Materials: Way too many Billy bookcases. Or at least five.
Description: After moving last year from a big house shared amongst friends to a one-bedroom apartment, the five Billy bookcases I bought to fulfill an old IKEA catalog fantasy of looking at an entire wall of books were a bit much for the new space. (Side note: To properly fulfill this fantasy, you need *way* more books than you'd think. Like, way more than you have.) I wanted to use the dining room area as an office, but didn't want a "desk"; I kinda hate desks. I'm more a fan of the "plain flat work surface". So two of the five bookcases were reborn as the Billy Bob.
This hack was simple, but effective, and looked good in the space. It was also surprisingly stable and sturdy.
The bookcase closest to the wall lost the shelves and one side, while the second lost the side and the back. Stability comes from the walls the remaining back in the first bookcase, and the weight of the glass (repurposed from a much uglier desk). The glass is held in place by small nails in the top of the desk at the corners of the glass. The gaps between the two bookcases were perfect to route cables.
It served me well. I'm in the process of moving again, and the Billy Bob currently waits to find new life on Craigslist (or become part of another hopeful catalog fantasy). Before it goes, I thought I would pay tribute here.
~ Chris Rusho, Austin, TX
