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11 Magnolia Lane

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HomeRight Bookcase Challenge–Billy Bookshelf to Kitchen Bookshelves Hack

June 14, 2015 By Amy 14 Comments

This Post Contains Affiliate Links

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header-under-counter-shelves-complete-600x800

Hi everyone! This is an exciting post I really can’t wait to share with you all. For the last week or so I hinted around here I was working on a REALLY BIG DIY in my kitchen as another step in my kitchen ‘makeover’, but I didn’t share that this project is also our 11 Magnolia Lane entry into the HomeRight IKEA Bookcase Challenge that is kicking off this month among all the HomeRight Ambassadors!

Do you all remember last Fall when Christy turned an IKEA dresser into this greek key beauty as part of the last IKEA dresser challenge?

DIY Greek Key Overlay on IKEA Dresser | 11 Magnolia Lane

 

This Spring we are joining in the newest IKEA HomeRight challenge along with all the other HomeRight Ambassadors.

Drumroll!!!

project-collage-homeright-ikea-challenge
 

HomeRight sent us a plain, inexpensive Billy bookcase and let us get creative. While there were several projects {and some were maybe on a slightly smaller scale} that I STRONGLY considered this project has been on my agenda since we moved in the house so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to jump in and build my shelves. Just like in our Library bookcase project  for these shelves it made sense to start with IKEA Billy Bookcases rather then build them from scratch.

Here is the before of the space.

shelves before1
 

Our kitchen already has an island that our kids can sit or eat at so this portion of the kitchen is never used for much. I loved the idea of having some storage right next to the kitchen table and really wanted some shelves for my cookbooks, I do have a bit of a hoarding issue with those.

kitchen marked

Above is the entire kitchen plan from back when I ran our “New House” post, these new shelves are now in the front of the sink area right where I said I would “build-in (a) bookshelf”–high five for another project complete!

 

shelves-complete-600x800

 

So not only did building in the shelves add storage and make use of unused space but this project also kicked off the cabinet makeover that will be taking place in our house this summer. No turning back now! {You can see our entire makeover plan HERE}. As soon as I lightened up this portion of the kitchen I knew I was heading in the right direction with white cabinets. It’s going to be a lot of work to paint everything but I am sure it will be worth it in the end. {Update: See full reveal HERE}

So, here is the whole shelf project step by step…

I started by putting together the set of shelves that HomeRight sent for the challenge. I also purchased another Billy Bookcase but in white, as well as a narrower version in the same line of IKEA Billy shelves so I could use three shelves in the space. I broke out my HomeRight FinishMax Pro and gave everything two coats of BM White Dove paint since eventually all our perimeter cabinets will be this color. The FinishMax made this so fast and easy and gave everything a perfect finish. By the way, as luck would have it, that paint color is a very close match to the ‘white’ IKEA color, though I did paint them all again at the end to ensure consistency.

spraying shelves

spraying shelves boards

Once everything had a few coats of paint, I moved on to the construction stage. I first removed all the molding around the cabinets, then gave what was going to be the back of the shelves {I didn’t use the backing that came with the Billy bookshelves} several coats of paint in the same White Dove color.

before cabinets

Then came the first–well I’ll just call it a ‘challenge’– with this project as the bookcase was taller than the countertop. So, I had to basically cut down all three bookcases and rebuild them as a smaller bookcase. For this I called in my A-Team and brought the shelves up to my Dad {remember the amazing shelves he built in my Library? They are HERE if you missed them!}. He helped me cut all the pieces down to a size that would fit.

cutting-shelves

As you can see, we had to take about 6″ off the top so they would fit under the countertop. After that minor obstacle was overcome, I rebuilt them {including redrilling the holes for the little IKEA wooden pegs that attach the top of the shelf to the sides} and assembled them in the kitchen.

kitchen-shelves-construction

Since they were really now a “hack”, I bracketed them to the cabinet just for extra support. These brackets were about where I knew the horizontal shelves would be so I figured they wouldn’t be seen.

shelves bracketed

After that, I installed the front facing boards so they would look like built-ins.  I picked up all the lumber and had most of it pre-cut at Home Depot.

shelves in progress

This was where the second “challenge” of the project arose. What you can’t see in this picture is that neither the countertop OR the wall in the right-hand corner of the counter is square. Why on earth would I expect a house with straight walls? Silly me! ANYWAY, after several attempts to get the trim to align correctly, I had to call back in my shelf guru, my Dad, who helped me re-cut and re-configure everything {which is why at this point you see new unpainted boards, these were “round 2” of cutting and tacking, what you don’t see is me at about this point tearing my hair out!}.

shelves painted

After cutting some new trim and refastening everything, it all aligned in a much prettier fashion despite our wonky walls and all was well in DIY land again!  Before long, after another coat by hand of a touch-up paint, I had these gorgeous shelves in my kitchen…

shelves-done-close

The possibilities to store things are endless, and since our kitchen table is right there it is so nice to have dishes and other things we use all the time RIGHT by our table.

dishes-shelves

Here they are in context of the kitchen.

complete-shelves-kitchen

You can see the other shelves Christy and I DIY’d together in the background, as you can tell I love open shelving! Can you believe how much brighter the white painted shelves are? I seriously can’t wait to have the entire kitchen done!

plain-ikea-hack-shelves-done-billy

Here is another reminder of what I started with and how it fit together.

billy-collage-hack

And again all done…

shelves-done-close

 I loved being a part of this challenge and am seriously thrilled to have this project checked off our “To-Do” list.

shelves-complete-header

OK, so now I am moving on to painting the cabinets but in the meantime will be enjoying these shelves 🙂 Though I think I may reward myself with a day or so to recover at the pool…it is summer after all!

