IKEA's Redesigned BILLY Bookcase Is A Small Space Saver, But Are There Downsides?

The Billy bookcase is an IKEA staple. One of their most beloved products, it's provided storage and adorned the walls of homes everywhere since 1979. As the Swedish company has evolved throughout the years, so has its showpiece. More recently, IKEA redesigned the Billy line to cut costs, tackle inflation, and keep its products as affordable as ever. That's why, when you browse the company's website now, every Billy model comes with a curious "New" label. Among them are the narrower, 15 3/4 inches wide models that can turn your IKEA Billy bookshelf into a corner unit with the use of metallic corner fittings to keep everything in place.

Is the BILLY bookcase combination/corner solution worth buying? Well, it can optimize the use of space by integrating awkward, and usually empty, corners in service of both storage and aesthetics. As a must-have for the perfect home library, these versatile bookcases are especially beloved by avid readers and BookTok enthusiasts. But whether or not you have piles upon piles of books looking for a home, fitting narrow shelf units in previously unused nooks is always a game changer for small homes. Plus, the great thing about buying from the Swedish retailer is that you can personalize basic IKEA furniture, customizing your displays with different size bookcases from the same range to best fit your needs. However, according to reviews, there are some downsides, including quality and design issues. 

As popular as this combination is, sporting a healthy 4.4 star rating on the retailer's official website after 52 reviews, there are a few complaints. Most of them are related to the aforementioned redesign. In 2022, IKEA decided to swap Billy's wood veneer finish for paper foil, which is essentially contact paper printed to mimic wood grain. Veneer, on the other hand, is made from actual wood, offering the high-end look of solid wood for a fraction of the price. According to reviewers, it's also more durable than the new stuff. 

"The quality has decreased substantially. The new stickers they use instead of veneer peel and damage very easily, and just look cheap," said one unhappy costumer who had previously been a big fan of the Billy bookcase. The redesign also affects buyers looking to complement older bookcases with new additions since the faux wood colors in the new version don't match the veneer in older models, according to some reviewers. 

The second most common criticism comes from costumers who were convinced the shelving units were shaped to fully fill in a right angle corner. Although they appear that way thanks to the hardware that is sold separately, and which keeps the three bookcases attached, in reality, only their front edges are touching, leaving plenty of dead space behind them. This is a significant difference from actual corner bookcases, such as the RichYa Reversible Corner Bookshelf, available at Walmart.