In my humble abode I really am stuck for space so where ever I can find a bit of spare area I try and utilize it to fit more of my junk throughout my house. After some rejigging in my bedroom I had a piece of visible wall. I instantly though this would be ideal to put a shelf up to hold some of my bedtime reading books.

The next time I was in Ikea I decided to act upon my thoughts and look for a small shelf. After getting lost in Ikea many times I finally came across some shelves. After some browsing I decided a wood effect was fine as it went with my other furniture and so I just wanted something cheap. This is when I discovered Ikea Ekby Shelf. The shelf is around 60 cm wide with a depth of 24 cm and a thickness of 2 cm. The shelf Is simply cut into a rectangular plank with a beech effect finish. The beech effect fits in well with a room with other wooden furniture.

The shelf was ridiculously cheap. For just £1.80 I got the plank/shelf. For an additional 50p each I was able to get brackets (you need two) to fix the shelf to the wall. The shelf sits on the brackets where you screw down to secure. Then I put another screw through the back of the bracket into the wall. I am not great at DIY but found the shelf very easy to attach to the wall.

The shelf is relatively strong. I keep about 8 chunky books on the shelf with two bookends. It is held up comfortably but I would not put too much more on there just in case of overloading.

For under 3 quid I managed to utilize some wall space and keep my mess slightly under control. It looks good, although I would prefer solid oak for the price I paid I refuse to allow myself to complain.