A contemporary means of storage. (Ikea Expedit Bookcase)

Member Name: CokaCola

Product:	Ikea Expedit Bookcase
Date:	19/08/09 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Many options and colours.

Disadvantages: Wood is magnetic to dust.

We have an Edpedit bookcase in our living room that my parents brought home from Ikea one day, although we don't use it for books. Instead, ours contains a mixture of pull out plastic drawers and wicker baskets which we use to store photographs, DVDs and general bits and pieces. The unit has served us well, it's black in colour and I am told that it was also picked up at a very reasonable price, although we are generally happy with what we get from IKEA with all the furniture that we have bought from there.

Expedit is not just one piece of furniture, it's an entire range based largely around these bookcases, although also available are coffee tables. The book cases come in many configurations, four holes with two rows of two, five holes with one vertical layer of five, eight holes with two columns of four, sixteen holes with four levels of four, and twenty fives holes like in the dooyoo thumbnail, where there are five levels of five holes. Expedit is also available in an irregularly shaped "Shelving Unit" where all the holes are of different heights, sizes and levels including some nifty CD holes.

Ikea sell many bits and pieces to complement the Expedit Bookcases. For one, they sell desks which fasten on to the bookcases and cost £29.99 each. They also sell the largest Expedit bookcase with a big whole in the middle to house a television. The Expedit is available in several colours including black-brown, white, birch and walnut.

Then there is the huge range of storage solutions which slot into the holes. You can by cupboard inserts, which slot in and form a cupboard in the whole. The back panel is the same colour as the door so the cupboard looks fine from both the front and the rear of the unit. These cupboard inserts cost £13 and come in red, black and white. A drawer insert of two drawers is also sold, in the same colours at the price of £25. We have fitted ours with the plastic "Lekman" boxes, which are brittle plastic boxes with a handle cut out that fill the whole hole to become like drawers. These cost £8.99 each. We also have Ikea Wicker baskets that fit well.

Of course, you don't have to use these units for storage involving drawers, boxes and inserts, you can just use it as a book shelf with nothing more than the unit itself. The wood is sturdy the frame is very thick. The unit however is very light and easy to carry. I highly recommend the Expedit range as a contemporary means of storage.

Summary: Definately a storage option to consider.