No bookworm needs an introduction to the IKEA BILLY bookcase. The bookcase was designed by Gillis Lundgren in 1979. First, he sketched the plan on the back of a napkin. As with many other IKEA products, the focus was on functionality and flexibility. During the design, they also kept in mind that people might want to expand their book collection later, so this is also possible, since it can be extended, several shelves can be inserted and the BILLYs bought at different times fit together perfectly, so you can create unique compositions from them, considering that different homes have different needs and space requirements. The design is so simple that it won’t fall out of fashion. The shelf takes its name from IKEA advertising manager Billy Liljedahl, who wanted to create a proper bookshelf just for books.
Initially, the shelves were 90 cm wide, but this was changed to 80 cm in 1988 after customers complained that the shelves bent under the weight of the books. Since then, it has been available in widths of 40 and 80 cm with a depth of 28 cm, which is very space-saving, so it fits into many different homes.
Although BILLY has not escaped its ups and downs, its success is also shown by the fact that it is still being produced and that on average one BILLY bookcase is sold every five seconds!
