced the wall. The height on the right worked with the window to the left, and the slim footprint meant it didn’t crowd the sleeper sofa. But the factory back panel looked cheap — a thin folded cardboard with visible creases after it was nailed on. That felt sloppy in the finished space.
We brainstormed solutions. One option was cutting foam core to fit each of the six back openings and covering it with paint, wallpaper, or fabric. That would work but felt like a lot of effort and material. Instead, we tried a simpler approach: remove the back panel and paint the wall behind the bookcase.
With the bookcase in place, we taped a rectangle around it using Frog Tape to define where to paint. After removing the bookcase, that taped area showed exactly where our background color should go.
We used leftover Mythic Adanna Aire paint — a soft aqua we’d used on a nursery ceiling — so the color cost us nothing and complemented our blue-green sleeper sofa. Once painted, we slid the bookcase back in front of the colored section.
Removing the back solved the creased-cardboard look, but created a new visual issue: a dark gap in the back of the shelves and visible shelf-pin holes. To tidy that up we used white caulk to fill excess holes, leaving one hole above and below each shelf in case we wanted to adjust shelf height later. The DAP window and trim caulk we had on hand matched the bookcase’s white closely, so it concealed the ridge along the wall and cleaned up the appearance nicely.
Dropping the back panel did reduce the bookcase’s rigidity somewhat. It wasn’t dangerously wobbly, but it lost some reinforcement. Anchoring the top of the bookcase to the wall restored much of the stability. For extra sturdiness and child safety we recommend adding metal L-brackets, painted white so they’re unobtrusive — a step we’ll take soon when we anchor other pieces in the house.
When filling the shelves we aimed for both function and a welcoming look. Since the room doubles as an office and guest space, we listed everything we wanted to store before styling the shelves:
- office supplies (envelopes, tape, scissors, stapler, notepads)
- extra printer paper and cardstock
- paint decks for quick reference while blogging
- books and binders
- a clock for quick feed-and-timer checks
- a few of Clara’s favorite stories and toys
- treats for Burger
- decorative items to soften the office vibe for guests
We used baskets from Michael’s (50% off) to hide office supplies, extra paper, Clara’s toys, and paint decks. Books, binders, a jar of treats, a small clock, and a few decorative vases and frames filled the open shelves so the unit felt functional and lived-in rather than purely utilitarian.
We still plan to store files and paperwork on the desk side of the room, but the bookcase brought balance, practicality, and visual interest to the space for very little cost. We even squeezed a white Ikea planter into the corner to store mailing tubes used for shipping shop items, which added more functional storage without cluttering the room.
That’s the latest update on the office/guest room/playroom. Have you been tackling any bookcase makeovers, adding baskets for hidden storage, or making small updates that improve both function and style? We’d love to hear about them.