The Easiest DIY Kitchen Pantry Cabinet With Ikea Billy Shelving Hack (2023)

Learn how to use Ikea's inexpensive Billy shelf for pantry storage, perfect for a small kitchen.

Need extra kitchen storage but don't have a lot of room to work? I had the same dilemma, so I turned to my favorite appliance store: Ikea! I'm going to share the easiest way to build your own Ikea freestanding pantry - it's an Ikea Billy Hack and it's awesome!

This hack works perfectly as a pantry AND is cheaper than regular Ikea kitchen cabinets.

And if you're wondering if it's durable enough for everyday pantry use, I built this hack 7 years ago and it's still durable enough for everyday use in our kitchen.

We present: Ikea Pantry Hack

I made this Ikea pantry with simple shelving because traditional pantry cabinets from Ikea (and other stores) were either out of my budget or not the free-standing pantry cabinets (with doors) that I was hoping for.

In this post, I'm going to share some clever tips on how to customize the Billy Bookcase to look as much like your pantry cabinets as possible.

There are a few different options with this shelf, so it's good to know about them all before starting this project.

I'll also talk a bit about pantries and what people keep in them, and I'll quickly go over some organization ideas for how I organized mine, in case you're curious.

And of course, I'm sharing a step-by-step guide on how I made this Ikea pantry hack (it's easy!). We made a nice addition to make opening and closing the door easier, I'll show you a bit later.

But first, let's start with the Billy Shelving, why it makes a perfect pantry, and all the different options available, so you can make the perfect pantry for your kitchen!

Let's go!

Ikea Billy bookcase as a pantry

The Billy bookcase is a popular shelf in the Ikea range. It comes in different sizes and colors.What I used for this hackIt is the tall and skinny version., in white.

Different color options make it easy to match many different decors and kitchen styles.

The Billy Bookcase is one of Ikea's taller bookcases, but it has a slim, narrow profile. This very narrow feature makes them perfect for small spaces and makes great corner pantries.

To make this shelf more like a pantry, you can buy a door that easily attaches to it. The door really transforms this bookcase into a stand-alone DIY pantry!

obilly bookshelf price including the doorIt currently costs $100, which is quite reasonable for a stand-alone pantry. They offered me $1500 for a custom pantry in the same room, so it was a much cheaper option for me.

Another nice feature of the Billy is that it has a groove on the bottom so it sits perfectly on the base of the wall panel and can be placed flush against the wall like a kitchen cabinet.

Here's a list of some additional configurations you can get with this bookcase. It's good to know your options as you plan so you don't have to repeat anything later.

Customize your Billy shelf

1. this shelf It comes with 5 adjustable shelves, but you can purchase additional shelves if you need more storage space.
2. To make this bookcase look like a kitchen pantry, Ikea makes doors for the Billy bookcase (as pictured above).
3. There are different styles of doors that you can get. There are full glass doors, half glass panel doors (I went for this style), and full panel doors. You can choose the door that suits your kitchen style.
4. If you're looking for a more built-in pantry look, you can purchase additional extensions to make this shelving unit work.all the way to the ceiling- we did this with our Billy bookshelves in our office since that area of ​​our house has higher ceilings.
5. If you are looking for a larger pantry, you can mix and match sizes (the Billy also comes in a wider option) and install them side by side to create a taller/wider pantry.

Next, let's talk a bit about pantries and what kinds of things you can store in them (I'll tell you what's in mine too!)

Kitchen Pantry 101

Pantry is a room or closet in the kitchen or pantry that can be used forStore extra kitchen supplies and groceries.

Basically, if you're running low on cabinet storage space in your kitchen, a freestanding pantry comes in handy.

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Here is a list of things that can be kept in kitchen supplies:

• drinks
• Groceries (canned beans, pasta sauce, spices, baking supplies, noodles)
• Dishes (cups, plates, bowls, glasses)
• household cleaners
• litter
• other kitchen items

Organization of our pantry

I made 2 freestanding Ikea pantries in this project. In the first we store food such as cans, bottles, soups, children's snacks, rice and noodles. I used baskets to organize my food.

Functionally, the basket organization makes them look like popular pantry shelves. The storage boxes are easy to pull out, making it easy to grab or place items. Plus they look cute!

I usuallythese baskets, but Walmart doesn't seem to have them anymore (I bought them about 7 years ago). If you really want something like that, I found someWire Lined Food Baskets on Amazon.

In our second corner cabinet we store items like spare glass containers for groceries, small appliances, and cleaning supplies.

These 2 pantry storage shelves from Ikea really helped organize our kitchen and gave it a little more space and storage.

And using pantry organizer boxes will help organize all your groceries and make them easy to access.

Now that you're armed with all that information, here's how to hack one yourself...

Ikea Billy Hack: Shelving as a pantry

Necessary materials

1. Billy bookcase with door
2. Optional:Baskets for Food Organizations
3. Optional: Zuglenker (Home Depot)

DIY Pantry Guide

1.Plan where to put your pantry in your kitchen. In our kitchen, we decided to keep them as corner pantry cabinets at each end of our dining room.

2.Assemble your Billy shelf following the Ikea instructions (it's very easy, for Ikea furniture). See what the finished shelf will look like (without the door).

3.Place your pantry bookcase against the wall, making sure to use the security kit (supplied with the Billy bookcase) to anchor the bookcase to the wall.

This shelf is verytall and narrow so it will tip over if you don't anchor it🇧🇷 This is what the anchor that came with our Billy was finally looking for. Note: We did this Ikea hack project 7 years ago, so now they may look different.

4.Install the Ikea Billy door on the shelf once it is upright and attached to the wall according to Ikea's instructions.

5.This part is optional, but we found that the handles on the back door make opening and closing the pantry more convenient. We bought our handle at Home Depot for $5 and used a drill to screw it on.

6. Optional:You can organize pantry shelves with baskets. I find it easy to pull them out and quickly grab the items I need or even put them away. As a bonus, they look decorative!

7🇧🇷 If you want to label something in your pantry (like jars or containers), check out this tutorialHow to make clear tape storage labels

Here are some more photos of our finished Ikea freestanding pantry cabinets.

(Video) Pantry Organisation |DIY Billy Bookcase Pantry | Kmart Pantry Organisation

And there you have it, you can now enjoy extra kitchen storage space with this Ikea Billy Hack! Made from a cheap and popular shelf. Happy hacking!

Oh, and if you're curious to see even more Ikea hacks, e.g.this banquet bench among the pantriesCheck out these other posts in the photos above:

• DIY Adhesive Tape Storage Labels
• 31+ Ikea Kallax Hacks
• Turn a bookshelf into a kitchen banquet {Ikea Hack}
• DIY Family Command Center – IKEA-Hack
• Ikea Hack Lego Mesa
• Storage Bench for a Small Space {Ikea Hack)
• Artisan Table with Storage {Ikea Hack}
• 20+ Ikea table hacks
• Organization Ikea Craft Room Pegboard

If you liked this Ikea Billy hack, go for it!

And until next time stay cool!