A step-by-step tutorial for how to make professional looking DIY built-ins using IKEA Billy bookcases for vertical storage.
If there is an Olympic event for building IKEA furniture, I think we just took home the gold medal. Because we just went all Billy bookcase crazy up in here.
Our playroom /media room makeover is officially underway for Week 2 of the One Room Challenge! (If you missed Week 1, you can check it out here.) This is definitely one of the biggest projects we’ve ever done- besides our faux fireplace, wood beam doorway, concrete countertops, kitchen cabinet painting…
Okay, you know what? I lied. This is our regular ol’ Saturday shenanigans. Our neighbors think we’re crazy.
UPDATE: See the full playroom makeover reveal here!
The number one priority in our playroom has been built-in vertical storage to help with all of the art supplies, little toy parts, books, and all the rest of Olivia’s clutter that tends to get scattered all over the house.
Robert and I thought about building from scratch, but it was going to take way more time and money and know-how than we felt we could give this monster of a project.
The IKEA Billy bookcase built-in method has been done plenty of times all over blogland; we definitely didn’t invent this one. This is just our version since there are endless ways you could configure them.
Our playroom is exactly 214″ wide, which is the measurement I used to figure out exactly how many bookcases we would need to buy to end up with around 4 or 5 inches on each side, so if you want to do them yourself, you’ll need to crunch the numbers to decide for the size of your space.
Supplies We Used: (Affiliate links are provided below for convenience. For more info, see my full disclosure here.)
- 4 32″x80″ Billy bookcases
- 4 Billy bookcase height extenders
- 2 32″x42″ Billy bookcases
- 1 16″x42″ Billy bookcase
- 8 Oxberg doors
- 2 2x4x8 stud boards
- 2 1x6x8 pine boards
- 3 1x2x8 pine boards
- 2 1x4x8 pine boards
- 2 3.25″x12′ interior baseboards
- Circular saw
- Jigsaw
- Power drill
- 1.5″ finishing nails
- 1.5″ wood screws
- White trim caulk
- Tape measure and pencil
- Wood shims
- Square tool
- Hammer
- Semigloss paint (I took a small shelf from a bookcase to Sherwin Williams to get the IKEA white color matched.)
After we went on our bookcase building bonanza (say that 5 times fast) using the IKEA instructions, we moved the bookcases around until we found the center of our wall and ended up with 4 inches of space on each side. Once we were happy with their placement, we used the anchors the came with them to set them on the wall.
Then, we got to making them an actual built in wall of shelves.
The Steps:
- We built a box using 2×4 boards and wood screws on the right side of the bookcases since we only had a half wall to secure it to. And we mounted the 2×4 box on the wall.
2. Using the circular saw, we cut a pre-primed 1×6 using the exact measurement of the width between the bookcase and the wall and used finishing nails to secure it to the 2×4 box. We nailed the bookcase to the box too.
3. When cutting the 1×6, we used a jigsaw to notch out a space for our existing baseboard. We didn’t make it perfect since we knew caulk could fix the gap later.
4. Then, we measured and cut another piece of 1×6 to sit on top of the 2×4 box to make it flush with the half wall and secured it with more finishing nails.
5. We did the same on the left side of the bookcases, only instead of building a box to make a shelf like we did on the half wall, we nailed a 2x4x8 board directly to the wall and nailed up our 1×6 board on top of the 2×4 to make it flush with the bookcase. Then, we ran nails through the side of the bookcase to secure it to the 1×6.
6. Once the sides were done, we used wood screws at the base of the bookcases to attach them even more securely to the 1×6 boards.
7. And we used wood screws at the base of all of the bookcases to secure them to each other.
8. To connect the bookcases to the ceiling and fill in the gaps at the top, we made headers using a 1×2 piece and screwing it into the top of a 1×4 piece the same length of the bookcases’ depth. Then secured it to the outside top of the bookcase with finishing nails.
9. We did the same on the front of the header to mimic the Craftsman style molding we have around our windows. If you wanted to do this step with a more traditional crown molding, you definitely could, but you would need a miter saw to cut the angles.
