#IGBuilders Challenge

Hi guys!  If you've been following me on facebook, then this is old news, but if not, I'm very excited to share this with you!  A few weeks ago I decided to sign up for a building challenge.

When I signed up, I had no idea what we would actually be asked to build.  After the signup deadline had passed, all builders were sent a set of plans for a simple console table.  We were given instructions to build it, make a few minor modifications if we wanted (as long as the finished piece still resembled the plan), and paint/stain/complete it...all within 3 weeks!  Normally this would have been a simple feat for me and I wouldn't have thought much of it, but with my kids home from school for the summer, I knew my shop time was going to be drastically reduced and I wasn't sure I would meet the 3 week deadline.  BUT, I decided to go for it anyway. ;)

This is a picture of the original plan...

As soon as I saw it, I knew what i wanted to do! :)  I redrew the plan in sketchup but with the modifications I had in mind to make sure it would still "look right".  My modifications included 2 additional legs in the front so I could divide it into 3 sections for drawers and made it two thinner drawers instead of one deeper one.  I also narrowed it down a few inches so I would only have to purchase 8' boards instead of 12' - they're easier to transport in my van - haha! ;)    I also added the bottom shelf and the X's to the sides to match our coffee table I built last month.   I loved it (and hoped the judges would too!)

I purchased a mix of fir, knotty pine and pine plywood and got to work!

I started by building the main frame.
 

From there I built and added the drawers.

This is actually just a test fit to make sure they were all fitting perfectly before I installed all the drawer slides. :)

For the top I ran all my lumber through my thickness planer to make sure they were all the same thickness and then glued them up to make a larger solid piece rather than use a plywood or other type of sheet material.  One of the things in the original plan that I liked the look of was the breadboard ends.  Rather that just using pocket holes and screws, I decided to attempt a more traditional method called tongue and groove.  I've definitely got to work on it a bit more, but I was happy with the result...even if it's not 100% accurate. ;)

Drawers installed and breadboard ends attached!

I chose to do a stained top and painted bottom.  The colour I chose for paint is called "Ashwood" by Benjamin Moore.  I had the colour matched at Home Depot in a satin finish in their Behr Premium Plus paint line.  I sprayed on at least 4 coats, lightly distressed all the edges (because I know my kids will naturally add to that over time!) and then followed it with a satin polycrylic clear coat.

The top is stained in Minwax Jacobean and finished with a satin wipe-on poly.

To install the drawer fronts, one of the other builders in the challenge shared a tip she had learned - and it is brilliant!  By using a deck (or 3) of playing cards as shims, it allows easy adjustments to space the drawer fronts perfectly!

I always drill my hardware holes in the drawer fronts first so they're perfectly centered.  Then, once shimmed in place, I temporary screw the fronts to the drawer boxes through the predrilled holes.  I shoot a few small staples with my nail gun from the inside of the drawer box into the back of the drawer front which holds the front in place when I remove the temporary screws.  From there I just run my drill through the previous holes I drilled in the drawer front, through the drawer box, and there you go, perfect placement holes for the hardware!



Speaking of hardware, aren't these gorgeous???  I found them at our local Windsor Plywood and knew they were perfect!  I believe it was an "aged bronze" finish.

And, here is my finished table!

I am SO thrilled with how my table turned out and it fits in perfectly in our home!  Now, this was a building challenge and there could only be one winner.  Definitely head over to Instagram and check out #IGBuilderschallenge and see the other builders gorgeous builds! As soon as the tables started being posted, I had NO idea how the judges would ever make a decision!  SOOO tough!

With over 200 builders signed up and SO many gorgeous tables built, I never actually thought I would ever win....well, I was completely shocked and overjoyed when I received a message saying that the judges had picked MY table as the winner!!!

I couldn't believe it...and was a little more than excited. ;)  Lets just say our neighbors thought we'd won the lottery the way I was freaking out on our back deck! ;)  Hey, I felt like I had!!


Anyway, now that the challenge is done, I'm sitting back for a little breather before working on the next project. ;)  Well...maybe.... 

Thanks for popping by!

Cristina

Our Kitchen Pantry

It’s done!  Well, almost.  I still need to add a light fixture to replace the bare bulb, but that can wait as we were anxious to move all the pantry items back IN to the pantry!

A little background info….after almost 10 years in our home, we finally reached the point where our walk in pantry was just too frustrating to deal with a moment longer.  Our builder had only installed 4 non-adjustable shelves on one wall and at the time we thought it would be fine, but after moving into the house, quickly realized it was a completely underutilized use of what could be an amazing space.  With 5 people living in this house, we would continually organize and reorganize the space but it always ended up looking like this….one.huge.hot.MESS.   

