Introduction:

Built-in bookcases are a premium element in mansions all over the world due to its visual heaviness and regal aspect. Their extravagance may take your room to new levels of elegance by making it appear as though it were taken straight out of the glossy pages of a high-end interior design magazine. Sadly, if you rent your home, adding a specially designed bookcase to your living room can put you in conflict with your landlord. Even if you are the property owner, building such a bookcase might be expensive. You are thus left with just one choice: phoney built-in bookcases.

Thankfully, there are several regional and international furniture retailers that provide inexpensive bookcases in a range of designs. You may easily locate a bookshelf that complements the general style of your home design, whether you want to opt for something metallic and futuristic or wooden and mid-century modern. This article is intended just for you if you want to upcycle inexpensive bookshelves and make them statement pieces.

HOW TO FAKE BUILT-IN BOOKSHELVES: A 6-STEP GUIDE

Want to exhibit your most priceless possessions with magnificent furniture instead of plain floating shelves? This is a step-by-step tutorial for creating imitation built-in bookcases on your own.

MEASURE THE AREA:

Measuring the area where your new bookshelf will be installed is the first step. It can be the naked wall in your bedroom or the empty area surrounding the huge bay window in your living room that you have been meaning to decorate for a while.

Consider taking several measurements of the area to eliminate any inaccuracies. If you already have an idea of the type of bookshelves you want in your house, calculate how many of those you will need to purchase to fit the space entirely.

Buy shelves or a bookcase:

The next step is to purchase bookshelves or shelves to fill the vacant space in the room of your choice. Consider investing in distinctive shelving to give your built-ins a more modern feel if you want them to stand out. Invisible bookcases, hexagonal shelves, intersecting shelves, floating corner shelves, rope hanging shelves, and adjustable metal shelves are just a few of the most well-liked wall shelf designs.

You may also choose bookshelves made of wood or rod iron that are simple to construct. These furniture are often airy, simple, and offered in a variety of colours to match the interior design of your house.

REMOVE THE BACKING:

The particleboard or cardboard backing of inexpensive bookcases, which protrudes from behind the neatly organised books and other décor objects on the shelves, is one of their telltale indicators. Please be careful to remove the backing, whether you want to utilise an existing piece of furniture or a brand-new one for this DIY bookshelf makeover. Please be aware that doing this can cause your bookshelf to sag somewhat. As a result, it's crucial to use caution when shifting the shelves.

Or, you may use a more sophisticated and attractive backdrop in place of the cheap and fragile one. You might, for instance, cover it with beadboard or use a textured fabric to give your furnishings additional depth.

WHITEWALL PAINT:

Without paint, a bookshelf makeover cannot be finished. Consider painting the wall where the shelves will go if you want your basic bookshelf to resemble a classy built-in. You might even decide to paint a wall in the room a different colour to create an accent wall, depending on the general design style of your house.

Also, don't forget to paint the project's shelves and chosen trim pieces (if any).

Adjust your bookcases:

Time to arrange the bookshelves when the paint has fully dried.

Start by putting up the bookcase or installing the shelves in the location you've chosen. You might need to put more than one bookshelf in there if the area is larger. To minimise any vacant space, try to cram as many bookcases as you can. You might even be able to build shelving that extends from the ceiling to the floor by stacking the bookshelves horizontally on top of one another, depending on their size. Just be sure to use fasteners to keep the bookcases all together.

INCLUDE FINISHING DETAILS:

The final stage in our tutorial on creating false built-in bookcases is to caulk around the trim's perimeter and fill in any gaps that were previously visible.

There is a strong likelihood that there will be a little gap between each of the seams of the bookshelves you use to cover the vacant area on your wall. Measuring the gaps and filling them with plywood or fiberboard panels is the easiest approach to get rid of them. You might also be able to finish the work with wood filler if the holes are quite tiny. To make sure everything is securely fastened before sanding and repainting the bookshelf edges, you may also use wood glue.