shelving and tables using glass bottles

step 1Get your bits n bobs.
For one module you will need:

Four bottles. All the same brand/height/shape preferable. Wash them thoroughly in hot soapy water.

Two hook and eye strainers / turnbuckles as they are sometimes called. I used the smallest I could find, which are 14mm OD at the buckle and 5mm OD at the threads. Such as these from Screwfix.

Two planks of wood, prepared as shown in the .pdf template - careful! there are two different hole diameters, and if you are leaving one rough edge as I did here, make sure you take your measurements from the straight datum edge.

*REVISION* I would now NOT drill the holes in the lower shelf (the 30mm ones) all the way through, but drill them from below to half depth, using a flat bit. They will then rest on the tops of the bottles of the module below, rather than allowing the necks to pass striaght through as was the case in this prototype. (See discussion in comments)

Screw in the cup hooks halfway between the holes on either side, as shown. Depending on the height of your bottles, you may need some ess hooks too to help the strainer reach between the upper and lower hooks.


This prototype was built with the Coach House Trust in Glasgow, using bottles from their recycling centre, and wood from the maintenance of their own sites. You can use any found timber, and adapt the dimensions to suit the wood you are working with.