Making An Ikea Bookcase Look Built In: a house log

We mentioned a few times that we hoped to get a bookcase for the office/guest room/playroom since they are so strong for storing things, displaying things, and adding some architecture and height. We thought a bit about placement and swiftly realized that the area to the left of the uncentered window on the far wall of the room would be the best place for a bookcase, so we headed off to Ikea with the measurements of that wall on a little scrap of paper in my purse. And in a few short hours we found ourselves assembling our $69 Billy bookcase:

We in fact checked out a few other Ikea options (like the Expedit and the Lack bookcase) but the measurements of that wall seemed ideal for the width and height of good ol’ Billy (and the $69 price tag was not to shabby either). Plus whenever we snag something affordable we do not feel too bad taking the time to tweak it a little. So when we realized that it would not sit flush against our wall thanks to the baseboard and shoe molding we grabbed a small coping saw and chiseled out the ideal shape.

About ten minutes of sawing left us with this nicely customized setup. Flush bookcase = glad dance.

And when we stepped back and surveyed the full scene we enjoyed how the bookcase brought in some much-needed balance to the whole wall. The height that it introduced on the right side of the wall truly worked with the height of the window to the left. And the fact that it tucked right in next to our sleeper sofa without feeling crowded (thanks to the modest footprint of the bookcase) was the icing on the cake. But there was something that totally rubbed us the wrong way about Billy. The thin cardboard-ish back panel was folded into thirds in the flat-packed box, so when we unfolded it and secured it to the back of the bookcase with small finish nails it still had some telltale creases and looked a bit shoddy to boot. Cripes.

So we chose to take a moment to brainstorm a few possible solutions. We chose we could grab some foam core and cut it to the size of the six rectangular openings in the back of the bookcase and slip it back there (to obscure the view of the creased back). Heck we could even paint, wallpaper, or cover the foam core with fabric for a pleasant little customized look. But that seemed like a lot of foam core and a fair amount of work. Then came our second idea. What if we took out the back of the bookcase altogether and painted the wall behind it for the same effect? So off came the back:

Then we realized that we could apply a swift and dirty tape rectangle around the wall (with the bookcase still in place) so we knew where to apply our background color. After we stuck up some Frog Tape and took out the bookcase, here is what we were left with:

We opted to go with Mythic’s Adanna Aire, which was paint that we had leftover from the nursery ceiling. Gotta enjoy a soft aqua tone that is 100% free. Plus it worked truly well with our blue-green sleeper sofa. Then we simply slid the bookcase back into place in front of the painted portion of the wall.

But we had a second eyesore to solve. Removing the back panel left a dark crevice in the back of the bookcase that we could certainly do without. And all the holes for moving the shelves around did not exactly look high end either.

So we broke out some white caulk and filled them in. We opted to leave one hole above and below each shelf (in case we hoped to shift things slightly to accommodate something a smidge taller or shorter) but we enjoyed the look of six unformly spaced shelves, so we knew we’d never use the other holes to create extra tall or short ones. And in an oh-glad-day moment, the white Dap window and trim caulk that we used turned out to be nearly identical in color to the bookcase, so it certainly obscured that ridge near the wall along with all those extra holes:

We did notice that deciding to lose that back did slightly compromise the bookcase’s sturdy-factor. By no means was it especially rickety, but it did not feel quite as reinforced as it was with that panel in place – even though it was in short simply a folded sheet of cardboard.

Happily, after anchoring it to the wall at the top it brought in back a bit more of the structural integrity, but for even more dependable sturdiness and kid-safety we would highly recommend adding some metal L-brackets for more structure (which can be painted white so they virtually disappear). We certainly plan to take that reinforcement project on soon when we do other kid-safe things like anchor the TV in the den and a few other bookcases around the house.

When it came to loading up the bookcase, we aimed for equal parts function and form. Since the room would have to work as an office and a guest room, we did not want it to feel like it was all business, but we also did not want to sacrifice practicality in the name of guest ambiance. So we in fact whipped out a pad and a pen to jot down everything that we hoped to store (to be sure that we got the function in there before moving on to the form):

• office supplies like envelopes, tape, scissors, a stapler, notepads, etc
• extra printer paper and cardstock
• paint decks galore (since we refer to them while blogging, they were too far away in the den ottoman where we used to store them)
• books & binders
• a clock (I feed Clara every few hours on the sofa in here, so I knew that would come in handy)
• a few of Clara’s go-to stories and toys (since one of us plays with her while the other tends to the journal)
• treats for Burger (cannot forget about our other baby)
• a few decorative items to keep it from feeling too office-focused when we have overnight visitors

And here is what we ended up with:

The baskets (from Michael’s for 50% off) easily housed things that we’d rather keep out of view (office supplies, extra paper for the printer, Clara’s books and toys, and a slew of paint decks) while everything from books and binders to a glass container of treats for Burger got premium placement on the shelves. We even had a small clock sitting around and a few decorative vases, frames, and other accessories on hand to keep it from feeling too industrial and office focused so our friends and family feel right at home when they spend the night.

Of course we still have a bunch of files and other paperwork that we are planning to store over on the desk side of the room (stay tuned for those details) but we enjoy the balance, practicality, and visual interest that a plain $69 bookcase (along with some free paint that we already had on hand) brought in to the space. Oh and we even had room to squeeze a white planter that we already had (from Ikea) into the corner to hold some mailing tubes (which we use to ship shop stuff). Hooray for even more storage space.

So that is the latest office update. What have you folks been up to this week? Any bookcase makeovers going on at your house? Any basket-buying going on to add concealed storage somewhere else in your casa? Do tell.

Psst- Wanna follow the whole office/guest bedroom/playroom makeover? Click here for the intro post, here to read about the big sleeper sofa hunt, here for the Hands-on desk play-by-play, and here for the homemade light fixture project.