As you may know if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook – we recently sold our house, and moved into a new neighborhood! Moving can be overwhelming. Common stressors include everything from helping kids deal with a move, to finding ways to decorate your new space on a budget!
That’s where this great IKEA hack comes in!
Our new space features several built in alcoves, or niches throughout the house. They completely puzzled me. One in our living room was particularly confusing since it doesn’t have a light pointing on it, like you’d want to display art or a flower arrangement there. Eventually, I decided the best idea – was to make it a book display.
I got several bids for building a bookcase in the pre-existing built in – and the bids were all several hundred dollars! And in swops the hero of the hour… IKEA!
After researching all different stores for a bookcase that might have the right measurements, I stumbled on the Billy Bookcase from IKEA.
The Billy Bookcase has several things going for it including being easily paint-able, very sturdy, and coming in widths that fit many standard size alcoves.
It also helps that unlike the hundreds of dollars a built in bookcase would have cost – this IKEA hack lets me achieve a similar look for only $39.99!
I love that I saved over $160.00 dollars on this project! And that we could change it in the future without much of a hassle – or after destroying the side walls with nails or construction. The bookcase fits in the alcove tightly, but can be lifted out if we ever move again, or if we want to re-decorate!
Takeaway: Before paying for custom work, see if you can find something pre-made to do the job!
About Shannon SchmidShannon traded in her sensible NYC TV producer shoes (they were best for taking the subway), for a pair of Texas Cowboy boots when she married her best friend! He's at fault for making this Yankee a Texan! Shannon writes about all things that make a house a home. Her chief blogging inspiration is being the proud & slightly neurotic mom of a preschool age daughter.
You can find Shannon on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and her new favorite place to hang out, Google+.
This is so awesome! I love it, and I love the way the books look!
Haha this is so awesome!! I can’t believe it fit so perfectly! I just purchased three billy bookcases today for my office makeover.
What a cool idea, and I love the bargain you got at IKEA. Love Ikea, such a great store. I absolutely love what you did color-wise with the books. Stopping by from The Mommy Club. 🙂