This Genius Ikea Hack Adds Loads of Storage

We used the Borgsjo Bookcase in white from Ikea for this project. The bookcase is 29-1/2" wide. 5 bookcases fit on our 12'11" wall. I measured, measured again, and even sketched a to-scale rendering to make sure we would like the finished look using this size of bookcase.

Note your ceiling height at this point as well. Ours are only 8' and these bookcases, which are on the shorter side at 71-1/4"H, fit it well. If you are working with taller ceilings, you may consider choosing a taller bookcase.

If you're getting 5 cabinets, like we did, here is your list:

Bookcases:

• 5 — Borgsjo bookcases, white
• 5 — Borgsjo 2-pack glass door, white
• 5 — Borgsjo 2-pack door, white
• 1 — Gallon Zinsser Cover Stain Primer
• 2 — Gallons Sherwin Williams Pro-Classic Semi-Gloss Paint, (ours is Color Matched to Martha Stewart Pure White)
• 20 — Liberty Oil-Rubbed Bronze Cabinet Knobs

Construction: (Sorry, from here on out, I don't have exact quantities!)

• 2 x 4's — around 25-30
• drywall — around 3 sheets

Trim:

• Crown: Alexandria #94368 5-1/4" Primed Finger Jointed Pine Crown Moulding
• Top of Bookcase: Alexandria #00RB3 3-1/2" Primed Finger Jointed Pine Casing
• Directly under Bookcase: Alexandria #WM-163 11/16" x 1-3/8" Pine Primed Finger Jointed Base Cap Moulding
• Baseboard: Alexandria #WP20 6" Primed Finger Jointed Pine Base Moulding
• Sides: IP Moulding 11/16" x 11/16" x 8' Crystal White Cove
• In Between Bookcases (to fill the tiny gap): LP Building Products Crystal White 8' Lattice, 1-1/8" x 1/8"

Optional:

• 3 — IKEA Ranarp Wall/ Clamp Spotlight (Sconces for above bookcases)

Note: We hardwired these. I told you I'd write a post about how. I tried, I really did. Every time Ryan tried to explain it to me in terms I could relay to you, well, let's just say I don't have good spacial reasoning skills. So, just know, it can be done, and I can't tell you how.

The short version is you don't have to do this, but we cut out our floor, started with no drywall behind the bookcases, and wired for electrical outlets that would be in the bottoms of the bookcases.

I'm going to assume you already have a wall you're building these up against. (We didn't, which is why you see through the studs in the pictures — that was a new wall as we were building the frame of the room at the same time).

You will want to at least remove the baseboard on your wall so everything can fit flush against it.

IF you want to wire the cabinets for electricity (we put outlets in three of the bottom cabinets to plug in things like my laminator, pencil sharpener and electronic devices, and added three sconces above the bookcases), you should remove most of the drywall so you can get electricity in it. (I'm not going to counsel you here on how to wire stuff up — my official position is that you should hire an electrician for the parts of this project that could electrocute you).

The reason we cut out the floor is that we might replace the flooring someday, and Ryan said we should do it this way to make that an easier process down the road. You can choose to believe him or not!

But yeah, at this point you are committed, and you are straight up destroying your house!

Build mini cages on the sides. This is so you have something to secure the drywall to. We recessed the drywall on the sides but in hindsight I wish we hadn't. You can suit yourself, but just check the depth of these cages. When it's all said and done, you'll have dry wall on top of them and then trim on top of that, so make sure they aren't protruding too far.

Use screws to attach the side cages to the top and bottom cages and the outside walls.

Anywhere that you installed a cage (top, bottom, sides) will receive drywall over it. Remember to cut holes in the drywall for your sconces if you're doing them. We used a professional drywaller for this step because drywall scares us, and it's sooooo hard to mud and tape without showing seams. It is not a huge investment of time for such small and few pieces of drywall, so for us it was well worth having someone come in for this step.

This is where it starts to take shape and gets really exciting!

Paint! You're almost there! Prime everything with Zinsser primer and then paint it with a semi-gloss white. All trim, drywall, bookcases (don't forget to paint the doors, the insides, the shelves, everything) will get the same color. This is a huge time commitment and giant pain in the butt.

True confessions: You know that drywall guy we hired? We had him do all the painting for us too. While we were out of town. Best thing ever!! This part is a ton of work and by the time you're done building these cabinets, you're so burned out, you're missing thumbprints because of all the caulk, and the thought of painting just puts you over the edge. If your budget can at all swing it, have it done for you and have someone paint your toes while you're at it. You deserve it! (Make sure not to let your painter paint over your shelf holes — you'll need them to put shelves in). Having this done will save you at least 10 hours of work, and you'll get to come home from vacation to this:

You get to enjoy your new cabinets! Revel in the fact that you're done! Sleep! Style them with pretty stuff! Post them to Instagram as if they appeared like magic in your house! Feel yourself regaining sanity as you can see your floors and organize your paperwork once again! Tell yourself if was all worth it! (It was).

OK, well, let's just be clear, this is going to be a ball park. I always start a project with a budget number in mind, but as second and third and seventh Home Depot trips happen for just the right kind of screws, and as weeks turn into months, I start to lose track. So I'm sure some savvy math blog police will want me to disclose that this is an estimate from a very poor memory and not an exact account of the costs. And I'm absolutely certain I'm forgetting something. Normally I'd count on Ryan to read this and tell me what it is, but since we're on page 40 or something of this post, he's surely asleep on his desk drooling all over his keyboard by now.

• Bookcases: 5 x $120 = $600
• Hardware: 20 x $2 = $40
• Trim: 52 linear ft x $3 = $156
• Trim: (9) 8' pieces x $2 = $18
• Paint: $150
• 2 x 4's: 30 x $2 = $60
• Caulk, screws, odds & ends: $100
• Drywall: 3 x $8 = $24

What am I forgetting?

Materials Total: $1,148

Drywall & paint labor: $600

Total Total: $1,748

The reason this is important is the "Was it worth it?" question. I didn't know until I had a recent conversation with a contractor to price out an installation of built-in cabinets that was smaller and much less elaborate than this one, and the quote came back at $5000. So, yep, we decided it was worth it.

As for time frame, it took us about 5 months. But to be fair, we were doing construction on the whole room, not just the bookcases, AND you were pre-warned that our projects move slower than a 5-year-old making a Happy Meal decision.