10. After the top was finished, we went ahead and attached our Oxberg doors.
11. And we attached our baseboard to the base of the bookcases. We ended up having to shave off a quarter of an inch using our circular saw so that the doors could close, but if you didn’t use doors, you wouldn’t have to worry about that part.
12. We ended up with some pretty big gaps at the bottom to accommodate for the doors, so we used wood shims between the base of the bookcase and the baseboard.
13. And we caulked like crazy. Caulk is a carpenter’s best friend, ya know. You can’t even tell there used to be a gap there.
14. After the caulk was dry, I painted all of the caulk lines, filler spots, and boards with the semigloss paint I had color matched to the IKEA white. It blended perfectly!
So now we have this wall full of fabulous storage possibilities. Ooooh ahhhh.
These shelves are rock solid.
We still have a couple of spots we missed caulking and the stairway/ half wall side still needs to be painted, but other than that, we’re on to the next phase in this playroom.
Next on the list is putting up our reclaimed wood wall that will add some pretty texture in here, since it’s still currently a sea of white. I heart contrast!
Those plain wood crates will be getting a staining job too, but I put them up there just to get an idea of how they’d look.
You might be able to see a sneaky peek of the desks we’ve been working on too, but I’ll share more about those later.
Our window is just one more coat of paint away from being totally framed and pretty, and our builder grade light fixture has already been taken down so that we can install our ceiling fan. (I shared all of the fans I’ve been considering in yesterday’s post.)
I’m SO excited to see how far we’ve come already, but I know it’ll be the finishing touches and little details that will slow me up later.
Here’s where we are on the playroom to do list now:
- DONE: Install built in bookcases
- Paint and install desks (almost done)
- Frame and paint window (almost done)
- Paint walls (almost done)
- Install reclaimed wood wall
- Install ceiling fan
- Make oversized storybook art
- Hang curtains
- Stain wood crates
- Find a great colorful rug
- Slipcover sofa
- Find and makeover a coffee table
- Decorate shelves
- Implement and organize a toy storage system
Are you starting to see it take shape? Have you ever installed built in bookshelves before? Or done a fabulous IKEA hack? Or won a medal in IKEA building? I’d definitely watch that race.
If you want to save this post for later, you can pin it here:
Karen Ploransky says
October 13, 2016 at 8:15 amThey look great–I can’t wait to see the final result!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:07 pmThanks, Karen!
Charity says
December 27, 2018 at 5:46 pmHey there. Mind sharing the total cost (materials) for this project. We’ve been debating something like this for a while. Now that we see it, we’re definitely going to build it. You guys did amazing (and inspiring) work.
Lauren says
December 28, 2018 at 8:13 pmAwesome! Thank you!! I am so glad you decided to go for it. 🙂
Katie @ Little House of Four says
October 13, 2016 at 8:17 amWow, these turned out fabulous! I love the idea of staining the crates and can’t wait to see this space finished. And those desks are going to look so good against the crisp white built ins!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:07 pmThanks, Katie! Can’t wait to see it all finished. 🙂
Hope says
October 13, 2016 at 8:27 amI love this so much! Looks like they were always there. you guys did a fantastic job(and definitely deserve a medal for that!). Can’t wait to see how the rest turns out!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:06 pmThanks, Hope!
Shelley says
October 13, 2016 at 8:42 amBeautiful, they look custom!
The “bones” of the room are coming together!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:06 pmThank you, Shelley!
Amy K says
October 13, 2016 at 9:33 amI love this look. Impressive for a lot less work than building your own. Can’t wait to see what’s next!!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:06 pmThanks, Amy!
Emily @ Table & Hearth says
October 13, 2016 at 9:48 amI always had the impression this sort of project was a big undertaking but you make it look so easy man! I’ll definitely be saving this for when we someday have a big fun space to put it in 🙂
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:06 pmWellllll, it was a pretty big undertaking but we just cranked up the radio and made a date out of it. 🙂
Mary-the boondocks blog says
October 13, 2016 at 9:53 amLauren it looks really great.Just as good as if you had done them from scratch and no one is the wiser. Those tables are also looking mighty fine, looking forward to the room progress.
