Bottom-up Billy

Materials: BILLY height extension unit, BILLY wall shelf, veneer strips, stain

Description: I needed horizontal wall cabinets that would run the length of the wall and give me all the space I wanted without compromising on style. So I took a few store-bought IKEA items and turned them into a one-of-a-kind fully customized shelf unit.

For the most part, the 2 BILLY wall shelf units worked very well with the space. However there's only one option available to buy and that's the 3-shelf option (6 shelves in total). I wanted at least one more shelf to really take advantage of the whole length of the wall.

What I like best about furniture stores like IKEA is that everything's out in the open - you can find inspiration everywhere. The BILLY height extension unit caught my eye because it was the exact same size as one of the wall shelves - only without a bottom.

The first step was taking out the shelf partition and turning the extension unit upside down. I drilled in four holes for the shelf support pins so that the shelf could rest on top of them at the same height as the wall units - effectively creating another box/shelf unit that I could attach to my BILLY wall shelves.

I ironed veneer strips over the unfinished bottom edges and stained them to match the colour of the shelves.

After that was done, I drilled holes into the newly constructed unit - similar to the ones that the BILLY wall shelf unit already had - and attached everything to the wall.

Finally, I mixed it up with both glass and wooden shelves and doors to tie it all together into a fabulous and functional wall unit. The "bottom-up Billy" is the one in the middle (the one with the Japanese doll).

See more of the bottom up Billy.

~ Dana M, Vancouver, Canada