Design Details: Inspired by Expedit Bookshelves

Denise Vilim Hubby and I will be renovating one of our living room walls (we call it the office wall) next month and have been considering using Expedit shelving somewhere. I'm really loving this ideabook - I have even more inspiration now! I've also been playing with the idea of building cubes in our bedroom closet for shoe storage, but now I'm wondering if the Expedit might be an easier option.

Lily Gahagan Built-ins are great, but an Expedit is so affordable! Here's one used for clothes and shoes:

Christina Ebbers What brilliant timing! I have had my eye on the Expedit FOREVER. I plan to purchase the 2 by 4 cubes version. I really like how the bigger ones look, but I just don't have the room for it. I figure if one day I have more room and I want more shelving I can just buy another 2 by 4, haha.

On that note, I noticed that the 8th picture in this ideabook is actually 3 Expedit shelves, not 2 like you mentioned. It's two 4 by 4s and a 2 by 4 in between. ^.^ Quite a creative use of them, I must say. Especially if you don't want your shelving as tall as the 5 by 5s would be.

Denise Vilim How cool is that?! Even with supplemental MDF slats added horizontally and vertically to give it additional cubbies, the Expedit would still most likely be less expensive and definitely easier than trying to construct an entire unit. Thanks for sharing the link and for the inspiration! I know my penny-thrifty hubby thanks you too!

Lily Gahagan Thanks for catching that, cje4! I'll amend accordingly.

Sheila Schmitz Aprilaries, we'd love your help with something here at Houzz. Just sent you a note via email. Please let me know what you think!

fleababe I am completely, yes, totally, in love with the large white Expedit I just put up for my new office area. Everything one puts on the shelves looks good. I keep restyling it and have a daydream that if I got 5 more, I could redo and reorganize my entire apartment. OK, that's going overboard, but it is my new favorite object. One note-if you get the largest unit, you might need 3 people to hoist it up from the floor after you put it together. It's not that heavy, and 2 of us put it together easily, but we couldn't manage to get a a grip on it and get it up-maybe that's because I'm only 5' 3" and my husband has to be careful of his back.

architectsdau Thanks, lilydylan! I love, love, love this. Expedit has always been my idea of the "poor guys"---errr---maybe more accurately "real world" version of Hugh Newell Jacobsen's eggcrate book shelves. thanks for all the great ideas.

Lily Gahagan No prob, architectsdau! Glad you liked. :)

luciefr I have used IKEA Billy bookshelves for everything, forever. I used a primer designed for use on plastics and then rolled on the same eggshell latex I used for the walls in the room.

indiapiedaterre Ah, Expedit. 15 years ago we drove from Detroit to the Toronto IKEA looking for furniture as cash-poor recent grads. #1 on list: cool shelf! After 2 hours wandering the store, we still found no love for a shelf. Until we reached the last display at the far end of the store and were confronted with a 5x5 Expedit -- black on outside, beech inside shelves. Striking. Lovestruck at last!! It's still with us after 4 house moves.

Nat I love these shelves as you can still keep the colour of the walls behind visible. We have two small ones in each child's room in white and one large one in their playroom for all their toys. They are wonderful for sorting all their books & toys out.

Josh D In the second picture they actually added wheels to the bottom! That is a great idea if you want to transform the space from time to time, or to suit a specific occasion. It would be a great idea for my small apartment. Also, if you're looking to paint Ikea furniture, here's a pretty good step-by-step guide:

http://livingwithlindsay.com/2009/05/how-to-paint-laminate-furniture.html

Thanks for the insipiration, lilydylan!

Lily Gahagan Thanks for the link, jjdmtl! And good catch on the wheels; that is a fantastic idea for a smaller space.

Linda McMahon I intend to purchase an Expedit to house all my decorating magazines. Hmmm I have hundred, maybe 2 Expedits will be required. Love the ideabook, affirms I'm on the right track!

carli8020 I love IKEA! I was there today to get sample of a kitchen door... but walked by Expedits first. Solid, strong pieces. I imagine they'll be quite durable, and would last several moves as my Billy's have. The dark espresso Expedit is striking.

Wendy Cotter I actually cut a hole in my crawlspace in my attic, and inserted the expedit (sideways) right into it, and carefully caulked the edges. It's a lovely built in storage space for my daughters clothes and accessories. I put a back on it, and painted the back an accent colour. Looks great!

Lily Gahagan that sounds like a great idea, @wendycotter.

EASYdesigns This shelving unit has to be one of the best buys ever! It has the look and feel of a much more expensive piece and I loved it in the birch color! It is the best addition new to my office!

kandy smith I can't wait to get some of these for the home we're building!
One question. Should they be anchored to the wall somehow or are they sturdy/stable enough on their own? Thinking of making some kind of wall unit to house the tv in the basement with them.
Brilliant idea book thank you!

Lily Gahagan Hi kandy0629,

I believe the Expedit comes with anchoring equipment to stabilize the piece to the wall. Probably would be best to use it, especially if you have small children at home. :)

lisampls I would like to fit a printer in the Expedit for my home office but don't know if you can remove a divider. Anyone have experience with this?

seattlesandy look at ikeahackers.net for tons of customized ikea ideas

Todd Chronister @lisampls I have removed a divider, just keep in mind what is placed above the enlarged opening. So that lead to replacing the stock internal pieces with weathered and rustic solid boards, which then opened up a lot of other options to configure - and I'm thinking of doing something to a 2 x 6 unit with colored mismatched drawers. Still collecting the drawers at this point.

elishia My Expedit is in my kitchen!