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:04 pmThank you, Mary!
Linda says
October 13, 2016 at 10:05 amI cannot wait to see the finished project. Amazing so far.
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:02 pmThanks, Linda!
[email protected] Stroll Thru Life says
October 13, 2016 at 10:10 amThese look amazing. Great job.
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:02 pmThanks, Marty!
Kris says
October 13, 2016 at 10:20 amHi, Lauren-
It looks great! I have a couple of questions that have come up as we plan for our shelves. Did you sit the bookcases on the carpet or did you trim it back? Also, did you fill and paint all of the extra holes that make the shelves adjustable or just leave them? I couldn’t tell from the picture. How would you allow for electrical cords and all of the cables that go along with an entertainment system?
Thanks very much for your input. I love all of the work you have done to make your house a home. I also love that you and your hubby do it together!
Cheers,
Kris
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 6:02 pmThanks, Kris! We set ours on the carpet. We didn’t fill the holes since we wanted to keep them adjustable but you definitely could if you wanted. For the electrical cords, we actually will be drilling a hole in the top of our middle bookcase and running it down to the outlet. We left the backing off of the shorter bookcases to still have access to the outlet and cable box and just caulked the seams and painted the back wall with the matching white paint.
Karen Harrison says
October 13, 2016 at 10:36 amHave you heard of http://www.myoverlays.com? They make beautiful unpainted “overlays” to put on doors, drawers, whatever. They really jazz up the plain lines of IKEA furniture. I painted a Malm nightstand bright pink, and painted the overlays a bright orange for my daughter’s boho room makeover.
They also make overlays for other furniture as well. I wasn’t sure if the doors on your Billy bookcases werre IKEA.
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:56 pmI have heard of those! That’s a great idea. Thanks, Karen! 🙂
Shari says
October 13, 2016 at 12:04 pmThe room is coming along beautifully. I really enjoy watching all the progress you and your husband have done. Its going to be a great playroom for the whole family. Can’t wait for the reveal!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:53 pmThank you, Shari!
Kelley Nan says
October 13, 2016 at 2:21 pmYou are my hero, Lauren. That is all.
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:53 pmHaha! Thank you, Kelley! Buuuut you’re my hero. 😉
Mary Johnson says
October 13, 2016 at 4:26 pmThis looks great! This gives me an idea for R.B.’s storage needs!!!
Good job Lauren & Robert!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:53 pmThank you, Mary! It was so great seeing you the other week, despite the circumstances. Hope all is well!
Ardith says
October 13, 2016 at 4:58 pmSpectacular job so far, you two. Without even seeing the finished room, it’s impressive. Cheers, Ardith
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:51 pmThanks, Ardith!
Mary Behny says
October 13, 2016 at 7:29 pmBeautiful Billy Bookcases! I love reading your blog and your practical ideas. Such a pleasure! Can’t wait to see your finished room.
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:50 pmThank you, Mary! That means so much to me!
Mysha says
October 13, 2016 at 8:05 pmLauren I’ve wanted to do this so bad in my living room but my hubs has banned me from any more big projects since we are selling the house. Love love love
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:48 pmAfter this one, I think I might have to ban myself from big projects for a while. It never ends, does it? 😉
Angie M says
October 13, 2016 at 8:28 pmWow! This project turned out fabulous! I’m sure that storage potential is very exciting. I’d be absolutely giddy over that much storage potential. Great job!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:47 pmThanks, Angie! SO giddy!
Min says
October 13, 2016 at 8:58 pmI’m carefully watching every move 😀 I have a room just the same in my home and I think your built-ins wall will be perfect for us too! I’m hoping that you’re about to add reclaimed wood in the big space in the middle of your shelves.!! It’s a look I saw on pinterest that I fell in love with. Has your little lady bug already sorted her treasures into the cupboards?!
