How-To: Dining Nook Built-In Using IKEA Billy Bookcases
Updated: Oct 4, 2022
Do you have an unused nook and need better storage? Does that storage also need to be a decent focal point, and fit your custom needs? Are you a bit unsure of your DIY skills and ability to pull off a built-in that doesn't look like a cake fail meme?
Well...you may have stumbled onto the right place in this monster blog post. I say it is a monster, because it is. It's long and I am going to talk you through each step of how I built my dining nook built-in. I wish this built-in was like a banana bread recipe where, you know, you could skip the blah blah blah and click "Jump to Recipe". But, alas, it's not. I did highlight the steps here where you could jump ahead to different sections...but, that's the best I got.
My hope is that this post gives you some ideas, helps you think I can do this, or even shows you step by step how to problem solve through a section of your build. When I hit publish and saw that this post was a 33+ minute read (face palm)...I remember thinking who would read this? So, if you have read this far - I appreciate you. And if you saved this post to die in one of your Pinterest folders...I'm okay with that too. It means you have future plans for something like this and sometimes even a quick visual may show you possibilities, amiright?
The WHY:
We just needed more storage in this busy area of our home. And this dining nook had precious wasted square footage that could be utilized better. Plus, this is an opportunity to make a meaningful, functional and beautiful focal point from all views in our open main floor floorplan. So, to best meet what we needed, I sketched out a plan for the space.
We live in a builder basic 1980's home...many of these style houses have this recessed nook. I believe it's for adding a china hutch, but, for many folks like us, this was just wasted dead space. Actually, I hung some string art here three years back. The actual intention behind the string was to check if a feature wall would look cool in this spot. So - to visualize - I used some nails and black jute string. The result was actually quite cool, so, I kept it temporarily...then, three years later (yikes), I was like - we need to store more stuff here. We could do with more dining room necessities storage and we desperately needed more toy storage... Preferably behind closed doors (to prevent dust build up - [preventing me from dusting (yahoo)]. So...planning for making this drawing come to life began.
HAVE I BUILT A BUILT IN BEFORE:
Nope.
But, I truly believed I could do this. So, here goes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Below, you can click on a heading that will take you to a particular section of the build. Even looking at the breakdown of these 19 steps...I'm like, I can't believe I built this, let alone wrote a blog post on it. Who's going to read this monster post??...it's so freaking long. But, to the three of you out there who are like me, and consume how-to's to add to your future self affirmation of yes-I-can-because-someone-else-did-it mentality, this long ass post is for you. And to the majority who hoard inspo and information on your Pinterest saves for future reference...Again, that's great too!
1. Tools & Materials Needed
2. Demo
3. Building A Ladder Base
4. Building the Carcass
5. Trimming Out the Carcass
6. Cabinet Doors and Hinges
7. Trimming the base out - Building Upstands
8. Making a custom butcher block counter top
9. Adding IKEA Billy Bookcases
10. Extending the Base Shelf How-to
11. Securing the Billy Bookcases to studs
12. Making Secret Trim Doors to store more stuff
13. Extending the depth of the remaining shelves
14. A note on Shiplap
15. Creating a no-hardware finger pull for the secret trim doors
16. Priming the Built-In
17. Installing Vertical Shiplap Backing
18. Painting the Built-In
19. The Finishing Touches
1. TOOLS & MATERIALS Needed
I did my best to provide enough detail of the things I used...not going to lie...there are a lot of supplies. I still consider myself a beginner woodworker, although lifetime DIY'er. So, I have a lot of tools/supplies on hand (also hoarded, but in an organized way, because I am OCD bout this stuff). And, this dining nook built-in is a good project to use up all your existing DIY supplies (kidding not kidding). Also, I'm not providing exact amounts of supplies...as every built-in is sized differently.
