IKEA EXPEDIT, 5 Different Ways

Filed under: Your Home, Living Room, Projects, Furniture

The ubiquitous EXPEDIT bookcase isn't just practical -- it inspires good design.

Last year, we took a look at IKEA's most popular bookcase -- the Billy -- and were amazed at the cool designs created from that simple white shelving unit. Now, we're going to explore the EXPEDIT - the squarely symmetrical bookcase that always seems to pop up in arty rooms, from record collectors to crafters.


Nothing dresses up a bookshelf like a pop of color or pattern behind all those books. Who wants to look at your boring old wall, anyway? Yvonne of Yvestown wanted her EXPEDIT to be a bit more exciting, so she pinned some retro wallpaper behind the backless shelving unit for an instant pimp-out. Any wallpaper or fabric will work in this instance.

If you want to paint behind it, you can trace around the bookcase and paint about a half-inch inside your tracing. When the bookcase is against the wall, the color will show through.


This impressive hack was created by John Gidding. Yes -- that John Gidding from HGTV's Curb Appeal: The Block. He decorated two EXPEDIT bookcases with custom top and side pieces. First, he designed it with Rhino and AutoCAD and then used a CNC machine to mill the custom pieces out.



Kevin Mercer of Largemammal created a desk out of his EXPEDIT bookcase and a VIKA FURUSKOG table top. He needed a decent-sized work space that also contained storage. Hacking the two pieces together created an instant desk with the necessary storage he needed, all for about $110.

"I didn't want to spend much because it was going to live in my basement print studio," says Mercer. "It's hard to make something look nice when it sits next to a furnace and water heater, but this does the job nicely. I don't feel bad putting daily wear and tear on it, and it provides a little order amongst the chaos of a screen printing studio."


No room for a wine cart or a bar? No problem! If you're big on entertaining but not big on space -- this is the solution for you. Think like an urban planner and go vertical. Two IKEA Hacker fans turn the EXPEDIT into a fancy wine bar! Adding wine glass holders and even a divider to hold wine bottles, the skinny EXPEDIT can be turned into a space-saving beverage station.


Tess and Patrick bought their IKEA EXPEDIT storage unit back in 2007, when it looked like this. However, after realizing they had difference needs, instead of buying a new unit, they decided to re-structure their old one. Disassembling it, they hacked, painted and reassembled it in an entirely different configuration. The only newly purchased pieces were wooden plants and MDF board for the end pieces.

Also, check out this post about adding legs to your IKEA EXPEDIT.

Got IKEA fever?
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