Billy-and-a-half

Materials: Tall Billy, short Billy, Olsbo doors, two bits of wood, screws

Description: This is simple, but did the trick. I wanted a deep cabinet for some old stereo components (turntable, CD changer) with book storage above. After searching the Ikea website for hours trying to piece something together, I struck upon the idea of simply putting a short Billy in front of a tall one, and leaving the back off the short one. The top of a short Billy is exactly the same height as the fixed shelf of a tall one.

The two Billys were attached to each other with two bits of wood screwed into the bottoms of the tops. This keeps them tight together and gives the front one rigidity that the back would have provided. Olsbo doors complete the look.

Pro: Lots of out-of-sight space for my stereo stuff. Some LP storage space too.

Cons: The cabinet part is deeper and taller than necessary (didn't short Billys used to be shorter?), and there is a gap between the short Billy top and the tall Billy shelf. Also the baseboard cutout on the back of the short Billy is obvious.

~ Ewan, London, Ontario