Power Tools | Misc Tools | Wood/Wood-like Products | Other Stuff | Paint Supplies |
Table Saw | 7/8" Forstner Bit | 1" plywood for the bench carcass (I used scrap plywood haha) | 1" 23G Pin Nails | Zinnser Bin Shellac Primer (the red can) |
Mitre Saw | Kreg Jig Mini Pocket Hole Jig | 2 - 2x12x8 Fir Boards for the Bench Topper | Brad Nails 1.25" | Paint Tray |
Jig Saw | Kreg Concealed Hinge Jig | Wood Screws 3.5" | Roller | |
Drill | Level | Wood knobs | Brushes | |
Multi-Tool | Tape Measure | 1x6 Select Pine x2 | Brass knobs | SW Diamond Urethane Cabinetry Paint |
Right Angle Drill | Pry Bar | 1x2 Select Pine | 120 grit orbital sandpaper | Painter's tape |
Brad Nailer | Box Cutter | 1x16"x8' White Wood Board - often used for shelving | Wood Screws 1.5" | Flat and wide putty knife (plastic) |
Pin Nailer | Carpenter Square | 1x4 Select Pine x2 | Wood Screws 1.25" | |
Orbital Sander | Various sized clamps | | Pocket Hole Screws 1.5" | |
| | | 6 Full Overlay Hinges (110 degree) | |
| | | 4 Inset Hinges (90 Degree) | |
| | | Pocket Hole Screws 0.75" | |
| | | 4 Brass Knobs | |
| | | Pocket hole Screws 1.75" | |
2. Demo
Not much was needed except removing baseboards. To be truthful, I had a hard time starting because these were perfectly good baseboards. Pristine, in fact. But, they had to go for the ladder base. And as it turns out, it was quite easy to remove using my multi-tool and a new blade. First, I scored the caulk line, used a small prybar to remove the baseboard.
I suggest drawing a line of where you need to cut and applying medium pressure while using your multi-tool. Let the blade/tool do the work.
As much as I was not looking forward to removing perfectly good baseboards, I was quite proud of myself at this point. An example of an ugly and unfinished view to most folks, turning out to be quite pretty to me. It's a view of opportunity. As the first hurdle of demo was done.
3. Building A Ladder Base
Using two 2x4x8's, and my mitre saw, I cut 7 pieces of wood. Two to fit the length of the opening and 5 to fit the width. Disregard how the existing baseboards extend in front of the ladder base. I ended up cutting this part off eventually.
Next, the steps of the ladder base where I wasn't able to countersink a 3" wood screw got two pocket holes each using my Kreg Jig Mini Pocket Hole Kit.
The side steps and where the steps met the back wall rail got pocket holes. I wanted to assemble this ladder base in place. The dining nook is not perfectly square. The left side had 1/2" less depth comparing to the right side. I wanted the face of the eventual carcass (the internal framework of the built-in) to be flush with the opening. So, it was important to measure, cut and fit each part of the ladder base piece by piece.
Countersunk two 3" wood screws on the fronts of the ladder base. And not shown, but, definitely must do...Attach ladder base to wall studs. I used 3.5" wood screws attached at each stud on the back wall and one on each side wall. (If you have a hard time drilling into studs like I do, drill a pilot hole first).
4. Building the Carcass
The word carcass shouldn't make me laugh every time...but, it does.
I had a few sheets of 4x4 1" scrap plywood. They came from my parent's house...their backyard under an eave actually. There was some water damage to a few sheets - I ended up cutting off any badly water damaged parts off and sanding any minor surface areas that were damaged. Wood is crazy expensive now, so, I wanted to use as much scrap wood as I could for the parts that were hidden behind trimwork and doors. Using this 1" plywood (and they were sturdy!) saved me about $250.
Because I used scrap 4x4 (ish) plywood sheets, I couldn't cut one long piece of wood to cover the ladder base. I had to cut 3 pieces of plywood, roughly 24" wide x 18" deep each, to fit over top the ladder base and act as the bottom shelf of the carcass. Honestly, this actually served me well. Because the nook is not perfectly square, it was more forgiving to cut and make adjustments piece by piece instead of making 3 exact sized boxes. I am still new to woodworking, so, I needed as much forgiveness as possible haha...
As seen below, there are 3 pieces of plywood that cover the ladder base. And 3 vertical pieces that will eventually act as internal side walls.
I wanted to make sure important things fit in these eventual cupboards...(also note, cupboards are able to store bulkier toys better than drawers...and these cupboards will be toy storage eventually).
Note: I used my circular saw to cut down the larger sized boards and then my table saw when pieces were a smaller size and easier (less awkward) to handle. This video is a poor example of this note actually, but, I generally followed this guideline.
Pieces of the base and side walls cut to fit as seen below.
And each board needed to get some surface water damage sanded off (sigh). Using scrap wood saved me money...it did not save me time unfortunately. But, that's ok. Before sanding...
