Essential for all bookworms (Ikea Billy Bookcases)

Member Name: SaveMeTheMoney

Product:	Ikea Billy Bookcases
Date:	04/06/09 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, good materials

Disadvantages: flat pack

I am pretty sure that Ikea has many detractors, but for me it has been a massive help at furnishing our house, as it is so reasonably priced. Ikea only recently opened a store in Ireland and luckily it was about 5 minutes from my house! As well as not being a complete rip off, I think that the Ikea furniture is of a good standard. And even though you have to assemble the furniture yourself, it does not take as long as you may think to stick it all together. Yes, it will probably take up to an hour to do one bookcase, but it is worth it!

The Billy bookcase does not let Ikea down. It comes in a variety of sizes:

Width: 40 cm, Depth: 28 cm, Height: 202 cm - costs £34.26
Width: 80 cm, Depth: 28 cm, Height: 202 cm - costs £47.96
Width: 40 cm, Depth: 28 cm, Height: 106 cm - costs £19.57
Width: 80 cm, Depth: 28 cm, Height: 106 cm - costs £36.21

It is also possible to get a height extension unit that obviously increases the height of the unit! It is Width: 40 cm, Depth: 28 cm, Height: 35 cm and costs £12.72 or Width: 40 cm, Depth: 28 cm, Height: 35 cm and costs £14.68.

The bookcase comes with a safety bracket to attach it to the wall. You will definitely need this to stop the bookcase toppling over.

In our room, we have used a corner combination to go round the corner. We have one small, one medium at the apex of the corner and one long. You connect them at the corner with a little 'V' like metal strip that the bookcases sit in to keep them together. Very handy and easy to use. With the various heights and widths of billy bookcase available there are several combinations that you can put together and the extra height extender is also very helpful.

It is also possible to get billy bookcase doors for the units. These range from £15 to £37.19 and come in a variety of finishes and sizes to fit the units. I have not used these on our units, but they look quite good.

The bookcase itself is very sturdy. It comes in a range of differnet finishes:

birch veneer;
beech veneer:
medium brown;
oak veneer; and
white.

The shelves are quite narrow, as Ikea are always about the space saving and this helps you to use small wall spaces effectively by accommodating small items in a minimum of space, while not compromising on style. The shelves are adjustable, as there are holes down both sides inside the unit to allow you to put the little metal things that the shelves rest on and you can adapt the space between shelves according to your needs.

I use the small billy bookcase as a CD tower, as it is a perfect size for this. In fact my brother also bought the small one for the same reason.

I would always advise measuring up the room that you intend to put the bookcases in, as from my experience Ikea can be a bit funny about returns, in that the product has to be back in the priginal packaging and look like it was never opened!

Also, remember that Ikea do not give you all the tools and bits to afix to the wall. Yes you'll get an Allen key (I must have about 20!) and the fixings for the shelves, but not to keep it in place. Also do remember to pick up all the bits, such as the 'V' that I mentioned earlier as they don't come with it.

My bookcases are full now, so may have to invest in a new one!

Summary: Great value, great product