Well, got the table finished and needed chairs to go along with it. If you haven't seen the build, check it out here. We did some searching around and could never really decide on a certain one. Then one evening, on my ritualistic browsing on eBay, I came across these.

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So I'm giving a try at this "how to build" thing using SketchUp. I really like it, and there's still a lot I need to learn, but after seeing what Ana White did, I knew I had to give it a shot. She is amazing and I've been getting a whole lot of inspiration from there. If you haven't seen it yet, check out her site ana-white.com.

Anyways, here we go. We needed a Bar Table for an empty space in our kitchen. I guess you would call it the "breakfast nook". We aren't the type to spend a lot of money on furniture (have you been shopping lately? It's ridiculous!) So after looking over the interwebs and gaining inspiration from Ana White, I came up with this. Follow along and hopefully by the end you'll have one of your own.

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Hey there. Well, I promised myself that I wouldn't be building anything new (at least furniture) until we moved. I broke that promise to myself...

We needed (well, wanted) a DVD and game case cabinet or shelf. I had seen pictures while looking for ideas of those vintage wooded filing cabinets, the kinds used in old schools and offices. If I were to make one that could hold DVDs, well that would be sweet. Using scrap wood from the shop, this is what I put together.

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Drum roll please....Ta-da! I have finished the Vintage Style Lighted Cabinet! Everything I was waiting for came in the mail today so I was able to get it all buttoned up before the weekend. So here she is in all her glory, good things. Continue reading to see more images of the final piece. And also, if you missed part 2 of this build, you can view it here.

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Hello again, here's the second update on the "Vintage" Lighted Cabinet. I have now installed the trimming, the back bead-board, built and installed the drawers, sanded and painted the whole thing. Here are some pictures of the progress so far...

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Hey guys, how are things? So I wanted to catch you up on what's going on around the shop right now. I had written my last post about brainstorming my next build. I've started on the cabinet and will show you where I'm at right now. This is going to be a window door cabinet that is lighted from the inside.

 Me and the misses made a trip over to the local Antique Shop and found this window for sale for $35. Check out the hardware that was on it.

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Cabinet Model in Cinema 4D

Well, Christmas is over and I have a few days off before I have to go back to work. I want to do some work in the shop while I can, I just need something to build. Next to our TV (which is mounted above the fireplace on the wall) is a small entertainment cabinet that we had purchased at IKEA several years ago. We keep the Wii, some games and movies, and other miscellaneous items. With my love for building furniture, why the hell do I still have something from IKEA? Well I'm going to change that.

So I want to build a new entertainment cabinet. What do I want out of it? I want it to hold the games, movies, and Wii, some remotes and other items. I also think using an old window frame for the door would be nice. Like this one I had done before. But how big? Well that's going to depend on the window, I know I want it to be narrow but taller, but I won't have the actual measurements until I find the window. I also want a couple drawers on the bottom. Since I didn't have the window I started with the drawers for measurement.  I wanted them big enough to hold DVD cases sitting on edge and two deep. That gave me 6" tall and about 16" deep.

With those measurements I began building a 3D model of what I wanted in Cinema 4D. I played around with the look of it until I was happy. Nothing is to scale, it's all relative to what the size differences would look like.
 I then exported the model to Photoshop and put the measurements in. I started with the shelves and worked from there. I just assumed the window was going to be 2' wide and 4' tall. After I find the window I want these measurements will change.

Measurements of Cabinet

Yea, I did 'um up on a Blue Print background, no reason other than I liked the look, ha ha. So after I had my measurements, I began coming up with the parts list. This part is kinda easy, just deciding what size wood will go in each location kinda like a jig-saw puzzle - again, this isn't a perfect rendition, more of a guess-ta-mation, but close enough to know how much wood I'll need and how to put it all together.

So there it is. Wife likes it, and I'll finally have something to build. Now all I need to do is go find that window tomorrow. Standby for updates. Feel free to ask any questions you may have - and look forward to the build. Read Article »

Well hello there. I would like to share with you the latest project I just got finished with. I was standing in my shop looking around thinking about something to make. Something small - and I didn't want to pay for anything in building it (I'll break that later).

I always thought to myself how it would be nice to have some sort of message board on the refrigerator that we could write shopping lists, grocery items needed, and quick notes on. A Chalk Board! Let's do it.




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Wrapped up the cabinet this morning. Everything is done and will make a lovely addition to our house.

Before you view the completed piece, you can view the build here:

After the white base coat dried I lightly sanded the whole piece. I then focused on areas that would normally receive the most wear, revealing the stain underneath. When doing a project like this, very the thickness of paint in areas and don't be afraid of brush strokes - the fun part of vintage style builds are the imperfections.

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Me and the wife were out shopping the other day and we were in one of our 'go to' stores - Ross (wife loves the prices) and sitting back in the furniture section was a cabinet that had shutter type doors. I was looking for something that would look good in the bathroom and thought this was a perfect fit.

They were asking around $50 for this piece - but you know I'm not going to pay for this type of furniture...so...off to the shop!
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I've been wanting to build this for a while now. I had seen pictures in me and my wife's favorite magazine, The Country Sampler, and thought what a wonderful idea.

After looking around the web for different pictures I realized it wouldn't be that hard to do. I had the wood donated to me by a friend that was moving. Picked up the paint and the Shaker Pegs from Home Depot.

For the color I decided on 'Alligator Skin' by Behr.

I've already found the perfect place for it by our front door. Check out the video for the how-to on building this Antique Style Wall Shelf with Coat Hooks.

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Whilst me and the wife were out 'Antiquing' we stopped by one of our favorite Antique Shops and ran across this buffet style table.

The Inspiration

We both loved it, so I snapped a couple of quick pictures for reference. We purchased the table legs and cabinet knobs for Vintage Hardware here in Astoria. They are great people, if you're in the area you need to check them out! The rest of the wood I had on hand.

The Wood Work

Staining and Sanding

Finished Table

Check out the video for all the pictures of the build and the how-to:

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Me and the wife  were out "Antiquing" the other day, and in one of the booths there was a cabinet with a window for the door that we both fell in love with. Unfortunately,  they were asking $600 for it. Now I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, but I don't have that kind of cash laying around.

The Inspiration

Well, as you can see - it is gorgeous and we had the perfect place for it. So I decided to make one! We bought a glass window from the same store for $25. On the way home that day we passed by a store that was being remodeled and they were tearing down ceder boards from the outside that had old green paint on it. We loaded up the back of the truck with these boards for free!  

The table legs were purchased from Home Depot for $17 and I found the knob and hinges on eBay for around $35. I already had all the paint and other things I needed, so for a total of around $80 this is what I made.

We're both happy with it, and I love the green paint that was left on from the original source! Read Article »