Jessica and Sinclair Breen built a striking wall-mounted bookshelf made of dozens of open white cubes, tilted and fixed to the wall in a starburst pattern around an empty centre. Jessica found the design in a photo online, Sinclair is a builder by trade, and with a little maths help from a colleague of Jessica's they turned the picture into a finished shelf in about 16 hours of work, completed in a single day.
The couple shared the project in late 2017, and it was soon picked up by the Daily Mail, My Modern Met and Bored Panda. According to Bored Panda, it was part of their campaign to qualify for the renovation reality show The Block. Here is how they did it, what the photos show at each stage, and what to think about if you want to build something similar at home.
From a photo online to a cutting list
Jessica had the familiar experience of falling for a DIY project on the internet. Her version of the story is a funny one: when she first showed the picture to Sinclair, she told the Daily Mail, "he almost had a heart attack." Once he had recovered, they decided to try it anyway.
The design is deceptively hard. Every cube is turned at a slightly different angle, and the boxes get larger towards the outer edge, so working out each panel by eye would be close to impossible. The couple measured their wall and handed the dimensions and the inspiration photo to a colleague of Jessica's who teaches graphic arts. He calculated the size of every panel, and they ordered the pieces pre-cut from a manufacturer. Bored Panda put the cost of the custom panels at about $900.
The panels arrived flat, stacked on a bed. Every box had to be assembled by hand before the layout could even be tested, which is where most of the 16 hours went.
Building the cubes
Sinclair assembles the boxes on a drop sheet in the living room, with a few finished cubes stacked by the TV. Each cube needed four sides and a back, and the joints had to be square, because even small errors add up when dozens of boxes sit edge to edge.
Pre-cut panels make this stage manageable for a careful amateur. Drill pilot holes before screwing into the edges of MDF, which can split if a screw goes in without one, and keep a square on hand to check every box.
Laying it out on a false wall
The clever step was to work flat. Sinclair made a false wall from a sheet of MDF and laid it on the floor, where Jessica could draw the outline of every box directly onto the board and arrange the cubes on it. Fixing the pattern on a loose board first meant they could adjust angles easily before anything went near the real wall.
Once the layout was right, they fixed the MDF board onto the timber studs of the ordinary wall behind it, then screwed each cube onto the board. The false wall spreads the load across the studs and gives a solid surface to screw into anywhere in the pattern, instead of only where a stud happens to be.
Here Sinclair fixes the boxes to the board on the wall, working outwards around the open centre. The star-shaped gap in the middle is part of the design and later became a cosy spot to sit.
The finished bookshelf
Empty and freshly finished, the shelf reads almost as a piece of wall art. The varied angles create shelves of different heights and slopes, so tall books, small paperbacks and display objects each find a natural place.
Filled with books, the pattern becomes even bolder. Two pink chairs and a pouf turn the bay window corner into a reading nook beside it.
The family with the finished shelf. Jessica said their sons love the seating area and that the books on the lowest shelves are theirs, so the boys happily settle there to read. Putting children's books low is a simple design choice that makes a feature wall into an everyday part of family life.
"It was a huge process," Jessica said, "but it was so worth it."
Planning your own version
If you want to try a geometric bookshelf, a few points will save time and money:
- Draw it to scale first. Free design software or even graph paper will show whether the pattern fits your wall and how many sizes of cube you need. The Breens' shortcut was a friend who was good with design maths.
- Get panels cut professionally. Many timber suppliers will cut sheets to a list. Accurate, identical edges matter more here than in almost any other DIY shelf.
- Choose the board carefully. MDF is smooth, dense and paints well, but it is heavy, swells if it gets wet, and does not hold screws well in its edges. Plywood is lighter and holds screws better; either can work if the boxes are small.
- Seal and ventilate. Cutting and sanding MDF produces fine dust and releases formaldehyde, so wear a good dust mask, work in a ventilated space and seal all sides when painting.
- Expect angled shelves. Books slide on a tilted shelf, so fill the lower corner of each box first, or leave some boxes for decorative objects.
Fixing it safely to the wall
A full shelf of books is very heavy, and this kind of project relies entirely on the wall fixings. Sinclair, as a builder, knew where the studs were and how to fix to them. If you are not confident:
- Locate the studs or solid masonry and fix into them, not just into plasterboard.
- Use a full backing board, as the Breens did, so every cube has something solid behind it.
- Load the shelf gradually and check for movement.
- Teach children that the boxes are for sitting beside, not for climbing.
- Ask a qualified builder or carpenter to check the fixings if you are unsure.
Projects like this succeed because of planning more than skill. Measure carefully, get help with the geometry, and build on the floor before you build on the wall.
Jessica Breen: Facebook
Sources: My Modern Met, Sara Barnes, 1 January 2018, Bored Panda, Daily Mail (original interview), Wikipedia: Medium-density fibreboard, Jess and Sinclair Breen on Facebook (photos).
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