IKEA billy/ kallax

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has successfully stacked the IKEA billy bookshelf on top of the kallax cubes and whether it would be safe to do this? Obviously all fixed into the wall, but whether the Kallax would hold the weight. I have included a very comprehensive set of diagrams below. We have a wall that's 310 cm long and 240 high. I want the whole wall in storage for toys/boxes/books.

Option 1- 2 kallax units on their sides giving 8x cube boxes for storage, with 4 billy bookshelves on top. There will need to be some spacing going on and some white panels added to make it 'fitted'. There will also be a small lip of about 18cm because the kallax is wider than the billy.

Option 2- kallax stacked at one side, then billy shelves filling the rest of the space. Same sort of trimming to make it look fitted. Will need height extension for the billy I think.

It's in our playroom but will need to house our books and files etc.

Or any other combinations anyone can think of?

Damned Pinterest.

I wouldn't want those white boxes with younger kids, as they're pretty heavy (we use one for Lego) even before they have stuff in. We have Kallax for toy storage and books. We use the bottom row or two (depending on the room) with the fabric storage boxes, and then have books on the rest. The Kallax storage boxes are great for board games and jigsaws - the perfect size...

Hmmmm it's food for thought. I think you're right about the climbing on that 18cm lip. I think we'll have to do kallax up to the ceiling and billy side by side.

I know exactly what pp means about boxes not quite fitting, this is exactly the reason why we are changing our current shelves. The beauty of the kallax and boxes is there's no wasted space.

I would go all Kallax and get boxes/drawers for it to store CDs/DVDs in and boxes (the fabric ones which pull out) for kids books which can be stored flat so you see the front of the first one rather than the spine. We have a 5x5 Kallax and you can get so much in it. I don't know how many you can stack but it sounds like you could go 8 x 4 or 8 x 6? That would be a lot of really useful storage space.

Update- went to the mothership (IKEA) today and bought a combination of kallax and billy so we'll have 12 cubes of kallax 6x2 on one side for toys and the rest in bookshelves. I'm going to space then apart and use architrave/moulding to fill the space so it looks like one big fitted expensive unit! Thanks all for your input

Sounds fabulous bear ; I'd love to see photos when it's done!

Yes love to see pics!

Kallax 2x4 or 1x4 are really strong. I think they'd be fine and I'd also put the billy back against the wall to be better braced, though children would probably stand on a 1x4. 2x4 might be better, visually too as it's almost like a sideboard/dresser. We have a 4x4 on a 1x4. DH was never in any doubt that the small one should go on the bottom because it's so much more rigid. I didn't get it until they were assembled, but then it was suddenly a no-brainer.

Practically, side by side is good because you can use the higher kallax cubes to rotate out some toys, and you have bookshelves down to the ground for children's easy access.

The backs are the weak point of Billy. If you bring them forward you'd have to brace them very well.

We've been through all combos. Trofast are my favourite until they outgrow small world play/dolls/superheroes, but once DC are more into puzzles and games, the rounded corners make them very inefficient. However Billy also aren't great for puzzles and games as they are too shallow for quite a few of them, and generally 80cm is too wide for 1 game box but not wide enough for 2. I think mainly billy or trofast when they are little, and be prepared to replace with kallax at some point.

Oops, epic crosspost! I should type less. Well done OP, yes please post a pic!