My Laundry System

I have been considering what to do with my laundry "closet," since I do not have an actual room.  I have limited storage in my laundry area.  The house came with one of those standard wire shelves that never seems to be efficient or very strong.  A major problem we have is no good storage area for laundry baskets.  I have been using some pop-up cloth laundry baskets because I can store them when not in use, but I would love to have several of the sturdy plastic baskets.

I now have a solution.   I used Google SketchUp to design a tentative laundry cabinet system.  Keep in mind, my design is still crude, but I wanted to show it off and possibly get feedback.  I plan to replace the existing wire shelf with a custom built cabinet system, as pictured below.

Jennifer's Hanging Laundry System - Front View

Following this design idea, I will need four pieces of 3/4" plywood cut in 16" x 24" dimensions.  Then I will need four 16" x 26" pieces of 3/4" plywood.  These pieces will build the shelf structure.  I will then install metal brackets or make  wooden "brackets" to hold my laundry baskets.

Another view of hanging laundry system

The cabinet will be constructed of 3/4" plywood as well.  I will need two 16" x 24" pieces of plywood, two 15 1/2" x 16" pieces, one 15 1/2" x 22 3/8" piece for the cabinet back, and one 24" x 17" piece for the cabinet front which would be hinge mounted on front of the cabinet frame.


*Update*  I consulted my resident engineer for design critique.  He recommends that I replace the brackets with a divider shelf in the center so that my four laundry baskets will rest on a solid support.  If we do this, we will not put any stress on the plastic handles which could cause them to break.  Also, shelves will be more appealing when we sell our house in the future.  I will work on an updated sketch for our new design.

My Children's Room

My children share a room so that we can use our third bedroom as an office and guest room.  In the not too distant past, we had decided that the larger of the two bedroom should be a guest room and play room for the kids.  However, we quickly discovered that this did not work very well and moved the furniture yet again.  

Our current arrangement allows us to have two "adult" rooms in the house and just one room to be filled with toys (besides the constant influx of toys in our livingroom).  I swear that toys must breed and produce more toys.  Where do they all come from!?!  

Once we relocated our children into the large bedroom, I set to work decorating it and organizing storage areas for all those afore mentioned toys!  

To follow is a run-down of all the projects that I and my husband have tackled to make our children's room the most "put-together" room in our house.  *For now.*  

The airplane shelf I built to complement my son's airplane decor.  

I recently built an airplane styled shelf to complement my son's airplane decor on his side of the room.  I have to find unique ways to blend his airplane decorations and my daughter's flowers and girlie style.  I believe we are finally blending the two together somewhat cohesively.

A place for my daughter to hang her tu-tus and other dress-up items.

 I bought three hand-painted drawer pulls last year at the Spoiled Rockin' Kids salon when I got my daughter's hair cut for the first time.  The salon sells lots of local hand made items such as hair bows, barrettes, and, obviously, drawer pulls.  I knew I could find something cute to do with the pulls.

Before Christmas, I asked my husband to route a decorative edge around a scrap piece of wood.  I then used some leftover trim paint to paint the board white.  After the paint dried, three holes were drilled so that the drawer pulls could be installed.  Ta-Da!  A perfect and adorable place to hang dress-up items that are too big or bulky to fit in the dress-up box.

Three hand painted drawer pulls installed on a painted board.

A close-up of the hand painted teapot drawer pull.

A close-up of the other hand painted drawer pull.  

My husband has always had an old framed cork board since I first met him.  It was in terrible shape from disuse and lack of attention.  I knew that if I gave it a face lift, it would make a perfect place to display my children's art.

The finished art display board.

I used some finishing nails to reattach the cork board to the frame in the places where it had come loose.  I then used the same white paint I used on the above project to put coat of white paint over the green paint that was already on the frame (after using painter's tape to protect the cork board).  After the white paint was completely dry, I took a small piece of medium grit sandpaper and lightly rubbed where I wanted the green paint to show through.  I wanted to give the paint an aged looked.

A close-up of the aged detailing in the paint. 

Before my son was born in 2009, my husband built a toddler bed for my daughter.  I just wanted to put a picture of the bed in here because I am so proud of him!  It turned out so well and very sturdy.  Instead of the typical slotted rails on the sides, my husband used a 1x12 cabinet grade board and cut an entry/exit point in the center.  The posts are just 2x4s.  The head board and foot board were constructed with panels that slid into the framing.

The bed works marvelously.  I do not have to worry about little arms or legs getting caught in between any slots in wood.  My daughter took to this bed immediately and has loved it ever since.  Even my son loves it, particularly because he can climb on and off of it very easily.

My husband's toddler bed design.  

*In the future, I will be working on a closet organizer system for toy, clothing, shoe, and book storage.  I will be using Google Sketchup to design it.*

Airplane Shelf

The Airplane Shelf

I saw this lovely airplane styled shelf on www.ana-white.com.  I fell in love with the potential!  Since my son's bedding has airplanes on it, as does most of his wall art, this shelf would fit in perfectly!  

I sent my husband to Lowe's to bring me back some wood and set to work on this.  

