Looks Good, poor instructionsChristopherSteps 6 and 7 the parts look identical in the instructions. They're different parts, but you wont realize where the difference are important until steps 15 when a screw wont go in, and 24, when theres no place to insert the pegs to support the bottom shelf. I ended up drilling new holes instead of taking apart the whole shelf and starting over.
Now that it's together, it looks great, hopefully it holds together despite my alterations2
Not a great valueAngelaI love the versatility of IKEA furniture and the simple lines and styling of their pieces. However, it's really expensive to purchase a bookcase or a few and pay as much for them as a solid wood piece at a vintage furniture store. The paperboard backing makes the piece feel flimsy and the feet should come with sliders to make it easy to move for painting, re-arranging, cleaning. I do like the white stained look, as it goes with my decor. The top hangs over just slightly, making it impossible to tie the pieces together with other Hemnes bookcases. We solved this problem by adding a piece of door stop trim between the bookcases - it was a perfect fit, enabling us to screw them together as one unit for a nicer look. However, a suggestion would be to get rid of the overhang or include filler strips with the purchase so others can have a cohesive look to the bookcases. If tasked with purchasing again, I may not due to the price and quality for that price.3
Beautiful, sturdy and very functionalAinuraI love this Hemnes bookcase! The quality is excellent — it feels sturdy, stable and well-made. The shelves hold a lot of weight and don’t sag, even with books and decor. The design is simple, clean and fits perfectly into a Scandinavian-style interior.
Assembly was easy, everything lined up well, and the final result looks much more expensive than it is. The white finish is smooth and bright, and it really refreshed the whole room.
Overall, I’m very happy with this purchase and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful and reliable bookcase.5
Perfect bookcaseLeanneLove this bookcase, perfect size and height for my 9foot ceilings. Easy to put together with help from friends!5
Awful, cheap, disappointing.JulieThis is the worst piece of furniture I have ever purchased from Ikea. I bought 2 of these to replace the Billy bookshelves I purchased 5yrs ago since the shelves are starting to sag, and frankly those are sturdier than this hunk of junk. Immediately took it apart and it’s going back to the store.1
Attractive, but not designed well imoTimothyI liked this at first, and I had a good first year with it, BUT it literally began falling apart after a year. Here is the problem: the side panels are too light and weak, and they can't hold too much weight. So after a while they begin bowing outward, and then the shelves start falling out. The back panel, stupidly, is in 2 pieces, one resting on top of the other, so they fell off. It should be one piece that attaches firmly to the frame. Instead of going to the trouble of returning it, I instead got a hammer and a bunch of nails and took an afternoon to nail the shelves to the frame. I tossed out the back panels. It is a nice looking bookcase, but I can't recommend it. This should be redesigned.2
Good, Sturdy Bookcase in a Cool ColorToddThis bookcase is all solid wood. The levelling feet are perfect for my apartment which is old with floors that sag a little. The shelves are adjustable if you have some larger books, like school textbooks, and some smaller books, like paperbacks. The color is modern looking and stylish, and it goes with items like the RODFLIK floor & table lamps, the FISKBO picture frames, and the RELATERA bookends. A fantastic find that looks great in my living room.5
BookcaseJohn PAlways great.5
Thanks TariffsJoePurchased one of these just a few months ago for $199, and its a beautiful bookcase for that price. Just came back to order TWO more, and now they're $329?! Forget it. These tariff price hikes are insane.4
Love it!HannahThis is my favorite book shelf. I have six of them in my room to hold all my books. It is sturdy and the shelves have not warped at all over the years, which is why I keep buying more of them. They also look really nice all lined up together. And I like the adjustable shelves as I have books of varying sizes.5
Price IncreaseJessicaVery beautiful but hate that the green were out of stock, then came back and now they're more expensive. Not cool. I waited so long.3
Fell apart with paper booksTimothyOrdered 5 of these. First went together perfect. 2 the back popped the supports. The first “perfect” one lost structural integrity with paperback books. These are not worth either the time or money.1
Quite lovelyRoseI waited for the green bookcase to be back in stock. I was surprised how perfectly everything fit. The bookcase is sturdy, the wood is good quality. Considering issues we've had with other newer designs, this one is a winner.5
Nice - but the back panels are different colors!AnonymousI like the material, color options and height of this bookshelf. I went with two of these in solid white. Assembled and noticed that the back panels are different colors? The top panels are grayish and the bottom a bright white. It doesn't look good. I plan on using this for trinkets and books so I am sure it will be somewhat visible. Check this before you assemble. Poor quality control.3
Very beautiful, received faulty productAlexandriaPackaging was nice for this product, but upon opening I received a unit with scratches, chips, slight indentations, and uneven staining throughout the whole unit. Some of the screws also don't fit in all the way, even though I was able to get the unit level, one of the sides is not in all the way and the pegs are visible- shame, because I thought this was beautiful in the store. To return this, I will have to commit another 3 to 4 hours of my day in moving the piece over to the store, waiting in line, and... do I wanna try another one??. I have already spent an hour waiting for phone support and, when they took my call, while the customer service rep was nice, she said there wasn't anything she could do with my receipt info and that I would have to go to the store.
I have bought from ikea before, and this is the first product I received with damage, or that I wasn't able to wiggle together. I'm torn between returning or just leaving the chip (pun intended?) on my shoulder.2
Tolerances not Precise, Looks Good ThoughAnonymous reviewerI am pretty good at putting stuff like this together but still had a bit of trouble due to tolerances being pretty bad on this unit I got. I think IKEA seems to have problems stocking this unit since the boards are made of a solid wood.
I accidentally broke two of their lock screws because the post screws that the lock screws twist to secure did not line up correctly when the post screws were fully inserted. To get the fit right I had to back out the posts several turns to raise them up so they could be grabbed by the locking screws.
I also noticed that the finish on the shelves was a bit rough. There are a lot of holes filled in where cheap wood was used.
Once assembled I was able to order additional parts to replace the ones broken for free. Fully assembled the bookcase does look nice and works well.4
I Own 4 Hemnes Bookshelves, Buying a 5th...RoderickThese are awesome bookshelves. Made of solid wood and easy to put together. I don't know why others seem to have difficulty putting them together? I will concede, the back panel takes a little finessing to get just right, what an extra 5 minutes of your time? Lasting and durable. You will love them...5
Really badPennyThis is the worst IKEA design I've ever come across. I love almost every from IKEA, but this is bad. 1
DisappointedJanetAfter happily purchasing/assembling many IKEA furniture items, this one proved to be a challenge, mainly due to the inferior quality of the cam locks. They are not what they used to be and bend easily. We were finally able to get the bookcase assembled but have decided that we won't be purchasing any more IKEA furniture to be assembled. If just one of the cam locks fails the product cannot be assembled. There are no extras. 2
Design needs a revampJaniceWhile the bookcase works fine, putting on the back is a nightmare (the clips are a joke) and one of the top rails is not clearly identified in the assembly instructions. Very frustrating that all my backs are bowed and won’t fit in the slot.3