New Farmhouse Bench

I made a Farmhouse Bench for my bedroom this week.

I wanted a taller than normal (18" is normal, mine is 21") bench for the bottom of my bed!

 I plan to make a matching headboard one of these days!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I painted the frame with  one coat of Benjamin Moore Pikes Peak Gray and then sanded it to expose some of the wood.

I then rubbed on a light coat of Minwax Oil Based Early American Stain.

The top and shelf have two coats of the Early American stain.

Everything is finished with two coats of Minwax Polycrylic. 

Here are some close ups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Thanks for stopping by!

A Desk Transformed

A friend brought me this desk last week that needed a little update! 

The desk is very solid but the finish and hardware were showing their age.

 

 

 

After removing all the hardware, I cleaned the desk, lightly sanded and applied 2 coats of Zinsser B-I-N Shellac Base Primer.

I lightly sanded again and applied 2 coats of Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Semi-Glass Paint in Extra White.

I used a combination of foam roller and brush to apply the paint.

The top of the desk is formica ( I think) with a mahogany look trimmed in wood.  I sanded and stained the wood and finished it with Minwax Polycrylic.

The new hardware is antique bronze and was purchased at Lowes.

 I love how it turned out!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lake House

My family and I spent an awesome week at the new Lake House a few weeks ago.
My sister and brother-in-law did a wonderful job designing the house for comfort and fun
when the whole gang is there - we really broke it in!!!
We had between 8 and 12 people in and out all week.

 

So here is a small tour - mainly of the rooms that the furniture I made is in:

 

Front of the house with the 4 Adirondack chairs I made.  My brother-in-law really wanted 4 colors, while my sister and I would have been more conservative.
He was right - I love how they came out.

That is my nephew's wife in the picture - she painted the blue and yellow chair!
 

 

 

 

 

Love the front door they choose!

 

 

Foyer

 

 

 

The dining room is to the left as you walk in.  Barb and Stu helped me design the table based on a table they saw in Napa Valley.
It is 90" x 48" and can seat 8 - 12!  There are more pictures of the table here.

 

My sister and brother-in-law!
 

 

I also made this cute bench that can be used with the table for extra seating.

 

 

Just beyond the dining room is the beautiful kitchen and beyond that an awesome screened in porch.

 

 

The living room is on the other side of the kitchen.
I made a large wood top for the metal coffee table in this room but it isn't in this picture.
It will be perfect for playing games by the fire on a cold winter day :)

 

 

Upstairs there are three bedrooms.
I made the queen platform beds for two of the rooms and painted the furniture in the twin bed room.
We made the platform beds high so that large suitcases could easily slide under.
For more on how I built those look here.

 

 

 

 And just around the corner from their house we have this!   I love Lake Michigan!

 

 

 I had so much fun building things for the house! 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

This 'N That

This has been a very busy summer in the garage! 

While I was building furniture for my sister's Lake House

I managed to squeeze in a few other projects.

 

Both my Mom and I had knee surgery this past spring.

My mom had both knees replaced and I had arthroscopic surgery.

I made this little device so we could do some of our exercises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

***********************************************************************

 

With some left over particle board, from making platform beds for my sister,

I designed these work tables.

 

 

 There is a hinge in the middle and one side folds on top of the other. 

 

 

On the side that folds over I installed the legs with a hinges and a lock to hold them in place.

 

 

When the legs are folded down the table takes up half the space.

 

 

I made two tables one 29" high and one 24" high.  The lower table slides under the higher one.

This gives me lots of table space but when they are not in use

they don't take up too much space in the garage!

Here is the lower table already being put to work.

I will be posting on this desk makeover later this week.

I love the height for painting furniture - it isn't as hard on my knees!

 

 

 

 ****************************************************************************

My parents asked me to build them a little table to use in their den to hold some

files that were on the floor.  Here is what I designed and made.

I bought the legs and used wood I had in the garage for the top and aprons.

I stained the top and painted and distressed the bottom.

Thanks for stopping by!
 I will be back later this week with pictures of the furniture I made for the Lake House in the house!!!
 My whole family enjoyed a wonderful week at the Lake House earlier this month!