To Ikea, or not to Ikea...Bookcase wall

[piedmontfields]

OK folks, I need your input. I have a nice house with real furniture, but my book situation may require a more practical solution. I have a large wall of bookcases (about 12 foot long, 7 feet high) that needs to be replaced. This wall includes my dog, horse and cook books! I looked into getting a local company to do a custom shelving unit but really wasn't that impressed by their quality or price. Then I looked at buying several solid wood "amish made" units. Not cheap and doesn't hold the massive amount of books that I require. But kind of pretty and the cost is tolerable (under 3k).

Then I looked at Ikea. Various combos of Billy bookcases could solve this problem for the next ?10 years, or however long the Ikea shelves will hold up. And the cost is less than $1000.

Am I too old for Ikea? Is there a point I should stay away from this simple solution? Please tell me your Ikea nightmares or happiness as you see fit. I would like to get this resolved in the next month.

p.s. If shipping from Ikea is terrible, tell me that, too. I am not willing to drive to Atlanta for pick-up. I want to spend my weekends at the barn, not in traffic!

[avma]

I don't think you're too old for Ikea! If you're a little bit handy at all, look up Billy Bookcase Hacks. There are a ton of people who take Ikea stuff, and modify them so that they look nicer than just an Ikea piece of furniture. Now having said that...waaaaay back in the day I heard that shipping from Ikea was not a good thing. Parts would end up broken and what not. However, I'd do a search and see what people are saying now about shipping. Good luck!

[Linde]

I love Ikea. You're never too old for IKEA. I think because they're a European company, and houses in Europe tend to be smaller, they have a lot of sensible products that help you maximize space. I'd say go for it, or maybe order one shelf and test it out for a while before committing to buying all at once.

[Snork]

Do you mean is there an age in which you are officially considered senile enough to not make smart decisions?

If the style is right, the price is right, you have some common sense when it comes to practical matters and are handy, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Ikea. If you need instructions to help you tell a screwdriver from a table saw, have no idea which end of the hammer should be held in your hand or get easily frustrated if instructions assume basic knowledge of left, right and sideways, Ikea might not be the best choice.

I've always had good luck with Ikea. Put these together in a few hours:

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Some people, however, really have a hard time. BWAHAHAHAA http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon ... hr8K3NX9w4

[Tulsa]

How timely! I have a pile of Billy's awaiting assembly in our "library" (yay for random rooms!) and will top them with crown molding so they tie in with the rest of the room. Just can't justify the cost or time of building shelves with all the other new house projects we have going. If you google/pinterest faux built-ins there's lots of examples of how nice they can look.

[heddylamar]

We have Ikea's bookshelves, one of the lines that is similar to Billy, and, honestly, I am not a fan for using them as bookshelves. They just don't hold up as well to the weight of books as I expect and are a real pain on carpeted floors. (Sorry, Tulsa!)

What we've begun transitioning to is a wall-hung, adjustable shelving unit like the Container Store's Elfa line. Rather than paying $$$ there, I combined Rubbermaid's wall hung shelf brackets with laminate shelves from the Container Store (much nicer, better selection than Home Depot/Lowes). Container Store offers book ends that tie into the brackets, and a bunch of other little gadgets that come in handy. We ended up with full adjustable, stable shelves.

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[Chisamba]

we went to ikea and bought two wall to wall sets, they are square and deep and many of my husbands book collection is double shelved, they have lasted 15 years and do not look like they have buckled or worn at all. however we went and looked and bought the ones that were sturdy, well supported, and they fit wall to wall in our house, i would feel a bit worried about trying to buy something like that out of a catalogue.

[piedmontfields]

I knew you all would have useful commentary! BTW, the wall I need to cover in books is actually about 22 feet wide, not 12...hence the appeal of economy...

p.s. my European friends are like "Ikea is the answer", but they also like to replace their furniture every 5-10 years. I don't.

[stella]

I dream of Ikea-ing my kitchen. I see no problem with the quality. I have it in my living room. I sometimes wonder if the subject of questionable quality of Ikea was put out there by traditional furniture companies.

[heddylamar]

Good point Stella. It's pretty laughable though -- many of the big box furniture retailers sell furniture of lower quality than Ikea.

Most of our furniture is around 14yo Ikea. Other than the bookcases (dead and gone) and the coffee table (frequent repair) everything is in like-new condition. The entry way table was a big box furniture purchase abut 9 years ago, and it's about to collapse.

[Tulsa]

I'll gladly take a cheap five year solution right now! Having books in boxes is driving me nuts. We're felting the bottoms and putting them on hardwoods, but if they end to failing it's not the end of the world. At this point, it's an issue I can happily put off to another day!

[Koolkat]

May want to look into finishing/processing, etc. if you care about such things. We have an "Ikea office" and one of the first things I do every morning is go in and open the window. I can still smell the stuff after 15 years. . . .

[Moutaineer]

Here's the thing. IKEA's design is really great. The materials that they build out of (in particular, I'm picking on their melamine and particleboard because that's my business,) not so much.

And it has to be that way. Their particleboard has to be more swiss-cheese like than the ones I use in my business because it has to be light enough to a) ship all over the world and b) be assemble-able by someone who isn't a professional body builder.

The problem is that it falls apart in a few years. You have to be really careful assembling it that you don't damage the components because they are really a bit fragile in their independent parts. And if you eff it up, it's your problem.

But, if you need a quick, nice looking solution that you don't mind replacing in a few years, and it fits your space, and you have a strong enough marriage to survive the installation process, have at it!

Koolcat, modern melamines have far less off-gassing than those of 15 years ago, thank goodness. just about everything is low VOC, which makes our lives as a manufacturers and installers much more pleasant!

[AmityBee]

Well, from my point of view, there is IKEA and IKEA. IKEA has quite a bit of a price range, the really cheap stuff won't last long, but you can tell at first glance. Other things might be a little more expensive but they will last. My parents have their "library" outfitted in Billy. Over the last +30 years they added more bookcases and not one shelf has died yet.

[Volte]

I have two Ikea items that I bought and assembled 24 years ago! They've been carted across the country and have moved to eleven different apartments and houses. Both still look and function as new. I call them my vintage Ikea! lol

[Ike]

IKEA stuff is great. I have several pieces in my house and office that look great and have not shown any wear- and the ones on my office hold some very heavy stuff.

That said, shipping is generally pretty expensive so you may want to prove that out if you're not willing to go pick it up. And you need to be moderately handy and strong to carry the stuff into your house and build it.

[Linda_V]

We still have Billy pieces from when I was a kid at my relatives house in Sweden. And I was rough on stuff as a kid......

[emmalou]

I have been coveting a set of wall length Ikea bookcases with glass doors for years. *sigh*

Anyways, I love Ikea, but hate putting the stuff together. My kids' Dad is very handy and it took him all day to put together their desks from Idea.

[piedmontfields]

Here's the thing. IKEA's design is really great...The problem is that it falls apart in a few years. You have to be really careful assembling it that you don't damage the components because they are really a bit fragile in their independent parts. And if you eff it up, it's your problem. But, if you need a quick, nice looking solution that you don't mind replacing in a few years, and it fits your space, and you have a strong enough marriage to survive the installation process, have at it!

This summary resonates with me. I would really like it to last a bit more than 5 years, but I am okay with it not surviving a move. I am a bit concerned with scheduling shipping between rain storms. Overall, the shipping cost is modest.

We are both plenty handy. Mainly, I want to feel like when we replace our *20 year old* somewhat broken particle board bookcases which have been moved at least 5 times that we are experiencing an upgrade!!!