I have this inset wall in my home office that is practically begging for some built-in bookshelves. Unfortunately, my wallet threatened to run away if I pursued built-ins so I had to go a more cost effective route. I found this blog about using Ikea bookcases and wall color to create a built-in appearance, but my style tends to lean toward moodier than bright and airy.

I set out to find an affordable bookshelf that would take up as much of the space on that wall as possible. While I didn’t limit myself to Ikea, the combinations available for the Billy Bookcases were just what I needed. Two regular and one narrow Billy fit the width of my wall with about 3 inches of space on either side. Then I also threw in height extenders to get them taller.

Products:

• Paint – Tricorn Black (Lowe’s)
• Ikea Billy Bookcase Set (includes 3 bookshelves and the height extenders)
• 5 Ikea Oxberg Doors
• Leather Cabinet Pulls

Here’s the before, with an Ikea Kallax shelf that we already owned.

First step was to pull everything out and paint the wall black. From there, we built the Ikea Billy Bookcases And by we, I mean Derek. He and I cannot build something together. I can do it, or he can do it, but for the sake of our marriage, we don’t build together.

One thing to note is that the Billy bookcases come with a backing, which we opted not to use so that the black wall could be seen behind the shelves.

And here are a couple of shots of it mostly completed. I still need to add some additional decor, and am debating getting another shelf extender to fill the space on the top. Plus, I’ve seen other creators add moulding on the edges to give it a more built in look. I may decide to tinker with that.

Products:

• Paint – Tricorn Black (Lowe’s)
• Ikea Billy Bookcase Set (includes 3 bookshelves and the height extenders)
• 5 Ikea Oxberg Doors
• Leather Cabinet Pulls
• Standing Desk from Amazon