Have an awesome day 🙂
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:47 pmYep! We just installed the reclaimed wood yesterday and it looks AWESOME! I can’t wait to share the update about it soon. 🙂 No treasures in the cupboards yet but she’s discovered those are her new favorite hiding places. Thanks, Min!
Lynne says
October 13, 2016 at 9:18 pmWow! Lauren, I am so inspired by this project! I would love to try this in our basement. My children have outgrown their “playroom” and this might be perfect for updating their room into more of a “hang-out” place for them. Thank you so much for sharing your creativity!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:43 pmThanks, Lynne! We’re hoping this playroom is more a hangout for the whole family and grows with our little one too. 🙂
Keila says
October 13, 2016 at 9:39 pmLOVE your bookshelves!! They look so great and the amount of storage space is amazing! Can’t wait to see next week!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:40 pmThanks, Keila!
[email protected] says
October 14, 2016 at 5:37 pmWhat a great IKEA hack and budget saver for sure! Looks so good and totally custom. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the room comes together in Week 3!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:38 pmThank you, Tim!
Chelsea @ The Johnsons Plus Dog says
October 15, 2016 at 12:38 amIt’s coming together wonderfully! Great job!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:35 pmThanks, Chelsea!
Kathy says
October 15, 2016 at 10:16 pmThose look great. I’ve been thinking about doing this for several years in our upstairs bonus room. What color paint did you use? I’d love to match rather than have to paint everything. Thanks!
Kathy says
October 15, 2016 at 10:19 pmSorry, I should have read more carefully before I asked my question. I just went back and read how you matched the paint. Great idea. : )
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:32 pmNo worries! Yep. Got it matched at Sherwin Williams. 🙂
Dove B says
January 27, 2019 at 10:50 pmDo you know what the color was? (I didn’t see the name in your post?) Thank you!!
Lauren says
January 28, 2019 at 9:15 pmHi!! We had purchased the shelving from IKEA and I took a piece of the shelf to Sherwin Williams. They matched the color for me with a semi gloss white. There is no name for the color since they created a match. They have done this for me several times now. It really is pretty impressive. Color matching is a service they offer to everyone.
Cristi says
October 16, 2016 at 12:21 amOoohh! That looks awesome and possibly a good solution for one of the walls in my studio. Thanks so much for sharing and can’t wait to see your next update!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:31 pmThanks, Cristi!
Christine says
October 16, 2016 at 4:36 pmThose turned out great, I love the Billy Bookcases, they can be used for so many great built in projects and yours is no exception!
If you have a moment please share this and a couple of your favorites at the DI & DI Link party. I think our followers would love to see this! (www.rustic-refined.com)
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 5:26 pmThanks for the invite, Christine! I’d love to drop by. 🙂
Candy Walsh says
October 17, 2016 at 8:48 amYep, you definitely won the gold medal on that job!! I LOVE me some built ins! I know the space is going to be amazing and can’t wait to see the end result!
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 3:59 pmThanks, Candy!
Lee MacArthur says
October 17, 2016 at 2:33 pmSooo Cool. I’ve heard you can do this but you’ve provided some of the first directions with pictures I’ve seen. Thank you. They look really good.
Lauren says
October 17, 2016 at 3:23 pmThank you, Lee!
zan says
October 17, 2016 at 7:13 pmThese looks so awesome. Your hubby did such a great job! I love looking at built-ins but I don’t have any and don’t have such talent to built them, either. We have two Billy Bookcases but that is it. I need to better organize our kids small stuff and my plan is to just buy a cheap little cubicle for the room:)) These built-ins are going to provide much storage for this playroom.
Kendra @ www.joyinourhome.com says
October 17, 2016 at 11:29 pmThose shelves look ahh-mazing, Lauren! Love the trim you added! So exciting to follow along on this ORC! Good luck this week! xo
Lauren says
October 26, 2016 at 11:40 amThank you, sweet friend! I’m so excited how it’s coming along. 🙂
Stacey Keeling says
October 20, 2016 at 8:38 amAwesome!! Can’t wait to see how this goes. I’ve seen other bloggers do something similar and it turns out so well. 🙂
Happy Thoughts of Home.
