ᐅ How can I best arrange BILLY shelves in smaller alcoves or recesses?

Good evening everyone,

I am thinking about outfitting my apartment with BILLY bookshelves from IKEA, as I want to create more storage space for books and small items. However, I am facing a challenge: my apartment has several small alcoves that seem too small for standard furniture or often remain unused.

Therefore, my question is: How can I best place BILLY shelves in smaller alcoves? What tips do you have for making the most of these narrow, sometimes half-height or just under 80cm (31.5 inches) wide corners without making the space feel cramped or restricting access?

Are there technical tricks for installation or combining them with other furniture? Is it better to use single units or multiple shorter ones side by side? What about securing them to the wall?

I look forward to hearing your experiences and solutions, especially if you have similar challenging alcoves at home. Thanks in advance!

Hello Tanmi,

to place BILLY shelves optimally in small niches, careful planning of all measurements is essential. The depth of the niche is especially important, as BILLY shelves are typically about 28 cm (11 inches) deep. If the niche is narrower, you might need to use BILLY shelves with reduced depth or customize the shelves accordingly.

When installing, it is always recommended to fix the shelves to the wall, especially in tight niches, to ensure the necessary stability. With your width of just under 80 cm (31.5 inches), using two shorter shelves side by side could be a good option, allowing more flexibility and potentially creating storage that fits the niche perfectly.

Another tip: use adjustable shelves that you can position as needed, and consider removing the back panels or replacing them with thinner materials to gain extra space.

I’m also curious about the exact height of the niches and how much access you expect to have to the shelves. Will there be a door, or will they remain open? This can significantly affect the requirements.

TEBILO schrieb:
Another tip: Use adjustable shelves that you can position individually, and consider removing the back panels or replacing them with thinner materials to save space.

I consider this point especially important. The back panel of BILLY is often underestimated, yet replacing it with a thinner board can add a few centimeters (inches) of depth, which makes a big difference in a tight recess.

However, I would also ask whether the shelving unit must fit exactly within the recess or if it is allowed to protrude slightly. A flush installation is not always necessary – a slight overlap beyond the recess edge can make the room feel less cramped visually and even offer practical advantages.

And one more critical note: Especially in older buildings, recesses are unfortunately not always perfectly rectangular or even. Have you checked whether your recesses really fit precisely? In my opinion, this calls for a good tape measure and possibly a carpenter’s square to check for any protrusions or unevenness.

If such irregularities are present, adjustable kits that you can easily modify are recommended – although I’m not sure if BILLY is ideal for this, as it’s more designed for standardized surfaces.

For small niches, it is recommended to use BILLY shelves with the narrower depth (approximately 20cm (8 inches)) if available.

Alternatively, you can place shelves side by side to make the best use of the width. Wall mounting for stabilization is mandatory.

If possible, use shelves without back panels. This way, you utilize the full depth.

Hello Tanmi,

I would like to add: If you don’t find a suitable IKEA option, use BILLY as a base and complement it with custom-made or additional elements.

Especially the side panels can be modified if you are handy. Many people have successfully shortened shelves to fit the niche height or slightly adjusted the width. Although this requires effort, it avoids unused space.

Furthermore, the lighting in your niche is crucial for the overall impression. A small LED strip under each shelf makes the unit appear more open and tidy.

Finally, for narrower niches, consider removing the cabinet doors or using them as an optional solution – this saves room for movement.

I hope this helps!

Tanmi schrieb:
How can I best place BILLY shelves in smaller niches?

A precise answer to this question requires exact measurements of your niches. Generally, for smaller niches, reducing the shelf depth and adjusting the height is crucial.

The standard BILLY shelves have a depth of 28 cm (11 inches), which can take up too much space in some niches. To integrate the shelves optimally, you can optionally remove the back panel to gain an extra 3–4 cm (about 1–1.5 inches) of space.

Additionally, custom shelf boards are useful to tailor the internal layout to your needs. For niche widths around 80 cm (31.5 inches), it is advisable to place two narrower shelves side by side instead of one wide shelf, giving you more flexible storage options.

A particularly important aspect is securely fixing the shelves to the wall – due to the small area and tight niches, stability otherwise cannot be guaranteed.

Finally, I recommend checking the niche measurements precisely with laser measuring tools if possible.

If you provide more details about the dimensions and any other constraints, I can offer more specific advice.