[laurahead108]

Hi,

I want to build a study in which one entire wall is floor to ceiling bookcases, with the exception of a space in the middle of all these shelves in which I put my desk. I want to have shelves a few feet above my desk which stretch from the bookcase on the left of my desk to the one on the right, and am wondering if I can use the bookcase extenders to do this work? Are they sturdy enough to be affixed to the wall studs, and hold books? Is this a dumb idea? Any better ones?

too many books, too little space,
laura

[Chuck]

The first problem you're going to encounter is that the height extenders have no bottoms! They on top of the bookcase and use the top shelf of the bookcase as "their" shelf.

The extenders are also not designed or engineered to be secured to the wall in a structural way. Again, they mount to the top of the bookcase and are "secured" to the wall using a standard IKEA "anti-topple" device".

As for alternatives, I think you're gonna have to look to other IKEA lines for this kind of configuration, but you might run into size (dimensional) and color issues.

[atarunomiko]

Hi, Laura,

I think this is what you want to do, only over your desk instead of a doorway, yes?

ikea hacker: book case bridges over doorways

According to the OP, they took Billy cross pieces from other height extension kits to make the bottoms. If you want to do more than a couple height extensions' worth of floating sections, I would imagine that you could get used Billy shelves or cross pieces from Craig's List or the Ikea As-Is section so that you do not have to buy so many extra height extensions and have so many pieces left over.

Hope this helps! You may also want to look at my Billy height extension post in the Ikea Hacker section for height extension specs and ideas.

Otherwise, one or more Lack shelving units, which may be wall-mounted, could also be a fine bridging piece:

IKEA | Storage furniture | Bookcases | LACK | Shelving unit

Here is a wall-mounted Lack flanked by Billies. In this case it was used to frame out a TV stand to make an entertainment wall, but you can use the same principle to frame out your desk:

ikea hacker: projection tv entertainment center

***addendum: Unless you have a particular desk you like and specifically want to incorporate into your design, you could alternately do wall-to-wall Billy bookshelves, get a tabletop and two legs and affix them to a fixed middle Billy shelf a la the Expedit desk:

IKEA | Tables & desks | Desks | EXPEDIT | Desk

such that the Billy bookcase acts as the other two legs of the desk. Also, I would use some kind of mounting brackets from underneath to secure the desktop to the shelf. A bonus to this configuration is that you now have built-in storage space underneath your desk as well!

Since you're handy enough to be contemplating mounting height extensions to the wall, you might even be able to figure out how to modify an Expedit desk to attach to a Billy, or create a drop-down desk surface using a tabletop on hinges.