Couple Saw This DIY Bookshelf Design Online, But They Had No Idea It Would Turn Out So Good
We all lived through a Pinterest phase at some point. No wonder – the page can easily get you hooked with all sorts of inspiring pictures, from design to fashion and photography.
In some cases those pictures can’t be just pinned and forgotten, they need to be made in real life. This was the case when Jessica and Sinclair Breen found a picture of a bookshelf online.
“When I showed [the picture to] Sinclair he almost had a heart attack,” Jessica told The Daily Mail. “We knew we had to try it.” That’s when the ball started rolling.
Jessica measured the wall space, took the inspiring picture with her and went to the graphic arts teacher that worked at the same school as her. With his help they soon knew what size panels to order and after spending $900, they had everything they needed to start building.
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Jessica and Sinclair Breen were browsing the internet when they came across an image of a bookshelf they had to make themselves
The project seemed fitting for the qualifying campaign for reality TV show The Block, so the couple started planning how to recreate their dream bookshelf
After measuring and designing the look, they ordered custom-made panels that cost them about $900
Then they made the boxes and arranged them on a fake MDF wall
After that they fixed the MDF onto the wall and attached the boxes
The couple spent 16 hours creating this bookshelf masterpiece
“It was a huge process but it was so worth it,” said Jessica
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Looks amazing, but then the boring part of mind thought about having to do dusting in all the cracks....
That's why they had children. What?! Your mother didn't make you do all those little jobs she hated to do herself? *lucky*
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I could easily fit about four times as many books into the same amount of wall space.
Just no...and it's all particle board, yet cost them $900?? Could've gotten real wood for that money.
I think it looks great empty, but I'm OCD enough that the books leaning every which way would drive me crazy.
That looks super cool. It seems like you would have to use it only for your nicest looking books or it would throw off the je ne sais quois of the whole thing.
This is magnificent! Well worth the effort and planning. And versatile, too, since it accommodates books and items of all sizes. Well done! They certainly SHOULD stand next to this with a proud smile!
I think it needs a clock in the center. That would be perfect. And for ocd I recommend a shelf inside the cubes making your bookshelves all perfectly leveled. Dead space could be filled in with colored lights to make it look even better ☺️
They look great. 16 hours is hardly a "huge process" though. For creative people, sixteen hours may not even be enough to work out one small detail of a project.
Seriously? They knew what they wanted and designed it. 16 hours was the time it took to build and install it - which isn't bad at all. Even with precut panels, that was a LOT of work.
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It'd be great if the shelves can be rotated if you wanna get something from the top shelves :D
That's also the way cubic octet atoms can pack. Check out the sigma bond on this page... http://www.mccelt.com/electrons-are-fixed-position.php
That's what I wondered. I can see that MDF peeling right off the wall as soon as they start to fill those boxes.
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I just love it ! They did a wonderful job making it ! Now I have ideas for my daughter's new place . 🎅
Could have saved a lot of money, and had greater satisfaction, cutting the panels themselves. I mean, come on, they are just squares.
Would be nice to have referenced where they saw the original design. I know apartment therapy did a story on this design back in 2013.
This is a hard group. This is something they wanted for their living room, went to the trouble of figuring out the layout and putting it together. It looks like they accomplished what they wanted for their home and most people here picked it apart. I think they did a great job and made something that has both function and form.
I am happy for them that they enjoyed their final look, but it would not suit me. The top is inaccessible, and I just personally don't like the way the books have to be all c**k-eyed on the shelves. But everyone is unique and that is their style.
Its awesome, great job and everything.....BUT......$900 for the panels?!?!?! You're telling me you couldn't have gone to Lowe's, bought the MDF and cut those out yourself for less?
Looks awesome. Then my mind thinks about how much more could have been stored in that space using more efficient shelving lol
I think it turned out fantastic! If that's what they really wanted to do, then good for them! I do think they could have cut costs by half perhaps if they made the boxes themselves vs cabinetmaker. Or find local woodworker. A family picture with everyone reading their favorite book would make it complete! (Maybe a round frame to offset all the angles?)
There is exactly 8 boxes in that thing that don't make my brain itch..
Looks ok, not spectacular or anything. And then you realize it's supposed to be a bookshelf? Insane, you can never get enough books in there to make it worth your while let alone have a meaningful sorting. Clearly made by people that do not read.
So, these people copied an idea, then paid someone to build it, then were able to use 8th grade math and and a power drill to assemble it, and we should be proud of them? We're setting the bar lower and lower.
You really think it was easy? Setting the bar low is going to a store and buying a bookcase.
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Ok. So I'm the ONLY one bothered by the stack in the upper left box? Le sigh. The overall shape is lovely, though.
Oh please. “They had no ideas it would turn out so WELL. Hope there’s a grammar book on the top shelf!
It'd be great if it is rotatable, you know, to reach the upper shelves. XD
Why attach it to MDF? that's the weakest type of sheeting that there is. Why not Plywood?
think it would look cool if you had the little boxes with coloured paper or something in them & also something in the middle... maybe a family photo of you all reading?
