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Original poster

White Billy Bookcases - too studenty or could be stylish?

52 replies

Sourcherriesarebest · 30/08/2023 13:11

Hi all,

We have been flipping our way through a series of houses (over fifteen years), all proper reno jobs. Are finally in final destination house, also fully renovated so we are skint.

We finally have an office - I have a lot of books because of my job and also am a keen reader. Happy (indeed keen) to have office look a bit library like.

Only thing is we are too skint for lovely built ins or high end shelves. We also have so many other things to spend money on. I am keen to bite the bullet and just buy white billys from ikea with the extension bits up top and build round corner. They'll be on wooden floor and nicely made and fitted together and attached to wall.

I think they will look fine for right now and cost £300 (still loads). DH worries they will look a bit studenty? (We are not snobby at all and a lot of our stuff has come from and gone to second hand furniture shops).

If ever I had money again (ha!) in a few years I might invest in nice joiner built ones, but then I would just reuse what I could in kid's rooms or donate in excellent condition to local very busy second hand charity shop.

I just can't stand living out of boxes any more! I need my books out! (I actually feel quite emotional about it - it's six years since I last unpacked properly).

Do you think a wall of billy bookcases in basic white can look nice and classy or am i kidding myself here?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
LittleBearPad · 30/08/2023 19:47

Billy’s are great. Yes in 5 years time you may choose to get beautiful real wood bespoke shelves but in the meantime Billy will do great. The blue bookcases pictured above are lovely.

jaundicedoutlook · 30/08/2023 20:13

We have 2 walls of white Billys in the office and they look fine. Here’s a shot, mainly of the cat sitting on them.

DH keeps threatening to replace them all with fitted shelves from a local carpenter but it’s way down the list of jobs.

White Billy Bookcases - too studenty or could be stylish?
Original poster
Sourcherriesarebest · 30/08/2023 21:05

CorporaINobbyNobbs · 30/08/2023 13:15

one of my walls of Billy

Amazing, okay this alone has me convinced

OP posts:
Original poster
Sourcherriesarebest · 30/08/2023 21:07

Clefable · 30/08/2023 18:48

These are ours and I really like them!

Oh that looks amazing!

OP posts:
Original poster
Sourcherriesarebest · 30/08/2023 21:08

Nonoutingusername · 30/08/2023 18:45

I think they can be fine. Depends on the rest of the decor. We have c.9 very similar white bookcases in our period house.

These aren't actually Billy but are very similar. I think they look OK, apart possibly from the fact I have more books than space...

Basically books on shelves just look GREAT!!!! (To me, i know not everyone loves them)

OP posts:
Original poster
Sourcherriesarebest · 30/08/2023 21:08

jaundicedoutlook · 30/08/2023 20:13

We have 2 walls of white Billys in the office and they look fine. Here’s a shot, mainly of the cat sitting on them.

DH keeps threatening to replace them all with fitted shelves from a local carpenter but it’s way down the list of jobs.

That is exactly the cat I want too, hmm are you my dream life?

OP posts:
Original poster
Sourcherriesarebest · 30/08/2023 21:10

Right, I am CONVINCED! Sorry I was out doing 500000 kid related activities 🙄but now am so chuffed.

i do love the hacked ones but I have such diy fatigue and so many other projects that I HAVE to do that I just can’t face it now. It’s billy alone or not at all! But everyone’s look fab! Yay!

OP posts:
YukoandHiro · 30/08/2023 21:12

I personally think white kallax looks better

PollyPeep · 30/08/2023 21:20

I think they can look brilliant! Check out these examples.
https://athomewithashley.com/ikea-billy-bookcase-hack-built-ins/

White Billy Bookcases - too studenty or could be stylish?
White Billy Bookcases - too studenty or could be stylish?
Wallywobbles · 30/08/2023 21:26

I hâve a brilliant built in desk kallax option in my office

Beetlebuggy · 30/08/2023 21:51

YukoandHiro · 30/08/2023 21:12

I personally think white kallax looks better

I found Kallax good when the kids were little, great to store toys, games and another in the hall for hats, scarves etc.
Didn't like them for books, we had quite a few that didn't fit.

Original poster
Sourcherriesarebest · 31/08/2023 11:12

Yes I’ve had multiple kallax in my life in past eras - they were life savers (esp one I used as a room divider) but this is 100% book storage, mostly paperback, so I think billy more suitable.

