Bookshelf room dividers with a little help from BILLY

This is Lily’s very first IKEA hack — Billy bookshelf room dividers — and it’s a nice one. Clever use of BILLY bookshelves to section out a ‘sleeping area’ and create storage. Definitely a snuggle-worthy corner.

She says, “I’m renting this large one space studio but didn’t like the idea of having my bed in the living room as well as in the kitchen.

So I came up with the idea of bookshelf room dividers.

Here’s how I arranged my bookshelf room dividers

Since I also had a lack of storage for books etc. I decided to purchase five BILLY’s (4 large and one small) to create a ‘sleeping corner’. The position of the bookcases also makes kind of a hallway.

The first BILLY closest to the entrance door is a small one. I use that as a place for key/mail/umbrella.

A few months later I found two green glass kitchen doors (Rubrik) at the as-is corner. I then fixed them to the bottom bookshelves to serve as a shoe cabinet.

Billy bookshelf room dividers
The next BILLY is placed reversed so that I can use it as a night table at the head of my bed.

At the back I screwed in a simple rack to hang coats when entering the studio. I made sure the screws pierced one of the shelves so that it would be strong enough to carry some weight.
Billy bookshelf room dividers

Billy bookshelf room dividers

Billy bookshelf room dividers

The 3 bookcases facing the living room serve as all kinds of storage. I glued on some gift wrapping paper (at hema) to make it more playful and less white.

Some of the shelves are left out so that I have, like, these small decoration cubes in which I sometimes place school works (sculptures, maquettes, etc)

For the sleeping corner on the other side, the backs of the BILLY’s are simply covered with some leftover paint. I chose colors to match my favorite bed linen.

I hung a Hoppy lamp (by Dark) at the top to create some special light effects.

Billy bookshelf room dividersBilly bookshelf room dividersAnd that’s it. My BILLY bookshelf room dividers are so useful for privacy and offers lots of storage.”


You may also like these bookshelf room dividers

#1 L-shaped living room partition

L-shaped wall divider with IKEA BILLY and friendsOriginally there was a 3 meter wall from BILLY bookcases at the entry way. Now there’s a L shaped wall divider with entry way into the living room. See the wall divider.

#2 Super long wall divider between entry way and living room

I built a 3 meter wide by 2.30 tall entry way and living room divider. The entry way has 2 Billy bookcases fixed together as one unit, with no back attached to the other. Inside the top part has a rod for coats and the bottom has a sliding part that holds 3 beer cases. See more of the super large 3m long x 2.3m high BILLY room divider

#3 Hackers help: How to divide the living room with a sofa bookcase?
Sofa Room Divider Bookcase
Source

The narrow BILLY bookshelf is a possibility. But you’ll need to do a bit of hacking. Lay the BILLY bookshelf on the side. If it’s not long enough for your sofa, add a BILLY extension. Secure the extension to the short side of the BILLY. Then wrap the entire BILLY with MDF. Add casters to the bottom. It does not look exactly the same as your inspiration photo but it makes a lovely room divider bookcase too. See a behind-the-sofa room divider and book storage.

See more room divider ideas