Lauren says
October 26, 2016 at 11:13 amThanks, Stacey! We’re sooo excited about this one!
Shirley Wood says
October 20, 2016 at 3:13 pmWhat a way to spend a Saturday, right! Looks great. Looking forward to the finished room. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday.
Lauren says
October 26, 2016 at 10:54 amThanks, Shirley!
Sahana says
October 23, 2016 at 6:51 pmWow, What a great idea. Looks fabulous. Thank you for linking up with us at #HomeMattersParty .See you again next week.
Lauren says
October 26, 2016 at 10:21 amThanks, Sahana!
Aly says
October 24, 2016 at 8:14 amLauren, this G.O.L.D to me! I arrived at Charlotte over the weekend to our new home. IKEA is like 10 minutes away. ::scream:: Your blog is a HUGE inspiration, since we’re going modern farmhouse with our decor. Very excited to start working on our built-ins, after we get “moved in”.
Warmest Blessings,
~Aly
Lauren says
October 26, 2016 at 10:18 amYay! Congratulations on the new place, Aly! I’m always visiting the Charlotte IKEA too, so who knows. You might see me there one of these days sweet talking my hubby into doing another project. Haha!
Melanie says
October 24, 2016 at 12:21 pmThat looks awesome!! I can’t wait to see the finished room!
Candace says
November 7, 2016 at 4:33 pmCan you see the places where you filled in all of the holes for the shelves? I’m worried that will show. Did you paint over them? I’m assuming you didn’t because you didn’t paint the actual shelves.
Lauren says
November 13, 2016 at 1:16 amI actually didn’t fill the holes, which I’m glad I didn’t because I’ve already had to adjust them and move them around a couple of times. Now that I’ve put decor and toys on the shelves though, I don’t even notice the holes.
Candace says
November 7, 2016 at 4:35 pmI think I just read the answer to my question in the comments. Did you take a shelf from the bookcase to Lowe’s and they color matched it? Also, how did you apply your paint? With a roller or a brush? Thanks!
Lauren says
November 13, 2016 at 1:13 amHi, Candace! Yes, I took one of the small shelves and went to Sherwin Williams and they were able to match it. I used a brush, but I bought self-leveling paint, so that helped eliminate any brush strokes.
BEATRIZ JARA says
December 4, 2016 at 8:33 amHi there how did you get around the outlet problem. I am in the process of doing this project but I am running into the issue where the outlets are hidden. Will I just need to call an electrician?
Lauren says
December 7, 2016 at 12:59 pmYou can just cut a hole into the bookcase backing using a jigsaw, or you can do what we did and just remove the backing entirely and caulk the seams where the backing would have been placed since we anchored them to the walls and made them built-ins anyway.
Lauren says
February 9, 2017 at 10:21 amThanks, Alina!
Beth says
March 18, 2017 at 4:26 pmHi! I’m thinking of doing something similar in our living room. How are the shelves holding up? I worry about bowing from the weight of items put on them.
Suzanne Nicolette says
April 10, 2017 at 10:35 pmThis is beautiful! How deep are these shelves? I can only find 11″ depth but yours look deeper.
Thank you.
Suzanne Nicolette
Lauren says
April 11, 2017 at 9:45 amThese are the 11″ deep ones as well. Seems shallow, but they do still offer great storage.
Jan Gorelick says
May 7, 2017 at 9:43 amLooks fabulous! Just wondering why you didn’t cut away the baseboard so you wouldn’t need to notch the side?
Mei says
May 11, 2017 at 11:55 amThey look great! How did you fill in the gaps between the book cases? Did you just caulk them?
mary park says
May 29, 2017 at 1:19 pmThis looks awesome.. May be taking on this project myself.. Quick question im trying to figure out the set up of the bookcases and was wondering where the bookcase extenders went..
Lauren says
May 29, 2017 at 2:14 pmThanks! The extenders went on top of the tall Billy bookcases to make them about 4 inches shorter than our 8′ ceiling. And we trimmed out the gap to make them meet the ceiling for built-ins.
