From Ikea Billy Bookcase to Built-in Gorgeousness

Still obsessed with re-decorating our home, I was unsure about what I wanted to do with our formal living room.  It's a nice room, with four windows and lots of natural light, and it's one of the first rooms you see when you walk in our front door.  I considered making it my office, but my office furniture is large.

I don't have a formal photo of the room, but here's a I shot I took of Ed when we were reupholstering our dining room chairs.  You can't see the 8000 lb. solid teak armoire on the other side of the room.  I love that thing, but moving it?  Gahhhhhh!   I decorated this room when we moved in seven years ago.  I was in love with red and warm colors.  It was a nice, but rarely used room.

In the process of reupholstering our dining chairs

I studied that space a while and one day, while on Pinterest (where else?), I found the greatest idea from centsationalgirl.com.  This clever lady took regular, inexpensive bookcases and made them over to look like built-ins.    I knew at that moment exactly what I wanted:  A library.  A nice peaceful place to curl up with a great book.  A light-filled gorgeous space with a soft, classic, timeless color palette that would last for years.  Her tutorial is here.

After convincing Ed we had to drive an hour and a half to and the same distance from Ikea, we set off one Friday evening after work.  We bought (among other things) three 15" deep Billy Bookcases.  Ed followed the steps on Centsational Girl's blog, only changing a few things.  We didn't have to add any height to our bookcases, so we skipped that step.  We also added a bit fancier molding to the front after seeing some built-ins online that I loved.  Another change was that we built up the sides with plywood to sit flush with the wider moldings and, because of a window, we couldn't go all the way to the wall.  All in all, we spent $69 each on three 15" deep Billy Bookcases at Ikea, and about $125 on moldings and plywood.  I also chose a paint color a few shades darker (Behr Squirrel) than the walls (Behr Dolpin Fin) for the backs of the bookcases to add contrast.  I have a large collection of milk glass and I wanted it to stand out.

My husband, Ed, and my father-in-law, Jim

I'm using the word "we" liberally.  Ed (and his dad) did the actual building, but I designed the room and primed and painted the backs of the bookcases.  I also take pictures.  That counts, right?

Speaking of the backs of the bookcases, I also took a different route.  Ed laid planks of MDF on the garage floor and I primed and painted the panels super quickly with a small roller.  This saved TONS of time.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned that I am a bit of an instant gratification kind of girl.  Waiting for paint to dry is painful for me.  Waiting on an exhausted husband to rest (well, sleep at night while I'm awake coming up with more IDEAS...) is excruciating.  He knows this and loves me anyway.

The actual building didn't take more than a couple of evenings, but we also painted the room prior to that.  Once the bookcases were up, I couldn't even wait to start styling.  I carried load after load of books from upstairs and filled the floor with things I wanted to display.  Ed, ever the realist, said he still had to sand and paint the trim, and I shouldn't do that.  I replied that I had a duster.  He went to bed early.

So Ed finally finished the painting and I was off and running.  It took a few more days for him to hang the draperies (let me tell you about that deal....$20 for TWO panels, and they're long enough for my 9" ceilings!  That's 80 bucks for the entire room - four windows (IKEA-  Heaven on earth for the home enthusiast, let me tell you)  We also purchased a sisal rug from Ikea for about $140 or so.

Here's what we ended up with:

Billy Bookcase made to look like built-ins

Built in Billy Bookcase

I added a gorgeous basket to this top corner in place of the vase (not pictured).  Billy bookcase

Wow, I love this room.  It feels so light and comfortable.  I'll post more photos later of the other side of the room, as I am going to tackle reupholstering a chair.  Ed's excited!