Materials: 60 Billy / Benno Bookcases
Description: Faced with a 11m x 4m landing which had been curtained off at either end as bedrooms we wanted to create a 'built in' library / office. With a 3.3m ceiling height there was an opportunity to build an impressive floor to ceiling installation to house a large book collection and 1500 DVD's.
The house benefits from being symmetrical the landing has 4 doors - 3 to bedrooms and one from the staircase. The doorways are just over a meter wide and so there was an opportunity to use the Billy bridging units above the doors.
So, off to IKEA and ordered 60, yes 60 units to put together and install. 15 full height units each side with half height units mounted upside down on top.
6 Benno cases were cut in half, as were 4 bridging units to fill the space.
Trimmed with oak architrave, door frames extended to fill the space. Gaps filled with Numerar Worktop trim.
At one end
Desk from oak worktop with a centre table on wheeled legs to pull out to access the windows for cleaning.
At the other
Sofa bed and somewhere to curl up and read a book.
See more of the French country house library.
~ Chas Saunter, Lot et Garonne, France
That's a lot Billy's!
ReplyDeleteThough were it my own French coutry house i'd much rather build bookcases of my own from real timber.
This is not a hack, it's a way to display Ikea's furniture like all buyers do. There's nothing creative about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think it is quite beautiful, cozy and I would love to have this setup at home but it is not really a hack. It is just using bookshelves as bookshelves.
DeleteLovely. But I want to know about the floors. Can you tell me about them?
ReplyDeletecan i move in with you?
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteThis is the most amazing homemade and modern/old country library I've seen. Wish I could visit and see IRL :-))
ReplyDeleteMy own library now seems both too small and petty, AND so very humble ;)
Wow! This looks wonderful and just as good as built-ins, but I bet it was 1/3 the cost. And to anon: this is a hack - the bookshelves were hacked and cut to fit the space.
ReplyDeleteI'm in love! This is amazing and I love the way you extended the door frames out so it melded together perfectly. Amazing! (And yes, I'm extremely jealous!)
ReplyDeleteSO fabulous!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous, absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! And it just proves that you can make IKEA furniture fit in any decorating style.
ReplyDeleteDang, now how do I wipe off the drool from my keyboard!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is truly amazing and inspiring!
ReplyDeletej'adore!!!
ReplyDeleteHoly smokes, that is a HUGE library! And AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteRather serious case of bibliomania. But nice nonetheless. :)
ReplyDeleteTo the ANONYMOUS that said this is not a hack. You should really think about the amount of work and modification this person had to do to accomplish their goal.
ReplyDeleteI applaud the acomplishment of anyone who uses any item (be it from Ikea or not) in a way that is not "as designed". Sure this person used bookshelves as bookshelves, but they did it in such a way that was impressive and beyond the normal design for Ikea bookshelves.
Besides this hack I feel is more about inspiration and sharing of idea's which is at the very CORE of hacking of all kinds.
I love this ---and I don't care what that "anom" said about it not being a hack. Must be a real type A.
ReplyDeleteThis library is great and I love your site. Keep up the IKEA Hacking...
BEAUTIFUL, I love libraries.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love it. Will be trying it out in my new apartment next month.
ReplyDeleteHow did you secure the small bookshelves to the large bookshelves, so that they wouldn't fall off? Or are the small bookcases attached the the wall instead?
SandyQuilts - the floors are original from 1860, pine, sanded, treated and given three coats of varnish.
ReplyDeleteAnna W - I bolted the base units to the wall with angle brackets and then drilled and dowelled the top units to the bottom ones (as much for alignment as safety) and bolted them to the wall with angle brackets as well. All the top units (which are mounted upside down) were cut down to fit under the beams. Finally I joined them all together with male / female bolts. The finished structure is very rigid and you can climb up it!
Chas- now you have to pay for my therapy. I have a debilitating case of house envy! Great job. :)
ReplyDeleteGet a Kindle!
ReplyDeleteWOW!
ReplyDeleteDitto: WOW! I can't imagine putting together 60 of them--two were enough for us!
ReplyDeleteWow, this is impressive! And, clearly a hack.
ReplyDeleteReally nice! It looks like a cosy cottage, a dream for the books lovers!
ReplyDeleteJust one word "Waouw!"
I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Kindle.
ReplyDeleteJust kidding. This is great. Nothing against the eyesight killing ereader phenomenon, but I'm glad to see that there are still other bibliophiles who love the smell of hardcovers, fraying edges and ink.
