When I purchased a new home a little over a year ago, I required a new storage solution for my beloved books. My previous residence had been outfitted with lots of wonderful built-ins and so, when I moved into that house, I re-purposed my shelves and no longer had them available for my library. This left me a problem of what to do last December. I had the perfect large wall in my new living room, but did not want to spend a small fortune on cabinetry. I also did not want my primary living space to look like a dorm.

I decided on the price point of IKEA—don’t we all at some point? Their Billy series offered me an unlimited number of configuration options to fill 10 feet. Wide or narrow; short, tall, or extra tall; half doors, full doors, glass doors…

The perfect fit for my space ended up being a combination of wide and narrow shelving, all with the height extender shelves added. I also purchased some additional shelves and one set of solid half doors to provide some much needed out-of-view storage. Once I got the myriad of boxed parts to my home, I enlisted the help of a friend who possesses a spectacular talent for assembling IKEA products and we spent an afternoon getting everything put together. I now had an optimal amount of storage and was left with only the issue of the IKEA modern vs. my traditional style.

A quick fix for one of the style issues was purchasing my own door pulls instead of using their standard white knobs. A great feature of the wooden Billy doors is that the holes for the knobs are not drilled all the way through. You can use whatever style you like, or none at all, and attach them wherever you would like on the doors. I chose to put the handles at the top instead of the default door-center location.

In my first internet search attempt for ideas to further restyle my new furniture, I discovered an entire subculture devoted to “IKEA Hacking” —try googling that term without going down a rabbit hole! There are infinite blogs and examples of all types of incredible customizations. While I suddenly wanted to try everything I saw, I honestly possessed neither the energy or the time to engage in a major construction effort, which most of the hacks involve. I was, however, able to glean some ideas for the look that I wanted, and, with some very basic supplies and the help of my father, I was able to convert my bookcases in just a few hours. It is not a true built-in effect, but it does look custom.

Step 1:

Instead of building an elaborate platform, which many of the more industrious hackers prescribe, we used screws to attach the bookcases to one-another and eliminate any gaps between them.

Step 2:

We then used 1½ lattice trim that costs less than a dollar for six-foot pieces at Home Depot (see 1-1/2 in. x 1/4 in. x 6 ft. Pressure-Treated Pine Lath) to perfectly cover the vertical seams along the front edges between the bookcases, to fill the horizontal gaps along the top and bottom edges of the bookcases, and to frame the sides of the cabinetry. Small finishing nails are all that is required to attach the trim.

Note: I painted the unfinished trim before attaching it and then only needed to complete touch-ups when all was done. A matching Sherwin Williams paint formula for the white Billy bookcases was easily found online:

Step 3:

Plain baseboard in a 3¼ height fit around the bottom like it was made for it. Note: if you want truly angled corners on your framing, this and the next step are the only efforts that need any real carpentry. A miter saw will be required.

Step 4:

Adding crown moulding around the top edge completed the carpentry efforts and added exactly the look that I wanted. For anyone unable to create those perfect corner cuts, a line of caulk smoothed into the gap is easily covered with a touch of paint.

Step 5:

A little touch-up paint to cover the nail heads and the job was done!

I am thrilled with how my shelving turned out. For more elaborate transformation ideas, search the internet for IKEA hacks and you too will be inspired!