ThelmaLou Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I'm going to be buying several of these for our new schoolroom, but can't decide on a color. I have two of the black/brown Expedit cases in there already, but the darker color seems like it will show dust more easily than the white. What color do you prefer, and how easy is it to clean? Should I stick with the black/brown to keep it uniform, or make the transition to another color? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Ours are white because they were cheaper. $10-20 less, depending on which size we're talking about, and multiply that by five or six. We were already repainting the room in which they were going. There are three non-Billy bookcases in there, and someday we'll replace two of them, but for now, we just ignore the discrepancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 We have white in our game room upstairs and cherry color in our den. I am not very good a dusting bookcases so they both look like they could use a good cleaning. By the way, my MIL has a desk unit that is white with brown shelves. The brown and white mixed together looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Are these shelves pretty sturdy, or do they start to sag under the weight of text books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I have black/brown Expedit and can touch them up with a black Sharpie when they get dinged. They're in the school room and my garage, so they've taken some knicks, but they're easy to touch up. I don't know what the equivalent would be for white--liquid paper? Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kiddies Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I have had dark brown in the past but am thinking of getting white. Do you feel that they still look good or do they start to look beat up? I have small children so I'm worried about that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 I have black/brown Expedit and can touch them up with a black Sharpie when they get dinged. They're in the school room and my garage, so they've taken some knicks, but they're easy to touch up. I don't know what the equivalent would be for white--liquid paper? Terri Yes, that's a good point. I didn't think about using a sharpie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Haha, yeah, a wite-out pen would work on my white Billys. Mine are in a separate room we call the library :) so the kids aren't running past all the time, and we've only had them for two years, but they look 'good as new' to me. The shelves are sturdy. So far, no sagging for us, even on the wider shelves. Plus, you can buy new shelves separately! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 My parents have their loaded with hardback books. They went with the narrower units for the per-shelf weight reason. No sagging at all so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I have had dark brown in the past but am thinking of getting white. Do you feel that they still look good or do they start to look beat up? I have small children so I'm worried about that... I just went up to our game room to look at our white Billy bookcases. They have been there for three years - no dings. They look brand new, except for the dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicA Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 We are planning on getting some billy bookcases for our den, but we have other bookcases from IKEA and they have all held up great. The shelves are very strong, and we have a lot of big, heavy books on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kiddies Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I just went up to our game room to look at our white Billy bookcases. They have been there for three years - no dings. They look brand new, except for the dust. Thanks so much ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 My tv armoire, book cases, and craft cabinet are all black, and while I LOVE black furniture, it shows dust fast. If you love the darker furniture, just resign yourself to the fact you're going to have to dust more, or make the kids dust more. ;) If I had a school room, I'd pick the red ones (I think it's Billy that comes in red). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 We have the birch color in a library with medium cherry flooring. The color combination is very nice and the birch color brightens the room. We wanted it for a classroom/library so I didn't want it to be dark and depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Shoot, I have no idea if ours are Billy or not but I bought them at Ikea this year.....we have a birch color and I really like them. I don't think the ones I got came in anything but black, dark brown, and birch though. Or maybe it was dark brown, birch, and white. As to why.....our house is heavily wood trimmed, oak/medium color, and this went the best with it. We like the natural look and don't paint over wood often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Are these shelves pretty sturdy, or do they start to sag under the weight of text books? They sag. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Brown/black for the open shelves, and birch for the ones on another wall that have doors. This is basically because although the Billy's are sturdy the backings are not, and they don't look all that great. The brown/black ones are the most disguised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 Hmmm....thinking seriously about the birch now. Just can't decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Another reason for the birch .... it blends well with other natural, blond color wood. It seems like a lot of kids items are in the natural color now and they coordinate well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 They sag. :glare: Mine haven't sagged, and those babies are loaded up! My cheapie Target and Walmart bookcases sag, but not my Billies. :001_wub: How long have you had yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 We added a school room when we put an addition on our house two years ago. I painted the room a yellow color and put in the birch color Billy Bookcases in two corners. (Six bookshelves with the corner units.) I think they look great. Someone at the time on this board said the birch is the new white. They lighten up the room and make it warm without being stark. I have a wall of white closet doors on the opposite side of the room so I'm sure white bookcases would have been too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Mine haven't sagged, and those babies are loaded up! My cheapie Target and Walmart bookcases sag, but not my Billies. :001_wub: How long have you had yours? Just over a year. They carry my great grandmother-in-law's collection that includes The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, Scott's Waverley Novels, The Novels of Balzac and the like. They are heavier in page and cover weight than more modern books, but since David asked specifically about text books, I thought I'd share my experience. To combat the sagging, we remove all the books every several months and flip the shelves. Now the only sag we notice is the single middle shelf that cannot be removed. My husband is considering some sort of bracing to fix it, as the appearance really bothers him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Birch. And we don't have sag issues (well not with bookshelves ;)) I do keep really heavy texts on the bottom shelf or the middle fixed shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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