Kimberly says
June 16, 2017 at 12:59 amWe are working on a similar project. Did you have to prime the bookcases first? I have been reading about how hard they are to paint!
Lauren says
June 16, 2017 at 9:17 amWe took one of the shelves to Sherwin Williams and had them color match the white, so we only had to paint the caulk lines and wood pieces we used to build them in. Saved a lot of time, money, and effort. 🙂
Sinead says
July 10, 2017 at 5:36 pmLooks great! We did something similar but I’ve had a hard time matching the ikea white paint! Do you have anymore information on your paint match (e.g. Brand, Formula, etc.?)?
Lauren says
July 11, 2017 at 11:30 amAck! No, I wish I had included that but that paint is since long gone. We just took one of the white IKEA shelves to Sherwin Williams and they were able to match it for us there.
Dan Williamson says
August 14, 2017 at 12:08 pmLooks good. We are going to do this same project this weekend and needed your shims and caulking information for the baseboards. We had no idea what we were going to do for those huge gaps!
Ginny says
September 18, 2017 at 10:56 pmThanks for sharing all the details, that really helps! They look great.
Kristy says
November 7, 2017 at 9:19 pmDid you do anything along the vertical edges where the bookshelves meet? Caulk? And the upper trim, on the left outside corner did just not make a corner and left it straight?
Lauren says
November 8, 2017 at 1:47 pmYes, I caulked those seams as well and then painted. On the corner, we didn’t miter it and just had the side board butt up to the front board for the top trim, caulked, sanded, and painted. We couldn’t tell a difference at all. But you could certainly miter the corners, if you preferred.
Heather says
February 19, 2018 at 4:26 pmHi! My husband and I are wanting to do built ins in our living room. I am wondering if you’d be able to give me an estimate of the total cost of this project? We’re truing to plan our budget!
Lauren says
February 20, 2018 at 10:14 pmFor all of the IKEA shelves, doors, extenders, wood, caulk, and paint, it was about $900.
Erica Dowling says
February 21, 2018 at 11:07 amWhere did you buy the doors for this project??
Lauren says
February 21, 2018 at 4:38 pmHi Erica,
The doors are from Ikea. The link is in the post for the doors, but here it is again. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50275596/
Kaylee says
February 25, 2018 at 1:31 pmThese look great! This is exactly what we need to solve our storage issue in our playroom. Any ideas on how to achieve this look with a vaulted ceiling?
Lauren says
February 26, 2018 at 11:10 amYou can just nail the crown molding to the top of the bookcases instead of attaching to the ceiling. 🙂
Kaylee R says
April 1, 2018 at 12:00 amThanks for this! We took this general idea and put shelves in our living room. It looks amazing!!!! We are completely in love!
Lauren says
April 2, 2018 at 7:21 amYeah! So happy for you. 🙂
Craig Tee says
April 5, 2018 at 2:11 amHow did you guys nail the 2x4x8 to the wall on the left side of the bookcases? Did you nail it directly to the bookcase or to the actual wall? I understand that it’s there for support for the 1×6, but I can’t figure out how the dimensions work for it to be nailed to the wall, given the 11″ depth of the bookcase. Appreciate this post!
Lauren says
April 7, 2018 at 10:54 amWe nailed a 2×4 to the wall (running vertically) anchored to the wall stud and a 2×4 (also running vertically) nailed to the side of the bookcase, then nailed a 1x board to the front to cover those two 2x4s so it would be completely anchored to the wall and bookcase and fill that gap on that side. Then we caulked the seams, primed the wood board, and painted to match the shelves.
Kassandra Kordish says
April 4, 2019 at 10:14 amHi Lauren! Can you share the color of the Sherwin Williams paint that you used?
Lauren says
April 5, 2019 at 9:33 pmHi, Kassandra. We took the shelf in and matched the white from the Ikea white. At this time in my experience I had not thought to share the ‘formula’ via picture of the can. I hate I do not have access to the information. However, Sherwin Williams is GENIUS in their ability to match a color.