After following Ana's blog for over a year and bookmarking dozens of projects, I finally built my first project. (I built it months ago and have since built 3 other things...so this is addictive!)
I love the modern West Elm look but didn't want to shell out over $600 for two low Parson's shelves which still would not fit my dimension exactly, so this was the perfect project for me. Initially I had intended to stain the bookshelves a warm pecan color, as I think "modern craftsman" is more my style, but honestly the outcome was so wonky that I couldn't see that the shelves would look nice stained. Instead I painted them with what was supposed to be a color match to BM's Weimeraner -- lesson #1001, BM's paint cannot really be color matched. I may repaint in the future as this is not as warm as the original, but it's been fine for the past few months.
Honestly I had many building problems with my first project -- I had mistakenly thought working with 2x2s (pine) would be 'easy', but I found the opposite to be true (and since I have done another project with 2x2s since then I can confirm that we are not meant to be bffs). I did choose straight boards, but I had the guys at Lowe's cut them. Unfortunately in the future I will have to buy my own saw (and pick up truck and workshop, lol), because literally every single time there has been a problem, even when I check the boards at the store. The problems are generally small--1/4" or so--but of course this makes your project off square.
As a result there were noticeable seams between the 2x2s and the 1x12 boards. Of course caulk and paint hid all of that, but this was the main reason why I couldn't stain the project. I also had trouble with the 2x2s splitting when I used the Kreg jig -- luckily this happened only a couple of times, but in my next built it happened even more often, using Douglas Fir. (if anyone can help me with this, I would love to hear!)
Long story short -- it was a lot of work, it wasn't exactly what I had envisioned, but I love the final product, seams, warts, and all. It fits our space perfectly, it's incredibly sturdy, and the power of making something myself--even imperfect--is amazing. Since then I have built an activity table and a picnic table for my kids, and I even felt confident enough to design and build my own window box. (sure, it's not complicated, but I credit Ana's "training" entirely. of course I haven't yet installed it, but that's a different problem)
Thanks, Ana!!!
Comments
Hillary (not verified)
Sun, 06/10/2012 - 22:06
Beautiful and unique!
One of my favorite things about building is being able to build it however you want. Xs or no Xs -- it is gorgeous. Great work! And it you staged and photographed perfectly. Really, really beautiful.
thejanellekay
Wed, 06/13/2012 - 06:55
Beautiful!!!!
I love your table!!!! great job!!!!
Lori sparks (not verified)
Mon, 06/18/2012 - 14:44
What kind of tea did you use
What kind of tea did you use ? And what do you mean by white wash ?
Rayana (not verified)
Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:07
Re: Tea
I used regular walmart brand black tea, let it dry and then applied the vinegar/steel wool solution after that i sanded a bit and diluted white paint in water and applied it all over with a lint free rag, you need to work on small areas and follow it up with a slightly damp cloth. hope that helps :)
Stefanye Thurmond (not verified)
Sat, 08/18/2012 - 23:06
Beautiful job!! Looks like a
Beautiful job!! Looks like a picture out of a pottery barn catalogue! BE PROUD!
raybotelho
Tue, 08/21/2012 - 16:27
Thank you!!!
Thank you so much for the compliment Stefanye :)
Jeffe17
Mon, 05/25/2015 - 18:31
Hardware
Hey guys, where does one find the black hardware for the sides?? I cant seem to find them anywhere like Ace or Home Depot