Built-in Home Bar Cabinet with IKEA BILLY

I wanted to create a place to house all the wires and components of a home theatre. And I wanted to create a home bar cabinet to store wine glasses, etc.

We already owned the BILLY bookcases and they looked great in the room they were in. It took about five hours to build our BILLY home bar cabinet. The bookcases were already assembled, which shaved off our build time considerably.

It would cost about $650 if we had purchased everything new. Pay special attention to making sure everything is level before screwing it together.

Making the BILLY bookcases into a home bar cabinet is a fabulous idea. We love how it turned out!

IKEA items used:
  • Six BILLY bookshelves (41.5” height)
  • One nine foot pre-finished IKEA kitchen wood countertop
Other materials:

Steps for our DIY home bar cabinet

1. We took six already assembled BILLY bookshelves that we owned and moved them into a living room area where we set put three of the shelves along the front section, and the three other shelves back to back with the first set.

2. We assembled the shelves in this arrangement loosely first, prior to screwing them to the floor and the shelves’ sides together.

Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack


Related: Man Cave Bar


Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack

3. We removed the back panel from the first set of shelves, nearest the wall, to house several home theatre components and the wires to a home theatre.

Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack

Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack

4. When the shelves were levelled, we secured the first set to the wall, with a board between the wall and the first shelf for a solid background for the screws to go into, instead of drywall.

5. The shelves were then bracketed and screwed together.

Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack

6. Next, we placed the wood countertop on the top of the six bookshelves. Then screwed into place from the underside of the top panel of the bookshelf into the wood of the countertop.

Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack

7. Small decorative brackets were added for further stability and aesthetics to the end of the bar top.

Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack Home Bar Cabinet IKEA BILLY hack

8. Lastly, we finished the bar top with a water based Varathane. Five coats on top and edges, with a light sanding in between each coat

~ by Bonnie Landry


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