New Project: "The Beast"

I picked up this beast from the Kiwanis thrift shop last month to turn it into our dining room buffet/ sewing machine cabinet/ company-is-coming-quick-throw-crap-in-these-drawers/ oh-so-that's-where-that-went catch all kind of piece. Something about pieces from the early 80s are starting to catch my eye more and more. This thing even smells like 1983 and it doesn't really bother me; I kind of caught myself breathing it in when I was working on it a bit this morning.

So where will this go from here? I'm thinking a high gloss gray-ivory with dark bronze hardware but time will tell. The Springtime weather has me eager to get outside and continue with sanding and priming The Beast this weekend. I should put the damn thing on casters since it is ridiculously heavy, hence it's moniker.

I didn't think to take a picture before I started disassembling the doors and some drawer glides.

One huge motha from anotha.

Those shouldn't be annoying to sand or anything.

Built-ins: Check!

I spy... with my eye... 

a set of completed built in bookshelves hand-crafted by my hubby! I love them and I love him!

And now on to the next thing on my list: a new mantle. We are going to the salvage yard next week. Standby.

Built-ins Update

I know you all are anxiously sitting on the edge of your seats in anticipation of an update on the family room custom built-ins. Oh, you're not? Too bad: they are a lot of work and we are documenting it, darn it. So you'll just have to read about it.

Erik has been gone for a couple weekends and weeks here and there, as well as a "feast or famine" flight schedule that has been more on the feast side. So things were delayed for a bit. I requested that at least the base cabinets were complete this month and they were, save for the doors. Hubby's been workin' hard!

I do help now and then.

My view every time I open the garage door.

In progress with toys inside - can't wait to hide it all behind doors! (Disregard random hanging decorations leftover from a baby shower)

Cabinet doors in a queue, ready to report for duty!

This has become a much bigger project than anticipated, but I guess we did anticipate that in some ways. Life doesn't give you level floors and plumb walls by default. Plus Erik is struggling with his inner woodworker zen of doing things with hand crafted woodworking techniques versus pushing through and just assembling the damn things. He has spent some time continuing to reclaim our old hardwood floors; this is a bit of a time suck since it requires pulling out nails, planing and jointing boards, etc. But it gives him warm and fuzzies and it gives me more shed space as he whittles down the pile we have out there. 

Old flooring boards... the material for those doors in previous photo!

Clamps galore.

Standby as completion is slated for end of October!

Hallway Photo Solution!

We have had a blank wall when you walk into our house for months. I put my little mod 70's sewing table there, but the space above it was yearning for a mirror or photos or... something. It just needed something.

I looked at some mirror options for a while and then came to the conclusion that mirrors aren't my friends these days (enter: frizzy hair, bags under eyes, unknown substance on shirt, etc). Next option of course is photos of my family. They're cute, right? I think so. But those boogers grow quickly so I wanted something that was easy to change out.

Solution: I found an open frame at the local antique mall for a few buckaroos and some burlap strips. Staple to back of frame. Paperclip photos. Mirrors avoided. Voila.

Hand Plane Restoration

My husband likes to buy crappy looking used hand planes at garage sales and flea markets given they are foundationally sound and under $10. I asked why he needs multiple planes and I think he said something about different blade angles and thickness. Wood. Yep.

I do think he does a nice job restoring them, though. Check out what a little sanding and buffing and staining can do! He could probably resell them for a good profit but I bet my  packrat snookum wookums hangs on to them for a few decades.

Before

Before

After

After

With all these hand planes, it makes me wonder why he has that big loud planing machine that is conveniently run during naptimes. Hmmm?

Love you, hon!

The Helperton Stand

The hubs has been working hard on another weekend project for the kiddo and kiddo-to-be! This one was inspired by some blog posts I saw in combination with Landon's insistence on pushing dining room chairs to the kitchen island to be near the action. We call it the Helpy Helperton stand. It's a nice sturdy anti-tip platform that rests against counter-height surfaces so toddlers and preschoolers can hang out more safely. The platform is adjustable to different heights to accommodate for the ever present growth spurts.

As far as the woodworking side of things, I've heard Erik talk about things like mortise and tenon joinery with this project. Go, wood! I think the materials cost about $30-40, which was a great steal in comparison to the $125-plus price tag I see in catalogs. Win! Thanks, hubby!

In progress.

In progress.

Clamps galore as the pieces are all fitted together!

"To the Moon, Alice!"

"This platform is the perfect place to perform!"

This is L's "I'm potentially up to no good" face. I'm distracted by the lemon crinkle cookies I'm lovingly about to devour.

Helping in action!

So as I reviewed these photos, I realized our kitchen looks quite disheveled and I was a tad hesitant to post the pics. And then I thought, "Well hell, this is life. There are cutting boards and snacks on the floor (thanks, Landon), there are Tums at hand (thanks, Piglet), there is a helmet visor on the counter (thanks, Erik) and cabinets and drawers are temporarily left open because I have cookie dough on my hands." 

Life is sweet alright, if not a little messy at times.

Reading Corner: Check!

This past month Erik was able to use an old pallet that some of our flooring was delivered on to create some cute book shelves for Landon's room. There was an unused corner near his crib that was a perfect fit - yay! Even better is that Landon took to it right away and figured out that it was where the cool kids hang out and he knows how to pick 'em and put them back (the latter, of course, being a less frequent activity than the first).

We also put a smaller reading chair in Landon's room for him to hop up on. This replaces the big cushy recliner that was in there because, yes, that had to go to Piglet's room for upcoming late night nursing and rocking sessions. So far Landon has not complained about the new arrangement and doesn't hang out in Piglet's nursery too much. I'm sure he will be staking his claims, however, when the baby arrives and we are in there more and his curiosity piques.

Good job, hubby!

The raw material

Installation complete and Tutu Teddy certified

L going for the bait

Success!

 

Our old books are on the higher shelf for now until little fingers learn to be a little more gentle :o)

Functioning Hall Bath: Check!

Our downstairs hall bath was a bit out of shape for a couple months, but we are happy to report it has finally been pieced back together. I'm proud of the way it turned out and it has running water again so what more could a girl ask for? The original reasons for the update were based on the fact that (1) the color was originally a dark red which I felt was pretty aggressive for the small space and (2) we were updating the floors and trim throughout the downstairs anyways.

Erik did all the bead board work himself and was actually able to salvage the old oak trim baseboards to use as the cap rail. The biggest challenge was cutting around the plumbing (me use math no good) but it worked out just fine. I chose a grayish color since it would work well with the crisp white. All in all, it's a more pleasant place to do business.

Before

After

While Erik was doing the hard labor with the woodwork, I was working on a project based on an old barnwood tray I found at an estate sale for $2 and some Normal Rockwell covers that I pulled from a mini picture book. I had hundreds of images to choose from so I actually set aside several. My intention is to switch out the images for the different seasons (e.g. use the Christmastime Post covers in the winter) but let's be honest, that is probably a pipe dream for now. The thought is there at least.

Leaf Initial Wreath

Thank you, again, Pinterest for inspiring me to do something crafty. This week I made a simple Fall monogram for our front door. This idea came from the Thrifty Abode blog. Sometimes you just need to see someone else do it first to remind yourself that yep, I can hot glue some leaves to a letter. I got this!

Thanks to the hubs building a sturdy "H" out of scrap pine in the garage.

I'm hanging it on our door despite the fact that it's been 95 degrees all week. It's Fall in my mind, gosh darnit!  Plus we are getting a cold front this week which will bring us down to 88... oooooh.