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For a different Ikea bookshelf we had a handyman secure it with a L bracket.

Go to your local hardware store and get a couple of small metal "L" brackets and some wood screws. Any Ace hardware will have them. If you attach the L brackets to your shelf and then screw the bracket to the wall, you should be good. Be sure to position the brackets at the top of the shelf.
Here's a diagram that illustrates what I'm talking about:

http://images.oldhouseweb.com/stories/bitmaps/10302/bookcase.gif

You might not have to put the brackets on the side like the drawing shows.

Wow, that looks wobbly .. I fear for the plant on top! You could get a sheet of fairly good quality plywood cut to fit the back of the piece, then attach it to the shelves and sides with small screws. The screws would be invisible from the front. You could either select a sheet of plywood that's a close colour match or paint the side that's visible a funky colour. If you wanted a more open look you could just plywood the bottom half of the piece. Use screws through the backing to secure the whole thing to wall studs.

Alternatively I would use "L" brackets - one leg of the "L" under a couple of the shelves and the other leg screwed into wall studs (for strength). That's the cheaper option but the drawback there is that part of the brackets may be visible from the front of the piece.

Yikes. Empty that thing until you can secure it with angle brackets.

Go to the fabric store--or hardware store--and purchase some webbing ribbon (I don't think it's called that, but that is how I would describe it) and nail one end to the shelf and the other end to the wall. If your shelf is especially heavy make sure to find the stud. I have two little girls and this is what I have done with all of my shelves and dressers. It works and it is fast and easy. Good luck!

The Ikea hardware isn't exactly high-tech: a strip of high-strength nylon strap (like the adjustment straps of an internal-frame backpack) and a couple of screws. I've sometimes used metal L-brackets to secure tall furniture to walls too.

If you insist on keeping this - you're going to need to go to IKEA.

You're missing the cross braces that keep this shelf-unit upright - which is why your unit is leaning to the side. Your shelves will eventually give out and your unit will collapse unless you get the proper hardware.

IKEA, assuming you live near one, usually has a spare parts library at customer service with free pieces. If you don't see it, just ask at customer service or AS-IS and they'll usually give you one. That being said, all IKEA's stuff has the same packet for attaching to the wall. It is basically a flat piece of woven nylon, two screws (one for the wall, one for the piece)and washers. Easy to DIY.

Eyehooks and picture wire, assuming you're not storing rare wines in an earthquake zone.

L-shaped support brackets, two of them screwed into the top shelf and into the wall 16" apart (wherever you happen to have studs in your wall)

I'd use one of these in whatever length is most appropriate. I have them on all of our tall/tippy furniture (we're in earthquake country) and I love that I can still move the furniture if I need to. It's also pretty unobtrusive, just a bracket on top of the bookcase and one in the wall stud.

If your hardware store doesn't have an earthquake-proofing display, look for things like this in the childproofing section.

Ask for "earthquake straps".

Some are large and obtrusive, but you can find some that are smaller and can get the job done without being that noticeble.

I have the same shelf in my closet for towels and whatnot. I haven't attached it to the wall, but I think any hardware store will have L brackets that you will screw into the bookshelf and then into the wall.

Or you could put something under the front two legs to make it lean back instead of forward. That's what I ended up doing.

Look into the fixtures used to baby-proof a house. BabiesRUs, for one, but certainly other suppliers as well, sell hardware for precisely what you want to do. In fact, I just used a kit from BabiesRUs to attach a bookshelf to a wall. You may have to shop around to the size you need, but if you have books or decorative items near the top (where the hardware goes) you'll have lots of flexibility.

- PS: Not advocating Babies R Us. I dislike the store but sometimes it's the easiest place to go for basic items like this.

Get a small "L" shaped bracket (maybe 1" on each side) with screw holes on each side.

Place the bracket so the base of the "L" is sitting on the top shelf, at the back edge, with the vertical part of the "L" against the wall. Screw it into the top shelf and the wall, and you're done.