Love,love,love it!! Makes me want to give my books a nice home also.(They are sitting in piles on the floor)
ReplyDeleteI have a kindle, too. But I love the feel and of course, the smell of traditional paper and ink books much more. Kudos.
ew. who owns dvds?
ReplyDeleteI like this one, gives me ideas how to create my future library much needed for someone who studies History and English.
ReplyDeleteI think you have created a cozy atmosphere!!
ReplyDeleteSomeone's resale value just shot throw the roof. That's incredible!
ReplyDeleteThis is just beautiful. A real book-lover's library.
ReplyDeleteGreat job. Well done.
ReplyDeleteit is really nice and beautifully done, but.. it's not a hack
ReplyDeleteDear anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI'd say that debate has been officially settled by its inclusion in the nominations for hack of the year. Which, from the date, is the link you clicked to find this.
oh my
ReplyDeletebook heavan all those book i love it but its not a hack
Zulaya,
ReplyDeleteAnonymous has a point. She also is not by herself. Many of the comments on the poll express the same thought.
Judging by Jules replies to comments on the poll, it seems she agrees and she indicates that she will consider using 2 categories next year; hacks and repurposings or customizations.
As one commenter there says: This is great interior design, but no hack.
Matthew
Okay, this looks fantastic. And very similar to what my Husband and I are planning in our home.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we've been going back and forth on building shelves, versus buying them pre-fab. Personally, I want to opt for pre-fab because I don't have the skill to build them myself. He, however, grew up in a household where they did most of the modifications/building themselves. He's convinced he can build them from scratch.
The one part that of pre-fab that I am leery of is Ikea's more current use of cheaper materials that break quite easily/often.
For anyone that's attempted these kind of book shelves, have you found that the shelves have started to sag in the middle from the weight of the books? If you have these bookshelves, would you use them again or opt for harder woods and build them from scratch?
Thanks!
Dom
Dom- I have 5 fully loaded billy bookcases. The 3 oldest are maybe 4 years-- last 2 were bought just over a year ago. No sagging on any of the shelves. They cover 1-1/2 walls of my formal living room and I get a ton of comments on them.
DeleteI have 12 Billy bookcases. They are 8 years old and most of them have had extra shelves added to them. No sagging at all.
DeleteI have Billys that have been in place for almost ten years and show no signs of saggage. However, I have a 20-year-old Billy-style case (not from Ikea) that has saggage. Solution: When you buy your Billy, get a couple of extra shelves just in case. They're highly-store-able, and you won't be subject to changing finish whims...we all know that brown-black is very current now, but once time passes? Brown-black might not be as simple to replace. Think, if you will: Harvest Gold, Avocado Green, etc.
DeleteThis is what Heaven looks like.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you there.
DeleteBut,
Heaven is not a hack.
Neither is THIS.
So beautiful, I'm in love with this room! I love the snuggle-up-and-read sofa at the end, that is so inviting!
ReplyDeletenice. I would rather stream or rent movies, and use kindle for books.
ReplyDeleteStunning use of some very basic bookcases. If I had a room like this in my place they'd have to drag me out at the end of a weekend to go to work. Terrific job!!!
ReplyDeleteThis room shows a hoarder's dream and nightmare for every normal person. I don' understand the hype about the Billy bookshelf. It's so bland and ordinary.
ReplyDeleteQuite a large chunk of change (has to be at least 10,000 USD) for a wall full of veneered particle board shelves. You could have used real wood for that cost. It's not a hack if it costs multiple thousands of dollars to accomplish, and no offense, but it really isn't that creative.
ReplyDeleteThat's what struck me, too. It could've been done with real wood for an incredible fraction of the cost, esp. if one built it themselves.
DeleteFor non-book lovers, this library might be a nightmare. Why bother investing that much brainpower to re-design a library if one doesn't want to read books (Kindle doesn't count.)
ReplyDeleteNumber two: the hype about the Billy bookcase is that its clean, simple lines and mode of construction make it versatile enough to suit different styles of decor. The whole point of this website is to show IKEA devotees what can be done to customize stock IKEA units.
For those who are not crazy about Billy products, well then this is not the site for them.
For non-book lovers, yes, the sheer amount of brainpower and sweat equity needed to customize the Billy units into a spectacular library would indeed be a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteThe hype about BILLY is its versatility. For those who don't care about IKEA products, IKEA Hack is probably not the best site to be visiting or trolling.
This probably cost no more than 2500 EUR and in France you would probably get about a tenth of the storage space for the same price if you had a carpenter build you custom units made from "real" wood.
ReplyDeleteGreat use of a space that would otherwise be nothing more than a pass-through area. Bravo!