Yes, it really was that bad.

I started by removing the shelves (along with a spice rack I’d created from some pallets years ago) and was left with a blank slate.   

 

After sketching up some plans and getting the ok on the design from my hubby (he’s the main cook in this house) I went shopping! 

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I started with 3 sheets of maple purebond ¾” plywood that I had cut in half so it was easier to transport home in my van.  Once home, I ripped down the sheets into narrower widths for the cabinets.  The cabinets on the left are 11-1/2” deep while the cabinet on the right is only 10” deep.

 

Unfortunately our walls were far from perfect, so when I went to install the cabinets, quickly realized I had some issues, one being that the front edge of the bulkhead was ¾” lower than the back.  Of course when I measured, I only measured the back.  This picture is a bit deceiving as it looks like the cabinet is quite a bit taller, but it’s just the angle. 

  

After removing the metal edge and drywall on the bottom of the bulkhead, I was able to slide the cabinets into place.  Adding a few shims, I was able to get the cabinets level and plumb and screwed them into the studs in the walls so they're not going anywhere!

  

Each cabinet is backed with a sheet of 1/8” hardboard and then I chose to try some beadboard wallpaper to tie it in with our kitchen cabinets which have a similar look.  I’d read that once painted you can’t tell the difference, but I find that it still has a sort of spongy feel to it and could get damaged if something sharp pushes in to it.

 

Because we have 9’ ceilings, I wanted to utilize as much space as possible so took the cabinets up to the ceiling. 

I decided to add some crown molding to finish it off and cover the gap between the top of the cabinet and ceiling as well as try to camouflage the bulkhead a bit more.

Once all the plywood was trimmed out, caulked and primed, I painted everything with a couple coats of glossy white enamel paint.  For the adjustable shelves, I chose to purchase 5/8” melamine shelves that I cut to fit.  They’re easy to clean and it was so much easier to just cut and put in place. To allow the shelves to be customized to whatever height we need, I have them sitting on ¼” shelf pegs, with the exception of the center shelf which is permanently attached in place for stability  


And....tada!  Here it is! 

 For the corner, I designed the cabinet based on a design I’d come across online.  After the cabinets were installed, I measured the distance between the left and right cabinet and cut shelves to fit the space which I then permanently attached to the shelves on the left which gave me the “L” shape.   

Because I’d drilled adjustable shelf peg holes on both sides of the 10” cabinet, this allows three sides of the shelf to be supported by shelf pins so I don't have to worry about any other support taking up room on the corner shelves.

We knew we wanted to incorporate a space for our spices again, so I added a narrow cabinet along the right with adjustable shelving. It's over 6' tall so I thought that would give us plenty of storage.

To create the spaces for the shelves to slide into, I cut a series of dado cuts 2” apart along the entire length of 7” wide piece of plywood.  After the dados were cut, I then ripped the board in half so I knew the shelves would line up perfectly.  For shelves, I’ve just cut up some leftover hardboard I had on hand but they may be replaced with a slightly thicker material at some point down the road.  

And just for fun, here's a before and after....

I plan to add a couple more shelves to the main pantry cabinets, but for now it’s just so nice to have a use able pantry that will make keeping it organized EASY!

Thanks for popping by!  If you have any questions, definitely let me know. 

Bye Bye Folk Art

I posted a sneak peek of the little pine chest on my facebook page earlier today.  If you haven't already "liked" that page, I would highly suggest you do.  I tend to update that page more often than my blog.  Oops. ;)

Anyway, below are two custom pieces I was asked to refinish.  They were solid and still in great shape and while my client loves the pieces, she was tired of the folk art painted finish and was ready to have them freshened up.

The first was this small little knotty pine chest.  

I stripped and sanded the bottom trim and lid and then stained both with Minwax Jacobean and sealed with a satin poly.  The body of the chest was sanded, primed, painted in Behr “Old Map”, lightly distressed along the edges and sealed with a satin clear coat.

The second piece was this adorable potato bin.  Again, a great piece, but needing an update.  

Like the small chest, the lid was stripped and stained with Minwax Jacobean and sealed with a satin poly.  The body and drawer were sanded down, primed, painted with Behr “Caffeine”, lightly distressed along the edges and sealed with a satin clear coat.

 

 

The inside was taped off and left unpainted. 

  

I’m thrilled with the finished pieces and hope they’ll be enjoyed for many years.  :)

Thanks for popping by!