*Side Note* While I was working on my shelf, my husband was working on the headboard for our farmhouse style bed.  I showed him the queen size farmhouse bed that Ana published plans for and told my resident woodworking expert that I wanted it.  Being the engineer he is, he immediately set out to redesign the bed and draw it up in ProE.  Well, several months (and many other projects) later, he finally completed the foot board and is now working on the head board to my beautiful (and very sturdy) platform farmhouse style bed.  

The foot board placed at the head of the bed.  The head board is even bigger.  Next, LOTS of sanding.  

For the first step, I used a miter saw to cut my 1x6 boards and my 1x4 supports.  I cut the 1x6 boards at 30" each and the 1x4 supports at 6" each.  

Two 1x6 boards cut at 30" each.

Step 2: After cutting my shelf pieces, I used my husbands drill press to drill and countersink the holes.  I'm a little surprised he let me use it because it is his new "baby" in his shop.  However, after a brief introduction (i.e. Drill Press 101), I was ready to work.  I measured for the placement of my holes, adjusted the platform height on the drill, and used the laser sight to help line up my hole placement.  I have to say, the drill press is awesome.  My holes are so much straighter when I use this versus the hand held drill.  

Using the drill press to drill and countersink holes in my 1x6 boards.

 *Drill Press Tip*  When using a drill press to countersink a hole, do not apply much pressure and watch your hole carefully!  It is best to "tap" the wood with the countersink bit until you achieve the desired depth.  If you apply too much pressure, you will over-countersink your hole. **

Step 3: After measuring again to check for placement of the 1x4 supports, I clamped my pieces together and used the hand held drill to put pilot holes into the ends of my support pieces.  I drilled through the holes I previously drilled with the drill press, using them as guides.  After drilling all of my pilot holes, I applied some wood glue to the ends of the 1x4 supports and screwed everything in place using 2" screws.   Note: The 1x4s are placed 3" from each edge and flush with the back of the wings.

Drilling the pilot holes for my screws.

*Wood Glue Tip* A little wood glue goes a long way.  When pressure is applied to the wood by clamps and by the force of securing the wood together with screws, some of the glue will squeeze out.  The less glue you use, the less glue will be squeezed out.  Once your project is secure, quickly wipe away any trace of excess glue.  If you don't, stain will not adhere properly where the glue has dried. **

The airplane shelf after completing step 3.  This makes up the structure of the shelf. 

Step 4: Using the miter saw, I cut two 1x2 pieces at 6" each.  These are used as the propeller support and landing gear support.  Then I drew a 4" circle and two 2" circles on the scrap 1x6.  These were cut out using a band saw and then smoothed using a belt sander.  A paint stick from Lowe's received the honor of becoming the propeller.  It was cut at 7" and shaped with the belt sander.

Step 5: After measuring to find the center of my 4" circle, I drilled a hole using the drill press, being careful not to countersink the hole.  On the propeller, I drilled and countersunk a hole in the center.  I then used the drill press to drill some holes for the 1x2 propeller support on both wings.  The center of the 1x2 was placed at 11 1/4".  I drilled the holes for the 1x2 at 3/4" from the edge.  I countersunk both holes.
I then pushed the 1x2 in place and used the holes in the 1x6 wings to drill my pilot holes in my 1x2 ends using clamps to hold everything in place.  Afterwards, I attached the support using 2" screws.

Step 6: I attached my 4" circle to the 1x2 propeller support using some wood glue and a clamp.  I drilled a pilot hole into the 1x2 and attached circle and propeller to the support using a 1 1/4" screw.  I positioned the propeller as I liked and used a hand held screwdriver to tighten it all down.  I choose the hand held screwdriver due to the fragile nature of the paint stick.

The shelf after completing step 6.  It begins to resemble a biplane!

Step 7: I cut two pieces of 1x2 boards at 2 1/2" each.  Then using a band saw, I rounded one end of each and smoothed it with a belt sander.  I then drilled my holes and attached each 1x2 wheel support to the ends of the 1x4 landing gear support.  After attaching the wheel supports, I then attached the wheels to complete my landing gear.

Step 8: I sanded everything in preparation for staining.

I had visited Lowe's previously in the day to purchase wood glue.  While there, I noticed a gorgeous rose tinted stain by Cabot.  I couldn't resist, so I purchased a quart.  (I know!  What am I going to do with a quart of this stuff!?!)

Step 9:  I used my rose tinted stain to apply a light wash of color to the wood shelf.  The landing gear was stained separately and I used my dark Minwax Provincial on it.  I used some white acrylic paint and painstakingly painted the propeller white.

My airplane shelf before applying my 2 coats of polyurethane.  

Step 10:  I used a hand-rub poly in satin finish.  I use old cloth diapers (only used as burp clothes) as cloths to rub finish or poly on wood.  They work great as shop rags for cleanup as well!  As I rubbed on the first coat of poly, I noticed that some of the rose color was coming off. I was okay with this because it allowed even more of the wood grain to show through and it is gorgeous!  

I took the color on my cloth that was mixed with poly and lightly wiped over the white paint on the propeller.  It gave a light wash of rose color to the propeller, instantly making it look aged.  

