Between a noun and a verb...: An IKEA Adventure: Our Bookshelf

After the finishing of our kitchen, FI and I started working on the rest of the apartment. We made a Sunday afternoon trip to IKEA. We headed out to the Brooklyn IKEA in Red Hook, which took just a speedy 20 minutes. We did a lot of shopping and bought some fun stuff (which I'll reveal in further posts).

One of the items we wanted to get was a tall bookshelf. It would go in the corner of the studio between our windows. The bookshelf could only be so wide (to fit between the windows) and only so deep (since we were going to put a long table as our workspace between the bookshelf and the tv), so we measured and had the numbers with us when we went shopping.

Our original choice was the Billy bookcase. We liked the simple and clean style and the price wasn't bad. However when we went down to the first floor to pick up one, it was pretty heavy, so we decided to pick a lighter one. We decided to go with IVAR shelf system, bought it, got it all the way home, started building it, and realized... it didn't fit! The measurements given by IKEA only measures the shelf space for storage, not the full width of the shelf. So we turned around and went right back to IKEA (thank goodness it was only 20 minutes away) and checked out some other bookcases.

We finally settled on the KILBY bookcase. Not only was it sturdier than the IVAR and lighter than the BILLY, it was cheaper than both by a lot. We doublechecked the measurements and took it home. Then we started assembling it...

First thing, we moved all of the stuff that was in the corner and moved it... well, basically anywhere else in the apartment. And then cleaned the floor. And then stacked the bookcase box in the corner.

Here's all our stuff from the corner. You can see the little bookcase in the foreground and my plants (on top of my craft boxes) in the background.

Now to start assembling!

Here's the unpacking...

We've laid out all of the pieces.

We sorted all of the attachments and make sure we have the right number of each. I always like laying the little pieces out just like the diagram so I know which ones to grab.

We first attach each shelf to one sideboard with wooden pegs. Here's FI hold the shelves while I take a picture.

Then we stuck the bottom cover piece on.

We put pegs on the other side of the shelves.

Then we attached the other sideboard. We had some old allen wrenches (from previous IKEA pieces) so we were both able to put in bolts at the same time.

Then we flipped the bookshelf on its back and put the backboard on. We then had to hammer in nails around the sides and across the middle. I wanted to go all Mr. Miyagi and try and hammer them in all at once, but having tried that before with my dresser, I knew that wasn't a good idea.

Here's some of my handiwork.

We then stood the bookcase up and moved it to the corner. It fits!

The KILBY is a very light bookcase and we didn't want it to tumble over onto anyone, so we attached the safety strap as well.

Then we put in little metal rods on the insides of the sideboards and laid the other shelves in. FI said, just stick them in anywhere, but I was like, no, we must count and equally allot the holes so the shelves are the same size.