Umm, no. It's cute, but a huge dust catcher, with at least 7 unreachable shelves for a woman of average height -- unless she just happens to enjoy schlepping a stepladder around.
You have to dust your boring looking bookshelves just the same... Such a great and unusual design and a decoration, too .. KUDOS
Load More Replies...
It's called a neutral colour. A positive aspect of grey--personal experience--is the change of tone according to light. My room would be grey, lavender or light blue dependent upon the position of the sun. So, lighten up.
Load More Replies...
Looks amazing, but then the boring part of mind thought about having to do dusting in all the cracks....
That's why they had children. What?! Your mother didn't make you do all those little jobs she hated to do herself? *lucky*
Load More Replies... I could easily fit about four times as many books into the same amount of wall space.
Just no...and it's all particle board, yet cost them $900?? Could've gotten real wood for that money.
I think it looks great empty, but I'm OCD enough that the books leaning every which way would drive me crazy.
That looks super cool. It seems like you would have to use it only for your nicest looking books or it would throw off the je ne sais quois of the whole thing.
This is magnificent! Well worth the effort and planning. And versatile, too, since it accommodates books and items of all sizes. Well done! They certainly SHOULD stand next to this with a proud smile!
I think it needs a clock in the center. That would be perfect. And for ocd I recommend a shelf inside the cubes making your bookshelves all perfectly leveled. Dead space could be filled in with colored lights to make it look even better ☺️
They look great. 16 hours is hardly a "huge process" though. For creative people, sixteen hours may not even be enough to work out one small detail of a project.
Seriously? They knew what they wanted and designed it. 16 hours was the time it took to build and install it - which isn't bad at all. Even with precut panels, that was a LOT of work.
Load More Replies... It'd be great if the shelves can be rotated if you wanna get something from the top shelves :D
That's also the way cubic octet atoms can pack. Check out the sigma bond on this page... http://www.mccelt.com/electrons-are-fixed-position.php
That's what I wondered. I can see that MDF peeling right off the wall as soon as they start to fill those boxes.
Load More Replies... I just love it ! They did a wonderful job making it ! Now I have ideas for my daughter's new place . 🎅
Could have saved a lot of money, and had greater satisfaction, cutting the panels themselves. I mean, come on, they are just squares.
Would be nice to have referenced where they saw the original design. I know apartment therapy did a story on this design back in 2013.
This is a hard group. This is something they wanted for their living room, went to the trouble of figuring out the layout and putting it together. It looks like they accomplished what they wanted for their home and most people here picked it apart. I think they did a great job and made something that has both function and form.
I am happy for them that they enjoyed their final look, but it would not suit me. The top is inaccessible, and I just personally don't like the way the books have to be all c**k-eyed on the shelves. But everyone is unique and that is their style.
Its awesome, great job and everything.....BUT......$900 for the panels?!?!?! You're telling me you couldn't have gone to Lowe's, bought the MDF and cut those out yourself for less?
Looks awesome. Then my mind thinks about how much more could have been stored in that space using more efficient shelving lol
I think it turned out fantastic! If that's what they really wanted to do, then good for them! I do think they could have cut costs by half perhaps if they made the boxes themselves vs cabinetmaker. Or find local woodworker. A family picture with everyone reading their favorite book would make it complete! (Maybe a round frame to offset all the angles?)
There is exactly 8 boxes in that thing that don't make my brain itch..
Looks ok, not spectacular or anything. And then you realize it's supposed to be a bookshelf? Insane, you can never get enough books in there to make it worth your while let alone have a meaningful sorting. Clearly made by people that do not read.
So, these people copied an idea, then paid someone to build it, then were able to use 8th grade math and and a power drill to assemble it, and we should be proud of them? We're setting the bar lower and lower.
You really think it was easy? Setting the bar low is going to a store and buying a bookcase.
Load More Replies... Ok. So I'm the ONLY one bothered by the stack in the upper left box? Le sigh. The overall shape is lovely, though.
Oh please. “They had no ideas it would turn out so WELL. Hope there’s a grammar book on the top shelf!
It'd be great if it is rotatable, you know, to reach the upper shelves. XD
Why attach it to MDF? that's the weakest type of sheeting that there is. Why not Plywood?
think it would look cool if you had the little boxes with coloured paper or something in them & also something in the middle... maybe a family photo of you all reading?
Umm, no. It's cute, but a huge dust catcher, with at least 7 unreachable shelves for a woman of average height -- unless she just happens to enjoy schlepping a stepladder around.
You have to dust your boring looking bookshelves just the same... Such a great and unusual design and a decoration, too .. KUDOS
Load More Replies... It's called a neutral colour. A positive aspect of grey--personal experience--is the change of tone according to light. My room would be grey, lavender or light blue dependent upon the position of the sun. So, lighten up.
Load More Replies... 
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