Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Easy Ikea Billy Bookcase

I picked up a couple IKEA BILLY bookcases for my office and I knew I wanted to paint the inside of them! I wanted to take a color that was in the room and I knew I wanted it dark for contrast. I looked through one of my paint decks to see which was the closest match to the gray in one of the fabrics I'm using for the room.



It's a pretty good match! The color is "Artichoke" by Valspar. I like that it's a green-gray, because it goes nicely with my army green desk. The fabric is Schumacher.



The back of the BILLY bookcase is cardboard. One side is glossy and the color of your bookcase, the other side is actual cardboard. I painted the cardboard side because it saved me from having to prime and took the paint really well. I used eggshell paint.

And here it is put together:



And a sneak peek of the army green desk:


Painting the inside of a bookcase is one of my favorite things to do in rooms - it adds a really great dimension and is an easy and inexpensive way to personalize an off-the-shelf product. I'm almost embarrassed to admit I do it a LOT!

Here are two bookcases in one of my California client's home:

(this one isn't styled yet)




Wallpaper is another great option for the BILLY bookcase. Check out this amazing hack from design sponge:





Have you done any Billy bookcase hacks? If so, I'd love to see them!

26 comments:

  1. Your shelving is looking very organized! Love the storage and filing boxes.

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  2. This is coming together so nicely Bryn. I usually lean towards somewhat saturated colors, but I really like the soft tones you've used. I can't wait to see the end result!

    Rachel
    xoxo

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  3. I painted to inside of a very similar bookshelf a minty green to store my shoes in our bedroom. We have very little closet space, and I figured if my shoes had to be out, they should be on a pretty shelf!

    Jess
    http://www.etsy.com/shop/ZoCalBelle

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  4. Looks great! I love that the Billy is so affordable and can be setup so many different ways.

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  5. Your office is looking great! We've only done the EXPEDIT bookcases from IKEA, with the open back so our wall paint color shows through. You Billy bookcases look awesome!

    And I love the magazine holders. Picked up a few for myself this summer - fun way to store old magazines!

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  6. Looking Good, (love that chair)! The color is great, and I've been wanting to line my built-ins for some time. Another day, another project! Janell

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  7. i love that, it looks so great. i have been wanting to do that to our el cheapo bookshelves for ages. it is on my ever growing to do list.

    i just bought 2 of those homegoods lamps for my bedroom redo. aren't they perfect and hello, great price, including shade?!

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  8. Love this!! I too love painting the inside of shelves (I did bright pink in my office). It's a fun way to make all of those books and decorative pieces pop against the color.

    That office with the metal/glass desk is absolutely STUNNING!!

    Lovin' your space...thanks for keeping us updated on your process...so much fun to follow!

    Teresa

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  9. We just put up our two BILLY bookcases with height extensions this past weekend in our office. I'm going to post about them next week. We decided not to put the cardboard in the back of them as I didn't care for the fold lines.

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  10. Thanks for posting this! Young House Love just put these in their office but they removed the back and painted the wall behind it so the creases in the cardboard didn't show. Since we may move in the near future, if I tackle this project it will be the way you did so the color will move with me! (Plus I don't think the lines will be that noticeable once everything is placed on the shelves, but I thought it was a clever solution!)

    Can't wait to see it all come together.

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  11. I recently installed beadboard wallpaper from Graham & Brown on the walls behind my built-ins and it looks great! And it was so much less expensive than actual beadboard. Yay!!

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  12. Bryn,
    Did you bracket the bookshelf to the wall? My husband and I were going to pick up some of these bookshelves for our office, but I wasn't sure how sturdy they would be without the brackets. I can't wait to see the end result of your office!!

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  13. It's coming together, Bryn! I love the unexpected color palette you're working with. : )

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  14. Bryn, I love painted bookshelf backs too! Your office is looking great--love the pale pink and gray/green. Can't wait to see more!

    I recently painted the back of my cheapo Target bookshelf white with a celery colored lattice pattern. I love how it turned out! Here's the link if you wanna check it out.

    http://aisletoaloha.blogspot.com/2010/05/bookshelf-redemption.html

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  15. I love when the inside of a bookcase is painted another color than the walls. The wall color in your office is divine..!

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  16. I'm planning on doing a billy bookcase hack for our office/guest room space. I love how adding paint or wallpaper allows everything placed on the shelves to stand out!

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  17. Yay, the office is coming together.

    Those bookcases with the wallpaper in the back are fantastic!

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  18. I don't have a Billy, but my Besta bookshelf in walnut has high gloss white doors on the bottom half and a turquoise/white quatrefoil fabric in the back on top. I actually cut out foam core board and wrapped the fabric around it, then just pushed the board into the back of the shelf. I did the same with some free bookshelves my mother in law gave me, although I used a Robert Allan Kiki Pinata fabric in them.

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  19. Hi Bryn! I left a comment earlier but I don't think it went through. I love painted bookshelf backs too! Your office is coming along great, can't wait to see more!

    I recently painted the back of our cheapo Target bookshelf with a green lattice pattern. It turned out really cool and it's one of my favorite parts of the house now! Here's a link to check it out!

    http://aisletoaloha.blogspot.com/2010/05/bookshelf-redemption.html

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  20. so pretty! Loving what I see :)

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  21. Bryn, First, I love your blog and read it daily! I am moving in a month and am looking to make some changes in my bedroom. I was wondering where you got your magazine holders in this post. Thanks!

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  22. Love the bookcase, and the color too! I've got two old Billys that I bought right out of college. They've been relegated to the guest bedroom/junk room/holding tank for the past few years, but now that that room is hopefully going to become my office, I'm thinking of giving them a new lease on life. Unfortunately they're in the beech finish though, so I'll need to paint them white before getting clever with a fun inside treatment.

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  23. I love that Design Sponge hack & your office is looking great so far!!

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  24. i put white painted beadboard as the backing to my billy bookcases. love it!

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  25. geez, I love that color and the fabric...

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THANK YOU for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate each and every comment.

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