IKEA bookcase recommendation?

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IKEA bookcase recommendation?

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1ramparts
Ago 6, 2009, 4:25 pm

This is sort of a companion to another post I just made.

I've been thinking of getting a Billy bookcase from Ikea for my dorm room (I'm moving in in a month), but I've seen others just now at varying prices - the Markor, Grevback, Stockholm, etc. Is there a difference besides price and looks?

More importantly - what would people here recommend? I'll have some heavy textbooks (I'm a science major) and plenty of normal-sized novels (mostly paperback), and won't be able to secure it to the wall so the sturdier the better, though I think the floor is pretty flat.

Other brands that are easily accessible in the eastern US will also be considered if anyone has recommendations :)

2flyingcamel
Ago 7, 2009, 1:31 pm

In college I had an adjustable 6-shelf bookcase from Staples (18" wide, 12" deep, 6' tall) which I made have 3 shorter shelves for paperbacks, a middling shelf for dictionaries, and 2 taller shelves for everything else. Any text with a spine wider than 1" I just kept in stack on my desk. I have since found that the small 3-shelf Billy holds up well to being stuffed full of large textbooks. With any bookcase of questionable sturdiness it helps to put the heaviest books on the bottom shelf, or only on the edges of the upper shelves.

3AllyBally
Modificato: Ago 10, 2009, 3:08 pm

I can tell you lots about the Billy. I've kitted out a room 4 years ago with the Billy bookshelves (higher one at 2m ) and had the clear doors to go with it too. I also added another shelf that goes on top. The library stands at about 2.40 m high. Part of the library that is on one side of the room has been secured and the rest has not. After 4 years it is still going strong and the shelves are very sturdy. I have my Uni books (Vet medicine) which are very heavy on the bottom two shelves and there has been no bowing whatsoever of the shelves.
Normal paperbacks can be put in two rows per shelf. They also do the corner shelving which is handy for more books or other bits.
You can also buy extra shelves if needed.

I've just seen that someone elsewhere mentions that the Billy is not sturdy...Not my viewpoint. I have two that are freestanding and have had no problems during small earthquakes.

If you have carpetting you will need wedges with whatever library you use as the library will tend to dip towards the centre of the room.

4ramparts
Ago 10, 2009, 7:38 pm

Thanks for the advice Ally!

5dempsterstreet
Ago 15, 2009, 5:11 am

Ikea "Expedit" bookshelves - I think they look great, are really sturdy and don't seem to need wall attachment. Which means they could be used as room dividers, too. The niches are square, which is very aesthetically pleasing (to me, anyway) and we have 9 in our house. Easy to assemble, too. Unfortunately, they still fill up just as fast as others!!

6ramparts
Ago 15, 2009, 5:38 am

You mean these?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40047675

Interesting... for me at least, it wouldn't work, as it's way too wide for the dorm, and I prefer to have a back to the bookcase, but I must say it looks *very* nice! :)

7Papiervisje
Ago 15, 2009, 5:45 am

Billy bookcases are the cheapest bookcases I could find. Even cheaper then building yourself. There are 60cm and 80 cm Billy bookcases. When storing many books in them, put an extra stick in the middle of the 80cm cases, otherwise the shelves will bend.
If you want more then 1 Billy to fill a wall/room, buy them all at one time. Ikea has the nasty habit of changing colours (although white is always available).

8Nicole_VanK
Modificato: Ago 15, 2009, 5:49 am

6> Yeah, that's the one. Other downside to those is that they're only about 1.5 meter (under 5 feet) high. But they are nice.

9Papiervisje
Ago 15, 2009, 8:30 am

For more ideas on how to use IKEA: http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/

10ramparts
Ago 15, 2009, 9:13 pm

7> What do you mean an extra stick? I'm not too hardware savvy so when I hear "stick" I think to get one off a tree ;)

11Papiervisje
Ago 16, 2009, 1:41 am

10> I mean a piece of wood exactly the height of the opening in the shelf. Since Billy can have different shelf heights, different lengths may be needed. Just anything that prevents bending the shelves and does not take too much room.
You need to have a "stick" for every shelf.

12ramparts
Ago 16, 2009, 5:45 pm

11> Thanks! I'm still a bit confused - so it's a piece of wood (from a hardware store, I guess? IKEA?) that you stick...in the middle of the books, going between one shelf and another? Or does it go behind the books....

13staffordcastle
Ago 16, 2009, 10:40 pm

If you're looking to use this in a dorm room, I'd recommend the IKEA Ivar system, which is easily dismantled at the end of the year.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/range/10364/11703/

14WholeHouseLibrary
Ago 16, 2009, 11:07 pm

... But the ~other~ 51weeks of the year, it's rock-solid! {:>)

15romsfuulynn
Ago 17, 2009, 7:36 am

It only takes a minute to secure and unsecure from the wall if you have a ladder. It's just an L bracket and one screw in the case and one in the wall.