The finished shelf.  

Lamp

For Christmas, Brent and I decided to build some lamps to give as gifts to family.  He felt he could do a good job making a wooden lamp, however, he needed some design inspiration.  Paraphrased his words were, "I'm practical and can make it functional but you can make it look good."  Okay, yes, I can make it look good.  Stroke my ego a little more, honey. :)  

Brent brought me a piece of paper with a preliminary idea sketched on it.  I took another piece of paper and drew out a similar (but different) design, planning for stain color and variations and type of shade.  Once I had a preliminary design, I set about searching through Brent's huge store of wood to find the perfect pieces for our lamps.  We both agreed that we wanted lots of coloration and knots on the wood so the lamp would have a lot of character and omph.  After finding a few pieces of wood that would work, I began measuring and tentatively determining the measurements of the pieces.  

After I had my tentative design completed, I called it a night.   The next day, Brent went to Lowe's to get all the equipment he would need to assemble a lamp.  After an hour, he had it dry fit to show me what his prototype looked like.  I whole-heartedly approved and go him the go ahead to assemble the others.  We discussed what stain pattern the lamps needed and came to an amiable agreement.  Since I don't know the first thing about electrical work, I gladly let Brent take full responsibility for the assembly and I headed to the store to shop for lamp shades.  I chose a tan linen shade for two of the lamps.  I felt the texture and coloration of the shade complimented the lamps.  For the third, an off-white silk shade was chosen to add a touch of sophistication to the rustic quality of the lamp.

An unlit lamp with the linen shade.

The lamp when lit.  The linen shade really compliments the colors of the wood.  

Brent did an excellent job assembling and staining these lamps.  My intentions of helping to build these lamps didn't happen due to a busy schedule and the fact that Brent obviously wanted to build these himself. I asked him if he wanted assistance several times.  After the third or fourth time of hearing, "No, I have it," I finally got the hint! :)  Even though he did most of the work, I am proud of these babies and am posting them because they are my design.  

Tryde Coffee Table

I decided to build a coffee table for my parents as a Christmas gift.  I fell in love with the Tryde table on www.ana-white.com and decided to build it.  The Tryde table is a knock off version of Pottery Barns Hyde table (seen here). 

View of the Tryde coffee table with a Golden Oak stain.

The table is constructed of 2x4s for the top with 2x6 end pieces.  The legs are supposed to be 4x4 posts, however, Brent and I could not locate any that are not treated for outdoor use.  We laminated two 2x4 boards with wood glue and then cut the posts down to 3" by 3" posts.  Close enough and you can't even tell that the legs are laminated!

Another view of the coffee table.

I chose to use 2x4 studs and whiteboard pine for this table because I wanted my wood to have imperfections, knots, and coloration.  After all, the theme of the table is: RUSTIC.  

We made a couple of small changes to the design during construction.  We added some extra support to the underside frame structure so that we could attach the table top boards from the underside.  We did  not want any screws showing from the top.  

Also, I cut the 2x4 top pieces 1" shorter than the plan called for.  Brent and I were concerned that the 1x6 edging extended a bit far and therefore could possibly be fractured if someone sat on the table.  By decreasing the center boards by an inch, we were able to position the 1x6 end pieces 1/2" further in, thereby allowing more connection of the board to the structure beneath.  A half inch on either side is not a lot of distance, but it does make a difference.  

I love this table so much, I am considering building myself one.  :) 

My First Project

My husband does a bit of woodworking and is getting rather good at it.  I love the idea of making something myself, so I began to research some plans by Ana White on ana-white.com.  I fell in love with her spa bench plans.  I love Ana's plans because she gives you a materials list as well as a cut list.  Her plans are perfect for a newbie like me.

With the help of Brent, I went to Lowe's and purchased the wood needed.  Brent introduced me to his power tools and helped me to set up some of the cuts.  He had some great hints and tips for making good cuts and ensuring that all the pieces fit well together.  His most important hint (besides don't lose a finger) is to only cut the pieces that you are currently working with.  If you cut all of your pieces ahead of time, you may find that your pieces don't line up properly due to variations in construction.  

Once the pieces were cut, I used Brent's Dewalt drill and some wood glue to assemble the spa bench.  Immediately following assembly, I needed to do a lot of sanding.  I used a palm sander to do the heavy sanding, but then followed it up with some hand sanding with medium fine paper.  I put a lot of love into the sanding of this bench.  

At this point, I will comment that it is July and about 100 degrees in our garage!  

 A picture of me in our messy garage/shop, hand sanding the bench.

After sanding, I cleaned off the sawdust from the bench and began to stain it with a Provincial stain.  I love the rich, dark color of this stain.  After a couple of coats of stain, I began to finish the bench with some satin Polyurethane.  I put three coats on the top and sides plus an additional two coats on the bench top.  After it dried, I gave it a light sanding with a fine grit sandpaper and wiped it clean.

The finished result!

I brought the bench into my house and it now resides proudly beside our garage door.  We use it as a storage bench and a place to put on or take off shoes.  Brent loves the bench.  I am very proud of my first woodworking venture and looking forward to many more.