Custom Nursery Closet – IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack!

Baby girl will be here in about two months and we are in full nesting mode. The original closet in her room only had one long wire shelf, which was not functional at all. I looked into pre-made closet systems but those didn’t have as many shelves or rods as I would like, while a truly custom one could cost thousands of dollars. We decided to take it into our own hands and build this custom nursery closet for about $150 using an IKEA Billy Bookcase hack inspired by Home and Hallow! Now we have plenty of shelves and double the hanging space. I’m so glad we got this done before baby girl is here so that we can organize her stuff! I’m sharing all of the supplies and instructions for recreating this custom nursery closet below!

What You’ll Need:

• Spackle
• Sandpaper
• Paint
• IKEA Billy Bookcase
• Laminate shelves (2 72-in L x 0.625-in H x 11.75-in D)
• Closet rods (4)
• Shelf brackets (2 sets of 5)
• Miter saw
• Drill
• Leveler
• Drywall anchors
• Screws

Custom Nursery Closet Instructions – IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack

1. Clear Out Closet + Remove Shelving

Completely clear out the closet and take out any items you have stored in there. Then remove all existing closet shelving, support brackets, and closet doors.

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2. Patch + Paint the Drywall

Once the wire shelf and support brackets are removed, patch up the holes using spackle (we like this one since it turns white when dried). Sand down the spackle to ensure a smooth finish and cover it up with paint. Since we decided to paint the entire room white (instead of leaving it beige), we ended up painting the inside of the closet all white too. It looks so much brighter and matches the new bookcase and shelves!

3. Assemble + Install the IKEA Billy Bookcase

Follow the provided instructions to assemble the IKEA Billy Bookcase and secure it to the wall. The IKEA Billy Bookcase has a slight indent at the bottom back to fit over your baseboard. However, since our baseboard was taller than the indent and we didn’t want to remove the baseboard, we secured the top (with the brackets included with the bookcase) to be leveled with the bottom without having the bookcase completely flush against the wall. We also decided to center the bookcase, but I’ve also seen it aligned to the left or right of the closet.

4. Install the Top Shelf + Shelf Brackets

For the top shelf, measure the closet width and cut one of the laminate shelves to size using a miter saw. Place it on top of the bookcase. Then level and install the shelf brackets and secure it to the top laminate shelf.

Since this nursery closet is small, we only needed a pair of shelf brackets on each side of the bookcase. However, if you have a larger closet, you’ll need a bracket for about every 24 inches. Also, if you’re installing shelf brackets directly into a drywall, use drywall anchors for additional weight support.

5. Install Closet Rods

Hang the closet rod over the shelf bracket hooks. Secure each end of the rod with a screw (one end to the bookcase, one end to the wall). The closet is really coming together now!

6. Install Bottom Shelves

For the second set of bottom shelves, we followed the following guidelines for a standard, double rod closet according to Home and Hallow:

• Hang the top rod 80″ from the floor
• Hang the bottom rod 40″ from the floor
• Leave at least 3 feet of spaces between the two rods

Using the guidelines above, level and pre-mark where the second level of shelves will be. Measure the size of the bottom shelves on both sides (from wall to bookcase) and cut the remaining laminate shelf accordingly with a miter saw.

Repeat step 5 to install shelf brackets, shelves, and closet rods to complete your custom nursery closet!

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7. Organize the Custom Nursery Closet

Now that the closet is done, it’s time to organize it! Right now, we are still a couple of months away from baby’s due date so we don’t have most of her stuff yet. However, my friend recently dropped off some baby girl hand-me-down clothes so I was able to “decorate” her closet!

I hung all of baby girl’s clothes that we have so far with this cute set of kids velvet hangers. I’ve had these fabric storage bins (similar here) for 10 years and they match perfectly with the nursery peach color palette!

For the IKEA Billy Bookcase, I am planning to go to IKEA to get wicker baskets so that I can store more items. I will probably get some more storage containers for the floor too – gotta take advantage of all the space!

I am incredibly happy with this IKEA Billy Bookcase hack and to have a functional custom nursery closet that has tons of storage and hanging space. I can’t wait to fill it up with more cute baby girl things like swaddles, shoes, bows, towels, and more!