1.29.2013

Adding fabric backing to an IKEA Expedit Bookcase


Have you ever jumped into a DIY project without having all the supplies 
you needed or know exactly what you are doing? BINGO! I saw a blog post
somewhere and it literally caused a light bulb to go off in my head. I've had 
this IKEA Expedit bookcase for awhile now and have been wanting to add
some kind of backing to it. Here's where I jumped in without planning and can
I just tell you this is not like me. 
IKEA Expedit Shelving 
The planner in me did know that a piece of 20" x 30" foam core board fit the
back of the unit perfectly. Now how many pieces do I need to cover it, no clue!
Please ignore the ugly garage floor in the pictures

After measuring the back opening of the unit which was 30"W x 58"L I figured
 I needed three pieces of foam core board. Thank goodness the Dollar Tree is five
 minutes away. Little did I know I might have needed some tape to attach the pieces
 together. I thought I had some in the house, but no dice. My girls probably used
it all on a project. No need to worry though I raided my daughter's Duct Tape stash.
It's not pretty but it's doing what I need it to do.  

Again before I knew the exact measurements I bought this fabric to line the
back. I bought 1 1/2 yards thinking it would be enough. Wrong again!

I was about 1 1/2" short on fabric to cover the foam core. Luckily the Expedit has a 2" thick
shelf width on the top and bottom of the shelf. This really was my saving grace. At least if
the foam core board showed through it would be at the bottom of the shelf and not noticeable.
To attach the fabric I used spray adhesive to glue down the fabric. It helped some, but I had
to hot glue the edges. Do you notice anything showing through the fabric at all? No, not
the colored Duct Tape that I had to use because I had nothing else to use. 

Not knowing how this was going to turn out I finished putting it
together. I hammered a nail into each corner to secure the foam
core down. I know it's not looking pretty from the back. Hang in
there with me please  

Front side! Looking better if I say so myself. I can vaguely see
the Duct tape, but I'm not worried about it. Once I style the 
bookcase you won't even notice it.

Oh yeah remember how I didn't buy enough fabric? Here's a 
close up of the shortage. It's all good...

What do you think?
 Do you agree that my poor planning mishaps are hardly
noticeable? I am happy with the way it turned out.


Have you had a DIY project go astray and had to get
"creative" to fix it? 

6 comments:

  1. Looks great! You can't even tell at the bottom. This is my kind of project for sure, spur of the moment, hack it up baby! :)

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  2. What a simple project that makes such a difference! You cannot see your mishaps at all :)

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  3. Love it!! It really turned out pretty and I love the fabric. You can't even see the mishaps.

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  6. There are some interesting points in time in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as well… new garage floor

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