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Materials used: 2 Ikea Besta bookshelves / 1 piece of Alder plywood (4′ x 8′)/ stain, screws, and glue

We recently moved in to our new house in Phoenix area and the corner of our front room was super sad.

sad corner

We lasted about 5 months with this pathetic set up but eventually ran out of patience. Being a bit house poor, we tried to find a bookshelf solution that softened the corner that fit our budget- but couldn’t find a 90 degree bookshelf that didn’t put a serious dent in our depleted bank account. It was time for an Ikea hack. The plan was to wrap two Besta bookshelves with high quality plywood to give them a custom look with a continuous top.

We purchased two Ikea Besta bookshelves – $70 each. I then dropped by my local woodworkers store to find a piece of plywood. I settled on one 4’x8′ sheet of 3/4 Alder plywood, which ran around $100. I liked the alder because it had a nice clean, but distinct grain and is local to Arizona.

Mitre cuts were done on a table saw and the 45 degree corner cut was done with a circular saw and a handmade jig.

Before staining, I did a dry fit to make sure that all my measurements were accurate (or at least passable). Success!

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When I knew my cut pieces would work, I hit everything with some pre-stain, stain and some satin polyurethane.I glued, clamped and countersunk screws from the inside of the bookshelf into the underside of the plywood. Without further ado, here’s the finished project.

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bookcase1

bookcase2

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As you’ll see in the next two photos the joints were not perfect, but that’s what you get when you’re working with a wall that has a 93 degree angle.

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With all supplies, this Ikea hack cost under $300. Thanks for checking this out and happy hacking!