Scavenger Chic

IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack – Desk with Barn Doors

• By Joan
• April 1, 2021
• 11 Comments

IKEA Hack

Billy Bookcase Desk

When we last left my Billy bookcase desk, I had just finished painting the ceiling.  The walls hadn’t been painted yet but the plan was to add a little Scavenger Chic to this area of my basement.  The outside bins have held the kids toys for years and the inner bins, those above the desk, hold a bunch of art supplies.

With my youngest now 22, I’ve slowly taken over the desk area and have inserted my own craft and art supplies but the outside bins still house toys, all ready for visits from the grandkids.

The first thing I wanted to do was to take off the backings from the shelves and repaint them.  The backing boards for Billy bookcases are only held on by a few nails and quite a few of the nails had come out over the years with the constant shoving of toys and bins.  Might as well do all my fixes at one time.

The backings didn’t have to be repainted just renailed, but I liked the coordinating color and it was just leftover wall paint going to waste.

Make the Billy bookcase look Built-in

Cut a thin sheet of  1/4″ hardboard to cover the ends of the bookcases.  One sheet of 4×8′ hardboard covered the ends of both sets of bookcases.

I used the remnants of the same sheet of hardboard to add a few decorative  cross pieces.  These were attached with builders adhesive.

Paint with a color that coordinates or matches your bookshelf.

Attach the hardboard decorative panel to the ends of the bookcases with more builders adhesive.  Use a few finishing nails or clamps  to hold in place until the glue dries.

Add molding to the sides and tops of the bookcases. 

I’m using a 1×4 on the tops and 1×2’s on the sides.  Use whatever size boards are necessary to cover up any gaps you have between the walls and ceiling, and your bookcase. Paint the same color as the hardboard ends. Let dry and attach with finishing nails.

Any gaps can be filled with caulk and repainted.

Create Barn Doors

Now that I have my “built-in bookcases” it was time to work on barn doors so I could close up my desk area and hide my mess.

Lay out enough wood to cover the ends of your bookcase plus a couple inches for the width.   I also made my doors about 5 inches taller than the actual bookcases so I could hide a little of the bulkhead as well.

I’m using some old knotty pine that my oldest son has been storing in my garage.  I did get permission! 😆   It was part of the wood we salvaged from this demolition.

All of the knotty pine pieces were attached to  1×4 pine on both sides with 1 1/2″ wood screws.

 

If you like to sand your edges to reveal layers of aged paint, now is the time to add a  couple coordinating colors.  A little black and some more of the leftover wall paint I used for the bookshelf backings.  You don’t have to paint the entire piece, just where you might sand the edges.

If you do not want to see your screws, make sure they are countersunk, filled with wood putty and sanded.  Paint with white trim paint.

Lightly sand the edges of the paint to reveal some of those coordinating colors you added.

What can be more Scavenger Chic than adding a little pallet wood to the ceiling of my nook.  Just like hardwood flooring, stagger your seams so you don’t have one continuous pallet line going all the way across. 

If you’ve never dismantled a pallet before you may find a few tips and tricks in this past post.

My big idea is to add barn doors to create  more of a desk nook that can be closed off to hide all my junk when guests arrive.

You may remember from my last post that this lower portion of the ceiling, hides ductwork and that the shelf was cut down to fit under the bulkhead.  These were obviously not custom built bookshelves and they extend out a couple of inches farther than the wall.

Normally when you install barn doors you would either attach the barn doors directly to the wall if you can get the holes on the rail to line up with the studs in the wall.  Otherwise you have to install a header bar which you screw into the studs, then you can install the rail anywhere because the entire header  is hard wood.

I just had to install a 2 inch header bar to makeup for the difference between the wall and the shelves.

This big old hunk of wood was also a leftover from my son.  I told him that one day he’ll come to retrieve his wood and the only thing leftover will be a few scraps. He didn’t seem to mind.

I cut the header to be about a foot longer than my rail and stained it with my goto combination of vintage wax and a few dabs of black chalk paint blended in.  Paint on a nice layer of the vintage wax and before it is dry add a few brush strokes of black.  Blend it in and wipe the excess off with a rag. 

Painting the header the same color as the wall will make it less of a feature.  The choice is yours.

The header board is screwed to the wall and barn door hardware attached to the door.

I found the 9 ft barn door hardware at Amazon.Homlux 9ft Double Door Heavy Duty Sturdy Sliding Barn Door Hardware Kit, Black

Attach the rail and other barn door hardware according to the manufacturers directions.  All the screws on the header and doors are countersunk, filled with wood putty, sanded then touched up with paint or vintage wax.

The stained header and the spacers on the rail give just enough clearance for the barn door to clear the Billy bookcases.

Attach a door latch or clasp if you like.  This one was from Hobby Lobby.  Make sure you wait for a sale, every other week their hardware is half price.

The handles are from Hobby Lobby as well.

The light was a rusty $1 cream separator, found at a flea market.  It’s not hardwired, so it is an easy DIY for just about anybody.

Right now my Billy bookcase desk is neat because I’ve been working on this project but I know it won’t stay that way for long.  I’m ready to shut the doors!

Until next time, stay inspired.