I really like checkered patterns, as you might have noticed in this blog post. So why not create also a bookshelf in that design?

The shelf is based on 30 pieces (12 white and 18 black) of 1×1 Expedit shelves by IKEA. Unfortunately IKEA discontinued the Expedit programme in 2014 and replaced it with Kallax, but I managed to get all pieces in time. After the change, there were no 1×1 Kallax shelves, but IKEA introduced them in the in the meantime).

The individual shelves are stacked to create various „towers“. The shelves within a tower are glued together with double-sided adhesive tape. The towers are not connected to each other – to better compensate the unevenness of the floor and to make it easier to disassemble the whole shelf.

Two Expedit shelves are outfitted with doors (to hide cables and other stuff) On top of each tower there is a custom-made glas plate (6mm thick safety glass, painted black on one side), which hides the quite ugly screws of the Expedit shelf and creates a nice surface.

The shelves on the bottom are underlaid with pieces of felt to protect the floor and make it easier to move them.

BTW: The photograph on the wall was taken in 2011 in London. The construction site is now finished – it has become The Shard.