See our entire Kitchen Makeover HERE.

XO,

small-amy-new-headshot-summer-2016-2 copy
icon-facebook-1icon-instagram-1icon-pinterest-1icon-twitter-1NEW Google+
 

Our posts contain affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking on these links, we will earn a small commission, which helps to keep our content free.  You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise, since that would be tacky! Please see our full disclosure policy here.

 

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Filed Under: DIY/Projects/Tutorials, HomeRight Projects, Kitchens, PROJECTS, Wall & Door Decor Tagged With: finishmax project, homeright challenge, homeright project, ikea hack, kitchen bookshelves, kitchen makeover

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says

    June 14, 2015 at 8:23 pm

    I love this idea and wow, you did an amazing job of making it look like they should be this way.

    Reply
  2. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    June 15, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    Amy, this is an amazing hack…love the idea of having extra storage space added that looks like it has originally been a part of the island….Good luck on the challenge!!

    Reply
  3. adriana esparta says

    June 15, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    go rest yourself… after all this great work, you deserve it for sure!!!
    Beautiful!

    Reply
  4. gail says

    June 16, 2015 at 10:36 am

    Amy,

    I love the new look of your kitchen storage. You did a fabulous job with the Billy book case! Your kitchen is going to look awesome when you get done.

    gail

    Reply
  5. Debbie @ Refresh Restyle says

    June 16, 2015 at 10:47 am

    Love them! Great makeover, the Billy never looked better!
    Debbie

    Reply
  6. junebaby says

    July 5, 2015 at 6:30 pm

    i love your conversion, and im copying your idea for my island. thanks and i reallly like all of homerights paint equipment. j

    Reply
  7. Cat @ MaryMarthaMama says

    July 6, 2015 at 4:44 pm

    What a great idea! I think that I never have enough storage in the kitchen and this would add a ton for cookbooks, etc.

    Reply
  8. Joy says

    August 12, 2016 at 4:09 pm

    what an awesome job you have done there! Love it. 🙂

    Reply
  9. Paula says

    April 28, 2017 at 7:57 am

    I did similar in pre teen room (bookcases length wise) for games and videos

    Reply
    • Amy says

      April 28, 2017 at 4:10 pm

      I am sure it was awesome! Great idea for storage 🙂 –Amy

      Reply
  10. Kathy says

    March 25, 2019 at 3:17 pm

    I’new to your blog and was just poking around when I came across this hack. We also have an unused seating space and I’d suggested to my husband that he build book shelves to surround it. We lack storage space in our new florida home and the tile covering the back of the island is not to my taste. I am happy to see how great your project turned out. My husband will have to build the shelves because we don’t have as much as an overhang. I see this is an old post and your kitchen is already white, I’m sure. We are in the throes of painting 32 cupboards because the builder added built in cupboards to the living and dining rooms. In order to feel that we were moving along faster than we are, we first painted all the ones we could see from a seated position in the living area! We are on the last stretch and the house seems to glow when the sun comes in. I look forward to more of your posts.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      March 26, 2019 at 11:56 am

      Thanks for your note Kathy. Your shelves sound like a great project, please let me know how it turns out. We loved having those extra shelves! Good luck painting your cabinets–that is a big job but one that is so worth it. Take care, Amy

      Reply
  11. Lynne says

    November 12, 2019 at 12:27 am

    Our grand-daughter lives in a very costly area because of her husbands job.. Too expensive to purchase a house, so they found a condo within their price range, but no storage to speak of. I suggested shelving under the bar and she found your shelves. we’ve now made them and they are ready to install. I love the look you’ve created and it’s exactly what I had in mine when I suggested it.

    Reply
  12. John says

    January 7, 2020 at 8:17 am

    Looks great – what did you use to fill the gap between the bookcase and existing wall?

    Reply

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  • MEET CHRISTY & AMY
    • IF YOU’RE NEW HERE…
    • WORK WITH US
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    • DISCLOSURE + PRIVACY (the fine print)
    • BEST OF 11 MAGNOLIA LANE
    • Back
  • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • CHRISTY’S MAGNOLIA COTTAGE
    • CHRISTY’S MCC HOUSE
    • AMY’S NEW HOME BUILD
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    • SPRING HOME TOUR SERIES
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  • CELEBRATIONS
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    • GIFTS
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    • ROOM BY ROOM
      • BATHROOMS
      • BEDROOMS
      • CLOSETS
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      • DINING ROOMS
      • KIDS’ ROOMS
      • KITCHENS
      • LAUNDRY ROOMS
      • LIVING + GREAT ROOMS
      • OTHER SPACES
      • PANTRIES
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      • Back
    • TIPS
    • Back
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8161 shares
  • 96