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Couple Builds DIY Bookshelf Together and It’s a Pinterest Dream Come True

DIY Bookshelf

Countless creative makers and experimental enthusiasts have undoubtedly found a DIY project on the internet and wished that they had the skills to make it. (Or else try and end up on Pinterest Fail.) Jessica Breen was one of these people, but she has a not-so-secret-weapon to help her achieve her decor dreams—her husband, Sinclair Breen. He works as a builder, so when Jessica spied a creative bookshelf design online, he was able to help bring the project to life.

Jessica’s dream DIY bookshelf was much more than your standard vertical design. It featured a series of cubes with their backs affixed to the wall and arranged in a starburst-like shape. “When I showed Sinclair he almost had a heart attack,” Jessica told The Daily Mail. “We knew we had to try it.”

Shortly after showing Sinclair the picture, the two got to work. They measured the wall space and then handed the dimensions and inspiration image off to Jessica’s colleague, a graphic arts teacher. “He magically came up with the sizes of all the panels that we got cut from a manufacturer,” Jessica explains. The panels came disassembled, and it’s when the arduous work of the DIY really began—they had to build all those cubes.

The project required precision, and to ensure that they would have it, Sinclair created a faux MDF wall. This allowed them to draw the boxes directly in place. “We had to fix the wall onto our normal studded wall,” Jessica recalls, “and then we screwed the boxes onto the MDF wall.” The assemblage and installation took about 16 hours, but they were able to complete the work over the course of one day.

“It was a huge process,” Jessica admits. “But it was so worth it.” The DIY bookshelf both looks great and is an area of reprieve for the couple’s young kids. “My boys love the seating area and bookshelf,” she explained. “The books along the bottom of the bookcase are all theirs—so they are quite happy to chill for a bit there, read and hang out.”

When Jessica Breen saw a creative bookshelf design on the internet, she and her husband Sinclair knew they had to try it.

Creative Bookshelf Design

They had someone help figure out the dimensions of the panels and then had them cut by a manufacturer.

Creative Bookshelf Design

Sinclair, a builder, knew how to assemble the DIY bookshelf.

Creative Bookshelf Design

It's a good thing, too, because the DIY bookshelf took them 16 hours to build!

Creative Bookshelf Design

The work was worth it, though—the result is stunning:

DIY Bookshelf

DIY Bookshelf

DIY Bookshelf

Jessica Breen: Facebook
h/t: [Bored Panda]

All images via Jessica Breen.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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