Blue Billy Bookcase Hack

When we first moved in I knew this little nook in our upstairs hallway would be the perfect spot to do a built-in bookshelf. We have a lot of books and I  knew I  was also going to do a wall of bookcases in the room right off of our entryway. We didn’t need that to function as a dining room so we turned it into a library/game room. You can read more about the initial makeover here where we transformed five IKEA Billy Bookcases into a wall of bookshelves and then here in this post where we added some chairs to have it also function as sort of a game room. Knowing I  was going to put more of our vintage books and classic books in those bookshelves we decided to use this upstairs nook for the majority of our kids books.

The most annoying part of this project was that although I built the bookshelves flush to the back and the side walls I couldn’t trim it out flush with the ceiling thanks to an annoying placed air vent. I left just enough space between the trim and the ceiling so that we could fully access the vent. It was annoying but oh well.

Here is what this nook looked like when we first moved in:

Here it is a few days after we moved in where we quickly put together three Billy Bookcases and unpacked the books:

Here it is after adding trim and turning it into a built-in and also adding some battery operated sconces to dress it up a bit: 

And now with the books loaded back into it. (I took most of the pictures before adding the books back in because it kind of killed me loading it back up with all those crazy colored books – haha! The girls love it though and it is kind of fun!)

A few more before and after angles:

This project was quite inexpensive and you don’t even need power tools to do it! I  actually cut all of my trim pieces upstairs with this little hand saw and miter kit. I used it for our guest bathroom too. It was easier than lugging all the trim pieces up and down to the basement where I keep my big miter saw.

We created a little reading nook right next to the shelves with chairs and other items we already owned.

And same with this little area at the top of the stairs. I  painted a desk we’ve had for years and added in some other little accessories to finish it off. 

Here are a few more pictures with the books loaded into it:

We chose blue for the bookshelves to coordinate with the rest of our upstairs. Our Laundry Room is at the end of the hallway the bookshelves are in.

You can find all of the laundry room details and source information in this post here. 

 And Our Bedroom also has lots of blue:

You can find all of the details and source information for our bedroom here in this post. 

 And so does Lola’s Bedroom You can find all of the details and source information for Lola’s room here in this post. 

Lillie’s room also has blue as well as minty green:

You can find all of the details and source information for Lillie’s room here in this post. 

And here are some wide angled shots of the bookshelves:

Well that’s it for today and our Blue Billy Bookcase Hack.

SOURCES:

Wall Color – Pure White by Sherwin Williams
Bookshelf Color – Krypton by Sherwin Williams
Door Color – Sea Mariner by Sherwin Williams
Door Knobs – Amazon
USA Push-Pin Map – Etsy
Bookshelves – Three Billy Bookcases from IKEA with Oxberg Doors with trim added and these knobs
Sconces – Amazon
Wood Stool – Target
Mirror – Target
Barn Painting – personal gift
Gold Frames – Framebridge
Chairs – Target
Striped Pillows -Serena and Lily
Solid Pillow – Target
Throw – Wayfair
Side Table Target
Round Ottomans – At Home
Leather Ottoman – Wayfair years ago
Vase on Table – Anthropologie
Vase on Shelves – Birch Lane 
Guitar – Amazon
Desk – Target years ago painted Sea Mariner
Artwork above Desk – Deann Art
Lamp – Target
Vase – Birch Lane
Candlesticks – Amazon
Flameless Candles – Amazon
Bookend – Wayfair years ago similar here

Have a lovely rest of your weekend!

Warmly, Jenni