IKEA Bookshelves Get A Facelift

We had sort of an awkward corner in our living room that wasn't getting much use. A quick trip to IKEA and Lowe's fixed that right up.

I got two of these inexpensive and extra tall white Billy bookcases from IKEA.
While my sweet and handy husband assembled the bookshelves, I painted the big boards that act as the back of the bookcase. I painted them a shade darker than the color of our walls. After these boards dried and had been tacked into place, I started the next project for fancying up the IKEA shelves: adding trim.


I bought four 8-feet lengths of the simplest, smallest moulding that Lowe's had (less than $5 each). Using my $7 coping saw, which is a hand saw that makes very fine cuts, I made mitered cuts and trimmed out the exposed sides of the book cases. These also got a coat of blue paint and then were applied with Liquid Nails.


Once everything was dry, I used wood filler to smooth out the imperfections in the corners.


And a final coat of paint to cover the wood filler.


We filled the shelves with all our clutter: an antique Dala horse, silhouettes of family members, bins for magazines and some children's books, picture frames, and other vintage and antique finds from our European flea market adventures.

And what bookshelf would be complete without books? Lot of old books. Arranged by color.


I'm happy with the result. I think the trim and the blue background help take away some of the cheapness that IKEA furniture can bring.