Woodworking

Slowly but surely I have tackled a couple of of build-from-scratch projects to increase my woodworking skills and confidence. It’s when I stumble upon projects like this bar from Jen at House of Wood that I am really wishing I could make the jump to expert builder over night. Jen worked with Ana White for her printer’s style bar that includes shelving, a hanging stemware rack, and built-in wine grid behind those beautiful faux drawer fronts. All I can say is that I am in awe of Jen’s skills!

This summer Whitney from Shanty 2 Chic built a beautiful outdoor dining table with plenty of style and space for her family of seven. It kind of goes without saying that seating is an important counterpart to a table. Whitney solved that problem by building two benches with plans by Ana White that share the same fancy X design as her table. I am still blown away by the fact that the table AND both benches came in under $140!

In order to keep her son from digging around in the dirt and mulch, Kristen from Lipstick and Sawdust  built a sandbox where he could dig to his heart’s content. She followed plans that Gina from Lady Goats was kind enough to share at Ana White. The coolest thing about Kristen’s build is the bench seats convert to a lid to keep the sand clear of critters and other yuckiness. You’ve got to watch the video of Kristen’s kids closing it up to see how awesome (and easy) it is!

There is no question why Whitney from Shanty 2 Chic is head over heals for the new desk she built following plans from Ana White. After adding her fifth little one to the brood, Whitney needed a work space in her master bedroom that was both functional and pretty. This desk definitely fits the bill and, amazingly, only cost Whitney $55 to build!

Ashley from Shanty 2 Chic had me with her heading “Anthropologie For Less!” Who doesn’t like the sound of that? In this case, it was …