Finally making a post here, and I'm starting it with an overall shot of my new shelf build (complete with present collection). Notes on how I put it together are in the post below, along with more pics. I'll be adding more here as time goes on.
I have this posted on my blog as well, but the sake of completion: I’ve had this project shelved (ha) for a while, but in anticipation of TFcon Toronto and the likely prospect of my collection doubling overnight, I finally sat down and installed proper lighting on these bad boys. If you like how these look, here’s how I did it. I don’t have a whole lot of tools or workspace, so I went into this project with the goal of keeping it simple while making sure the finished product was a sleek backdrop for my collection. I started off with two different bookshelf units, as you can tell by the varied heights. The one on the left is a generic unit purchased off Amazon, and the one on the right is an Ikea BILLY, which I highly recommend. Great price for a nice-looking shelf that feels solid. This is the original setup. As you can see in, the individual LEDs were pretty distracting (the adhesive strip was also falling off on one side). The lighting I used are Ikea DIODER LED strips in the warm white coloration. These also come in cool white and multicolor. Each pack of lights has 4x ~12″ strips, and each shelf takes 2 strips (so 4 packs of lights or those two units). These lights come with their own mounting brackets, and also with sticky mounting strips. I tried the strips originally, and they do not last. Even using extra adhesive, they were falling down within a month. For this project, I used the brackets. They are pretty self-explanatory; make sure to sort out placement on all the shelves first so the spacing is the same throughout the unit. Measure twice, drill once. A small hole was drilled in the far left corner of the back board below each shelf to run the wires through. To combat the brightness and glare of the individual LEDs, I wanted to block off the front of the lights. Without the tools or space to consider building onto the shelves for this, I went low-tech with black adhesive foam window weather stripping. The foam was marked as extra wide, and is a bit over half an inch thick. Any thinner and it wouldn’t hide the LEDs. Unfortunately while the weather stripping was advertised to adhere for 5 years, I got about 20 minutes. It stuck to the off-brand shelf without issue, but would not stick to the otherwise-superior BILLY unit. Bummer. To combat this, I used contact cement to adhere the pre-cut strips in place. Use some rubbing alcohol to clean the surface before laying down your adhesive for a clean stick. NOTE: you have to be careful with what glue you use with foam as most adhesives will melt through it. Contact cement takes a bit more effort, but is safe for the foam… and those strips aren’t going anywhere. And that’s pretty much it. These turned out awesome. You don’t even notice the foam strips, much less that the material differs from the wood laminate of the shelves. A few final notes: • If you are purchasing a bookshelf with the intent to install lighting, I recommend putting those brackets on before you assemble the shelves, as getting them on the top/middle shelves that can’t be removed was a pain. • I used a double-layer of foam on the top shelf to avoid seeing the LEDs over the edge. • Resist the temptation to plug all your lighting into a single pour adapter, as the DIODER instructions warn that more than 4 strips to a block could be a fire hazard. Hope this helps! I’m looking forward to really filling up these shelves at TFcon.
