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Built in Daybed with IKEA bookshelves

Yall, this post has been a long time coming but I feel like I can handle telling you about the many steps it took to create the built in daybed in the playroom for the One Room Challenge last May. See the reveal here.

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

Yes, last May. That’s how long I’ve waited. It makes the room awesome and we’ve loved the space so hopefully it’s well worth the wait. I guess first I should start of with my inspiration for the space. This gorgeous reading nook from Jess at The Bright Green Door.  I love everything about it. It was so clever and cost effective to use IKEA book shelves and truly made a great space out of a spot that served no purpose. I’m a fan.

Inspiration from the Bright Green Door. We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

A few things had to be different about our built ins though. I wanted our bed to have a front. 1. because dust bunnies and 2. hoarding and hiding crap treasures under beds happens over here. Here’s looking at you Nickerbeans. Another difference in our spaces is that our wall/ nook was much longer. I played around with all types of possibilities and ended up with this super cool drawing. (p.s. the finished product was way more involved than creating the drawing…)

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
Our space would still use IKEA bookshelves facing in toward the bed. But the bed would come out a little further from the bookshelves. And we’d use a smaller, outside facing bookshelf on each end, filling the entire length of the wall.
So from this drawing with some simple measurements I did…..My husband created this:
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
DO NOT CLICK AWAY!! I don’t know what any of this means either. I will tell you this. He decided he wanted to use good, 1/2″ plywood to make the bases and from that he had to account for the width of the plywood to know the size of the boxes that would be inside each box. He wanted 1×6’s for the outsides of the bases or boxes and held the smaller ones together with 1×4’s. The bed frame got 1×6’s everywhere. I told him I wanted it to be able to hold all of us. It will…and a small elephant. Instead of explaining what I don’t get, let me show you.
We took the total measurement of the side facing bookcase and the front facing bookcase and made 2 boxes for each pair to sit on.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

Then we made a box for the bed to sit on.  In this picture you can see that I covered the bottoms of all the boxes with felt. That way if these beasts ever got removed, they wouldn’t have been scratching up the floors. Like I said before, the box for the bed was made only with 1×6’s. We also had to brace the bed in the center so we ran 2 more 1×6’s down the center of the bed and braced those for kid jumping and parent sitting.

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

 Because I’m extremely tech saavy…Here’s a time lapse video I took of us creating one of these boxes.

Stop here. I JUST DOWNLOADED A VIDEO …..WITH MUSIC…..ONTO YOUTUBE AND THEN UPLOADED IT HERE ON MY BLOG. Woah…I’m blowing my own mind with my talents. If you have no plans to build a built in day bed, that was enough of a reason to stick around.

Ok so once these big guys were done, we used a table saw to cut the tops and sides of the boxes. We did not add sides to the parts of the boxes that were against the walls. Wasted plywood and added depth we didn’t need.

You can see it here. Each small base got just the front side wrapped and a top (eventually).

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

And the bed got 3 sides. We choose to make the bed have a small lip so that the edge of the mattress wouldn’t show or move around. The bed’s sides, also doubled as the sides for the boxes. Then, obviously the bed got a plywood top.

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

The whole time my sweet man slaved away on these pieces, I was just praying that my original measurements were correct and that these things would actually fit in the room…

They did!! I think I took this picture before they were attached. You can see gaps where they didn’t match exactly but it was all fixable with caulk and trim.

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

Joel rewired the outlets that were on the wall. One behind the bed and one on the side wall behind the corner box.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
I primed the bases with a few coats of primer and then loaded the ikea bookshelves on top. We also took the baseboard up from the side walls and the back then used those pieces to trim out the shorter sides and the base of the built in. I did this myself and felt like a wizard until Joel had to fix a few pieces to actually fit….I don’t think he had to redo every single piece…
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

We used the Billy bookcases from Ikea. The larger one is here. And the smaller one is here.  I slid the bigger shelf onto the base and used the bracket hardware at the bottom and screwed it to the wall a few times near the top.  This was another time where I thought, ‘thank you Jesus, they fit’.

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

You have to make sure you’re drilling into studs or none of that bracing matters.

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

Another thing. Once the big shelf was in, I had to brace the smaller one to it. It’s not like I could get behind them and brace it to the wall or bed base.

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
You can see that there is some blank space behind the bookshelves. For about a minute I worried that the room would feel to small but it actually feels much bigger. Because the bed is build in, the room has tons of space to move around and play.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

The shelves were up and braced but needed some trim to help them look built in. You can see the gap that Ikea puts of their shelves so that they can sit against a wall with baseboards. and the gap against the wall and ceiling.  I had to cover all of that. I measured the widths I needed and got the thin lattice like boards to use as trim.

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.

While I was trimming, my sweet mom was caulking the trim and all the holes of the bookcases. That made them seem more custom. Thanks mom!

We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
These built ins were a lot of work but they make the room. They provide so much storage.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
They’re space saving and custom looking. The bed helps this room to double as a guest bedroom. When our girls no longer want to share a room, there’s a bed ready and waiting for one of them. 
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
It can be used as a sofa for reading and relaxing. It’s a great space. I’m so thankful that our hard work paid off.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
I feel like this was a lot of specific information and the details of this project all depend on the space you’ve got. I hope it’s inspiring to see what an empty wall could become and I hope the steps we took and decisions we made might help you should you decide to take on a project like this.
Pin the image below to save or share:
We transformed this space with built ins using Ikea bookshelves. This daybed space is so versitile and provides so much storage.
Thanks for reading, friends! If you made it all the way down here, you’re amazing.
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9 thoughts on “Built in Daybed with IKEA bookshelves”

  2. This is a fantastic DIY Jessica! I remember this room so well from the ORC. I can see a lot of work went into this project but the results are well worth it. I'm featuring this project at this weeks The Creative Circle link party! Thanks for sharing and I hope you stop by again.

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  8. Thanks! I just asked my husband. He said it could be done no problem but let it all settle and get the full weight of the project before caulking and finishing things up. Or, to make it easier to replace carpet someday, you could cut away the carpet underneath and have the carpet go just underneath the edge or the built ins.

    Reply

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