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When I moved in with my now husband about five years ago, one of our biggest challenges was figuring out how to deal with a truly massive combined book collection. After much research, we landed on the IKEA IVAR shelf system, which appealed for its solid pine makeup (particleboard gives me the ick) and friendly price tag. We liked that it could be disassembled into easily transportable and reconfigurable parts should we need to move and could be endlessly added to when, inevitably, we acquired more books. Also, unlike many shelving systems, it didn’t require wall mounting, which can be a bit of an invasive process for a rental apartment. We snagged a corner piece for ours, allowing it to wrap around the room.
When I did a deeper dive on the system, I learned that it’s been in the IKEA catalogue since 1967 and the original design was supposedly conceived as an industrial storage shelf for the Swedish Post Office. A design history nerd myself, I like knowing that these shelves have survived the shifting styles of the last half century, and I think their original, utilitarian intention is why they remain so timeless. They almost disappear, letting your books be the real design statement.
The Setup
I’d rate the IVAR as moderate on the IKEA difficulty scale. Depending on the size of your system, putting it together isn’t exactly for the faint of heart. Once assembled (I had the help of my very handy husband), they can carry serious weight and, in my opinion, get a bit stronger when anchored with your objects. With a range of add-ons, you can use them in many contexts. We also used a set to build out our closet—and a friend of mine has them stacked with bowls and cookware in her kitchen. I’ve contemplated getting some cabinets to hide a bit of mess. A pro tip from our household: add screw-in feet to the legs (we got some threaded leveling mounts from McMaster-Carr) so that the height can be subtly adjusted to address wonky, uneven New York City floors.
The Verdict
Five years later, this set of shelves has lived in two apartments—with two different setups. Originally I installed them on either side of a fireplace. Now they curl around the room, all on one wall. A few notes from me: If you’re moving the IKEA IVAR shelf system, make sure not to lose any hardware, and be gentle with the metal fittings on the shelf slats, as I did have to replace a few components that got jostled in transit. Still, for the price, I can’t recommend these pieces enough. Just good, hardworking wood furniture that I’ll surely pack up and bring to another apartment soon enough.
