PDF version A few weeks back, I made a commitment to focus on the projects that I need done around my personal home.  And I want to thank all of you for understanding and supporting me, for being patient with your own requests as I try to fill them in between making my personal home better. With the help of the Real Alaska Man, over the last week or so, we've been devoting much time to a new entertainment center.  And yesterday, I couldn't help myself.  I just had to share a quick photo with my friends on Facebook.  So many of you have already seen this . . . When I first started building furniture, saving money was the main motivation.  And money still is a huge factor.  But as I'm sure you know all to well, when you finish a project, and it is painted to match an impossible slate fireplace, a dark shade of gray that only comes from a can, you become overwhelmed with a feeling of wow, I (in this case, we) actually built this. And you wake up in the morning and think, wow, did we really build that? (as opposed to ugh, how much did we spend and when is the credit card bill due?) There are so many reasons why DIY rocks.  It's healthy.  It can save you money.  You can get what you want.  You can customize projects.  But my most favorite part of DIY is when you move a piece of furniture into your home and sit back and smile, and think, it's not perfect, but we built it with our own hands.  What I like to call the DIY High. You could probably say that I am a tad addicted to the DIY High.  I had big intentions of posting the plans for the entire rest of this collection tonight, but we are already dove into our next DIY project and couldn't quit until we ran out of materials at 10PM!  So today we'll look at the plans for the side hutches, and I'll get to the center hutch in the next day or so. And for those of you asking, here's a quick breakdown of the project.

• Estimated cost: $250
• Paint: 2 Cans of Flat Enamel by Valspar in Mark Twain Gray Brick (Get a free Valspar sample here)
• Time: Here and there over a week, approximately 20 hours
• Composition: 100% pine boards, 2x2s are furring strips, box is made of 1x12s, with 1/4" plywood on the back
• Plan Collection: Cabin Collection

I am very happy with the gray, it's a softer more muted version of black.  For this project, we pulled the sprayer out (a first for me on furniture projects) and I found the sprayer gives a more even finish, but does not necessarily cover imperfections in the wood as a brush might.  Our sprayer was purchased to paint the exterior of our home, but it worked great for this application as well.  We also sprayed a top coat on to give the piece a dust-able finish.  I lightly sanded by hand exposed edges (just giving Grace a head start if you know what I'm talking about) to distress prior to the clear coat.  I'll post more pictures of the finish with the center hutch plan post.

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