Χά�ων Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Ok Please talk to me about these. I have an 11ft section of wall that is under windows and can handle a short bookcase (under 41 inches tall) and I have an area that is 30 inches wide that is floor to ceiling. I plan to purchase additional shelves for the bookcases so that I am not tempted to stack the books sideways to get them all to fit and warp the shelves within a year. My only caveat is that I do not want them to look like I am 19 and living in a college dorm. I am concerned that the Billy system may give that look. Additional information: I am using it for books. I want them to match. I do not want or care about drawers, doors or anything like that but I want to reserve the right to change my mind. I am so not an interior designer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 We have and love Ivar which is the most versatile of the IKEA systems. I do not like the Bjorgsjo look... looks stuffy and old-people-ish to me. If it's got to be one of the two, I'd prefer Billy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I just bought the white Bjorgsjo last week. I love it. It's very pretty and I like that you can add things to it such as doors if you wish. I don't think it looks old lady at all. It definitely looks better in person than it does online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I have both! I can send you pics on FB. Not showing the rest of the world how messy my living room is right now. The Billy is slightly better quality. I worried about the same thing--that it would look too college dorm--but I was pleasantly surprised. I like them. I like the Borgsjo, too. I have it in white (well, Billy's are white, too); I don't like the Borgsjo in the darker colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I just bought the white Bjorgsjo last week. I love it. It's very pretty and I like that you can add things to it such as doors if you wish. I don't think it looks old lady at all. It definitely looks better in person than it does online. Definitely agree that it looks better in person! Mine has solid doors on the bottom and glass on the top. We use the bottom for the kids' games and books and my oldest uses the top to display/keep his favorite Legos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I have both! I can send you pics on FB. Not showing the rest of the world how messy my living room is right now. The Billy is slightly better quality. I worried about the same thing--that it would look too college dorm--but I was pleasantly surprised. I like them. I like the Borgsjo, too. I have it in white (well, Billy's are white, too); I don't like the Borgsjo in the darker colors. I agree with the bold above. I went to Ikea intending to purchase a brown shade, but they didn't look even remotely as good as the white did. Definitely agree that it looks better in person! Mine has solid doors on the bottom and glass on the top. We use the bottom for the kids' games and books and my oldest uses the top to display/keep his favorite Legos. This is the set up that I'm using as well, but the top is for my china and the bottom will be for cookbooks, napkins, tablecloths, etc. Here's a pic of my Borgsjo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 We have and love Ivar which is the most versatile of the IKEA systems. I do not like the Bjorgsjo look... looks stuffy and old-people-ish to me. If it's got to be one of the two, I'd prefer Billy. I debated on getting the Ivar system. My concern is finishing it. I have been working on my house for over two years now and am at the point where I will trow it up and never finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 I have both! I can send you pics on FB. Not showing the rest of the world how messy my living room is right now. The Billy is slightly better quality. I worried about the same thing--that it would look too college dorm--but I was pleasantly surprised. I like them. I like the Borgsjo, too. I have it in white (well, Billy's are white, too); I don't like the Borgsjo in the darker colors. Pics would be awesome! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 I agree with the bold above. I went to Ikea intending to purchase a brown shade, but they didn't look even remotely as good as the white did. This is the set up that I'm using as well, but the top is for my china and the bottom will be for cookbooks, napkins, tablecloths, etc. Here's a pic of my Borgsjo: That looks nice! Thanks. Good to know about the shades. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 We have several sections of Billys, however we've had them for years. If I was buying now, I'd look at their "Hemnes" series. I like that design. The Billys are functional and durable but rather plain looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 We put doors on our Billys and they look lovely. Look at Centsational Girl's blog; she trimmed out her Billys and they look awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Another Jen Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 We were debating about shelves. I ended up getting besta instead of billys. They are a little deeper but the width that they came in fits our space. Just a suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I debated on getting the Ivar system. My concern is finishing it. I have been working on my house for over two years now and am at the point where I will trow it up and never finish it. you don't have to finish it - you can use it as is. We waxed part of ours; then IKEA discontinued the wax, and we never did the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Pics would be awesome! :) We've been on the run all day and my phone won't upload photos to pm in FB...I will send you some when I get to the laptop. Another thing: I much prefer the look of both styles with doors. The trade-off to that is some larger books won't fit upright with the doors (the shelves are not extra deep). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 We have several sections of Billys, however we've had them for years. If I was buying now, I'd look at their "Hemnes" series. I like that design. The Billys are functional and durable but rather plain looking. I really like the Hemnes. That's my favorite. For our bookshelves I went with Billys because I needed a lot of them and the budget wasn't big enough to do the entire space with the Hemnes. But I agree. Those are very nice. I am eventually replacing my bedroom furniture with Hemnes. I love that big wardrobe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I haven't done it, but trimming out billys with base molding, molding between sections, and the top makes an enormous difference. It gives them much more of a built-in look. Pinterest and Google have many examples of bloggers who have trimmed them out. Big improvement if you are handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jen* Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 We trimmed out our wall of 5 Billy cases. It really helped. I can add pictures if you'd like tomorrow. You can also check out Ikea Hackers for ideas of how to make different cases look more built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I have 8 Billy bookcases in my finished basement. I like to think it has a modern / sophisticated look. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 We were debating about shelves. I ended up getting besta instead of billys. They are a little deeper but the width that they came in fits our space. Just a suggestion.Last time I was in ikea they had regular Billys and a deeper version. If you go around a corner with billys, you won't be able to put doors on all of the bottoms that touch it because of the angle. Just a heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Pictures please!!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I have billy in my family room. I like that billy is taller, and I added extensions on top and doors on the bottom. I really liked the look of the liatorp - but it simply wouldn't fit in the space so I added beadboard to the backs of the billy. I'd like to have them trimmed out someday . . . . . if doing doors, I think the proportions on the tall billy looks better with the extensions. billy are NOT very deep. they do have a deeper bookcase - 15", but no extension for that. (but you can have larger books behind doors.) are you aware the short billy is 41 3/4" tall? you said it needed to be under 41". also - they are 31 1/2" wide, and you said your tall wall was 30" wide. to fit your space it sounds like the borgjso would fit better (and it's deeper so you can have doors and still put larger books on it) the white looks a lot better than the dark. ikea hacks is wonderful. maybe you have a handy person who can make you some extensions ;p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifesadream83 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I have 5 billy on a wall and the three middle ones have glass doors:::: everyone who sees them loves them and so do I lol.... that said they are truely 31.5 inches wide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I wrapped the back piece of my billy in fabric before I slid it into place. It was easy to do with a thin fabric and I like the finished look. I bought the music note fabric at Ikea too. I'm not remotely crafty, but it was definitely a novice-level embellishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 and ikeahackers.net. there was a guy in france a few years back that did an entire library out of billy - and trimmed them all out to look built in. gorgeous, for a fraction of what built in would have cost. I haven't done it, but trimming out billys with base molding, molding between sections, and the top makes an enormous difference. It gives them much more of a built-in look. Pinterest and Google have many examples of bloggers who have trimmed them out. Big improvement if you are handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I have 5 billy on a wall and the three middle ones have glass doors:::: everyone who sees them loves them and so do I lol.... that said they are truely 31.5 inches wide. The doors really do make a difference in the overall look. We have one glass door and several solid doors on the lower halves of Billy sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I wish we had Ikea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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