I love Billy. I own four in my living room - with books. Two in my kitchen (in a discontinued dark grey) plus a corner unit and a CD cabinet for spices. I just put 4 30" with doors and over cabinets plus a 15" all with glass doors and overcabinets at my mother's new retirement home for all her collectibles. And two 30" plus a 15" and two Benno CD cabinets in her spare room (no overs). (Former in brown, office in light wood.)

Make very sure that the metal part interlock catches properly, but other wise very sturdy.

For considerably more cost there are Skandia - which come apart completely and I also like.

16romsfuulynn
Ago 17, 2009, 7:36 am

It only takes a minute to secure and unsecure from the wall if you have a ladder. It's just an L bracket and one screw in the case and one in the wall.

I love Billy. I own four in my living room - with books. Two in my kitchen (in a discontinued dark grey) plus a corner unit and a CD cabinet for spices. I just put 4 30" with doors and over cabinets plus a 15" all with glass doors and overcabinets at my mother's new retirement home for all her collectibles. And two 30" plus a 15" and two Benno CD cabinets in her spare room (no overs). (Former in brown, office in light wood.)

Make very sure that the metal part interlock catches properly, but other wise very sturdy.

For considerably more cost there are Skandia - which come apart completely and I also like.

17staffordcastle
Ago 17, 2009, 2:16 pm

The IKEA Ivar shelves work much the same as Skandia - they come apart completely. Much easier to get into a vehicle!

18ramparts
Ago 17, 2009, 10:51 pm

15> Thanks! I can't mount Billy because I'll be in a college dorm, but advice well taken.

19Autodafe
Ago 18, 2009, 2:16 pm

I have two 7-shelf LEKSVIK bookcases that serve me well. Unlike other particle board offerings from Ikea, the LEKSVIK series is made from solid wood.

20ramparts
Ago 18, 2009, 2:22 pm

Thanks for all the tips :) Does anyone have experience with the "traditional" bookcases like Markor, Grevback, and Stockholm, vs. the Billy? Most of the ones posted here - Leksvik, Ivar, etc. - are all "backless" and personally not what I'm really looking for.

21beatlemoon
Ago 18, 2009, 2:40 pm

I have both Bonde and Billy. I like the Bonde slightly better. Looks a lot like Billy, only deeper, which is good for double stacking books, and is available as a 'divided' case, so that the shelves are cube-shaped. This helps keep the shelves from warping under the weight of heavy books, as some people report happening with the Billy. I have some very heavy volumes near the top of my Bonde shelves and have yet to see any sign of warping.

22Myrrha
Ago 26, 2009, 8:20 am

I would recommend you get the Billy series. We have had these bookcases for over 10 years, moved several times with them and they are still as robust as they were on the first day. The advantage is that Ikea has had them for decades and they are unlikely to vanish from the catalogue. If you go for the white one or some other "normal" colour, then you will always be able to get some more. The colour we got then is not available any more. The other advantage of Billy is that they are very combinable and look so noble anywhere. The depth is not as extreme as with some other Ikea series but you could still put any book of any size on the shelves. get the Billy lamos to put at the top shelve!

23ramparts
Ago 28, 2009, 10:46 am

Thanks! What do you mean by Billy lamos though?

24abbottthomas
Ott 5, 2009, 6:31 pm

lamps, maybe?

25guido47
Gen 16, 2010, 5:48 am

I have some Billy cases from some 23 years ago. Even with heavy books they have not bowed. I am thinking of getting a corner unit, Any info. on those?

26TLCrawford
Feb 22, 2010, 9:02 am

My wife just gave me $500 to put bookshelves in my ‘library’. I did learn that the 72” Billy’s don’t fit in a Honda Element but we managed to get them home anyway. Pictures will be coming but between work, school and other projects I don’t know how soon.

The IKEA web site has a planner for the Billy’s that will show you how a corner unit will fit in your room. In my room I would have lost a 15” unit on both walls if I had installed a corner unit.

27Vic33
Feb 23, 2010, 4:26 pm

The Billy planner is pretty cool. I designed my 2000 book library during lunchtime today. Now all I need is a house big enough to hold it and the books to fill the shelves.

28guido47
Modificato: Feb 25, 2010, 5:46 am

Wouldn't 2000 books fill a few gaps? WRT. the house, good luck, as the price
of houses has sky-rocketed here in Melbourne. How the hell do young people
afford a HOME?

I'm an "old fart" so it doesn't matter, but...

29RRHowell
Mar 6, 2010, 11:09 am

I have Billys all over my house, many with extenders so they go a bit nearer the ceiling. Most are not attached to the wall, and i have (almost) never had one fall over. (I think one did once, but it was 1) on carpet 2)had no top unit 3)I think someone tried to climb it. No one was hurt).

The advantage of Billy units over random shelves from other manufacturers is that I have never had the holes drilled in the wrong place, poorly made. Not true of Staples and wallmart, etc. in my experience. IKEA shelves go together easily, even though I've managed to do it every possible wrong way. I'll grant you there are sturdier shelves out there, but not for the money. And they look good.

I own a corner unit. For me it was a mistake. If you want display space for something, that's fine. But if you want to maximize storage space for books, the corner units are a mess.