OP posts:
Cami65 · 02/09/2023 10:19

I hacked a few Billy's in a home office. Set on a wooden frame, holes filled, painted to match room and the bottom third converted to be a radiator cover, with skirting/coving over to look built in. We love them. I'd go for Billy's now and know you have plenty of options to upgrade them later if you want to when (the very real!) DIY fatigue lifts

White Billy Bookcases - too studenty or could be stylish?
Cami65 · 02/09/2023 10:24

Oh and Ikea sell packets of tiny hole plugs, they are designed for kitchen units and they are in that section, they take a bit of banging in on a billy but do a reasonable job of making any unused holes look less noticeable. Look for Variera on the ikea website

MyAnacondaMight · 02/09/2023 10:45

The hole covers make a big difference, assuming you’re not going to prime and paint (in which case you may as well just fill the holes).

The variera ones are more expensive than e.g. Amazon, but I like that they come joined in lengths so are easy to tap in with a hammer - worth the extra cost.

EmpressaurusOfCats · 02/09/2023 10:54

I’ve got two charity shops near me that sell furniture, so I’ve been keeping an eye on those and buying bookcases I like when I see them.

It takes longer & they definitely don’t match, but I really like how they look & it saves me doing the flat packing.

Twoshoesnewshoes · 02/09/2023 10:59

We filled in the bracket holes
also have a couple of the oak shelves interspersed on the white
looks good (I think)

Original poster
Sourcherriesarebest · 02/09/2023 12:33

Adding variera to the list

OP posts:
heatherheathe · 02/09/2023 12:42

Cami65 · 02/09/2023 10:19

I hacked a few Billy's in a home office. Set on a wooden frame, holes filled, painted to match room and the bottom third converted to be a radiator cover, with skirting/coving over to look built in. We love them. I'd go for Billy's now and know you have plenty of options to upgrade them later if you want to when (the very real!) DIY fatigue lifts

I'm sorry if I'm being stupid, but how does any heat get into the room from those radiators if they are covered that much?
Or are the radiators turned off and it's just to hide them?

Cami65 · 02/09/2023 12:55

It's just grey fabric stapled on to a wooden frame to fill the gap, material isn't particularly thick and not lined and because its set off the radiator, the heat seems to come through with no issues. You could also use perforated radiator screen panels

BlueMongoose · 02/09/2023 20:18

I have the IKEA Ivar shelving for my bigger books. It's a bit deeper than the Billy, and as it doesn't have a back, where you don't need a x-brace you can push broader books further back if you really must. You can also get it in a very deep section for Hifi etc.. You can build a run of it without having to double-up uprights. It's made from proper wood and is strong enough to hardly flex at all with heavy art books on it. The downside it you might find it too 'studenty'. I'm staining ours darker at the moment to fit with some older furniture. We've had it for decades now, and addded to it over the years. It's very hardwearing, being proper wood. You can wax it or stain it, and I suppose you could paint it if you wanted to.

ThomasHardyPerennial · 02/09/2023 20:33

My sister combined the Havsta low cupboards with Billy on top, and they look really swish. She turned the Billys upside down, so the gap at the bottom was at the top instead. Lots of trim, and painted well, and they look so good.

Besta cupboards would also work with the Billy.

newnamenewmane · 02/09/2023 20:41

We had billy bookcases.next t
to one another and put a wooden worktop on the top to make them look more finished.

RedHelenB · 02/09/2023 20:44

MyAnacondaMight · 30/08/2023 14:22

I think they look OK if they’re neatly aligned and well “dressed”.

That said, they don’t last forever and are hard to paint. How about the Hemnes range instead? I bought several of these on Gumtree/Facebook marketplace very cheaply, painted them (real wood so easy to paint) and they look fantastic.

We've had both sets white and birch for over 25 years Excellent value and really sturdy.

Beetlebuggy · 02/09/2023 22:33

BlueMongoose · 02/09/2023 20:18

I have the IKEA Ivar shelving for my bigger books. It's a bit deeper than the Billy, and as it doesn't have a back, where you don't need a x-brace you can push broader books further back if you really must. You can also get it in a very deep section for Hifi etc.. You can build a run of it without having to double-up uprights. It's made from proper wood and is strong enough to hardly flex at all with heavy art books on it. The downside it you might find it too 'studenty'. I'm staining ours darker at the moment to fit with some older furniture. We've had it for decades now, and addded to it over the years. It's very hardwearing, being proper wood. You can wax it or stain it, and I suppose you could paint it if you wanted to.

We have lots of Ivar too, although most of it is not assembled in our current house. But our kitchen was mainly Ivar whilst we were renovating. I don't like the fact that the hardware on the shelf edges is now plastic, the old ones are metal.

Ivar is great if you relocate a lot, as it is easy to reassemble multiple times without damage.