Ikea does *some* mail order - couldn't you call them and ask them to send the strap that originally came with the unit? It's not very large...

You don't need original hardware. Go to your local hardware store and get a pair of L-brackets -- two or three holes per leg of the L should be fine. Also you'll need a couple of wood screws for each bracket, and then some longer screws, plus wall anchors -- at least one of each per bracket but preferably two. (If you're not a hardware store kind of person, you may find a sympathetic clerk and explain what you're trying to do, and he or she can help you make your choices.)

Once home, attach one leg of each L to the top shelf of your unit, and then the other leg to your wall. Voila!

I walked into Ikea the other day to pick up hardware and they didn't have it, so they took my address and mailed it to me for free within a week (from Stockholm, no less). Perhaps someone here could pop in and provide your name and address for you?

get at least 2 of the little fasteners that are bent at a right angle with screw holes at each end. attach 2 to the bookshelf just above the top shelf on the inside of the uprights. then attach the other side to the wall. that way the hardware will be covered by the things on the shelf.

if it still seems shake, add 2 on a lower shelf.

i mean "shaky"

P.S. Maybe, if you use a plywood backing, try wallpaper or fabric stapled on the visible side?

I wouldn't worry about attaching the shelf to the wall unless you happen to live in an area where earthquakes are common. I usually put small slabs of plywood or plexiglass under the front legs of the shelf to make them slightly lean back into the wall. (Having a level helps.) I then put heavy items on the bottom shelf, and the shelf seems to stabilize itself. I've never had anything fall over.

Having said that, I notice that your shelf doesn't have a crossbar in the back. Is it missing or am I mistaking your shelf for another IKEA classic? That would explain why it seems to be swaying sideways.

get the proper hardware for your wall (anchors or molly bolt, preferably, for sheetrock) and for the wood. get two pieces of nylon webbing (like backpack straps). screw through one end of one piece of webbing into one of the shelving uprights, then attach the other end to the wall with the hardware. repeat on the other upright.

I never actually attach my bookshelves to the wall, but that's just because I'm lazy, and if I decide to move them later I don't like refilling the holes.

Instead, I just fold up a little square of cardboard and wedge it under the front legs. It effectively tips the shelf back toward the wall, and works well enough for me, as I don't have kids or pets -- your own mileage may vary!

If that wall is made of bricks, i would use angle iron clips and screws and dowels. Use them at the top of the bokshelf for lever rule reasons.

I use a simple steel angle bracket, nothing fancy. (This is a flat piece of steel about 3/4" wide that's folded into an L shape and has pre-drilled holes for screwing through both arms. If you spend more than a dollar apiece, you're buying 'shelf brackets' or 'handrail brackets' or some other upmarket specialty product instead of a no-nonsense angle bracket. Examples here http://www.sugatsune.com/products/productss.cfm?CATID=9&SUBCATID=1.)


Locate a stud anywhere across the width of the unit and mount the L to the top shelf (on the top or the underside, whichever is least conspicuous) to line up with the stud. An L-bracket with sides two to three inches long gives you some flexibility about how far the shelf unit needs to sit out from the wall (to level it, to clear the baseboard, etc.). And installing it on the shelf (rather than the uprights) means you aren't limited to aligning an upright with a wall stud.

And, of course, you'll use whatever fastener is most appropriate for your wall construction--there's no safety factor in affixing the shelf to the wall if the fastener doesn't hold.

Go to a local hardware store and ask one of their workers for recommendations on how to attach it to the wall. Or, you could always call Ikea's customer service to ask.

You can also use 2 large "eyes," as in one-half of a hook-and-eye. Put 1 up high on the back of the shelf and the other in the wall (preferably into a stud) near where the shelf one will be. Position the shelf, then loop a piece of wire (I used scrap insulated electrical wire) through both the eyes and twist like bread tie (may require needle-nose pliers to twist).

Hi. Thanks for the responses!

We don't have earthquakes here, but I am worried it will topple. Like someone said, eventually the shelves will give out.

I'm going on vacation so I will empty it out first, and attach it when I get back.