Entertainment ReDone

I love my husband's hobby: woodworking! I get new furniture built the way I want. I can even have a say in the design. I got to design an awesome ladder shelf for my fish tank. And as long as we have the money for the supplies, he is happy to build whatever I ask for.

So a little while back, when I was getting sick of the dark wood tone television stand that we had in our living room, I gave DH a job. I wanted something a little more open, much brighter, and elevated to make it easier to control the dog fluff that inevitably collects around the cords. After some planning, tweeking, redesigning, and a couple minor arguments, I got what I wanted.

The openings were designed around the dimensions of the baskets and cable receiver. The doors are not perfect, but they keep a lot of movies and video games organized and hidden. It is elevated to the perfect height - the TV is right at eye level and I can easily get my broom and mop underneath. The top of the piece and the first shelf are stained a rich, warm brown, and the rest is bright white, which was a comprise. DH wanted to show off the wood grain while I wanted something bright and light so that it wouldn't feel so heavy in the room. Saying it was a compromise might be stretching the truth - this is what I wanted and he gave in. But he ended up very happy with how it looks!

Eventually I will get bins large enough to hold board games and other odds and ends that will fit under the piece and hide the power bar. For now, I just love having custom furniture and trying to figure out what DH's next project might be.

My Ladder Shelf

A while back I decided I wanted something new for my living room. I wanted some shelves, something to display some pictures, a few little pretty things I'd picked up or been given and a place to store some blankets in a decorative but functional way.

Naturally, I searched Pinterest for some inspiration. It took some scrolling but I fell in love with the idea of a ladder shelf. What a unique way of getting my fish tank up to eye level, storing blankets and displaying some of my favorite things. And, with my living room essentially shaped as a boring rectangle, I could put this pretty much anywhere and it wouldn't completely divide the room.

I took my idea to my DH and asked if he could build it for me. Really, having him build me something is the best way to get exactly what I want, usually for less, and it makes him happy because he gets to play with his toys. Everyone wins.

It took some figuring and planning, but he built me this beautiful shelf! I love it. Knowing we would have a ten gallon fish tank on a certain shelf, we were able to reinforce it. And there was plenty of room underneath for E and A's project trays and a cloth bin that holds their coloring books and crayons.

The biggest compromise was came with whether or not it would be painted or stained. He loves the wood grain and I like light colors to keep it from feeling heavy. Yes he won, and we stained it. But only because we had stain left over from when we did the floors.

I still have a long list of things for him to build me - including a pretty console table for under the mounted TV just so I can get rid of the blah store bought media stand.

Take A Seat

 DH loves when I say I want a new piece of furniture for the house. Until about a year ago, it made him shiver with fear at the cost of what I might have in mind. (Truth be told, I don't go crazy and we only buy furniture when it is absolutely necessary because, I mean come on! Have you priced that stuff lately???) Now he gets a little giddy when I ask for something.

When DH retired from the military in June 2012, he decided it was time for him to decide on his awesome retirement hobby. One thing that had always interested him was carpentry and wood working. I've indulged this even though the tools can be a bit expensive (I have a craft stash that can hold me over for a while so I'll let him splurge on his new hobby) because in the end, I knew I would reap the benefits!

And now I have. I saw this amazing bench over ana-white.com and I fell in love. I have a soft spot for the farmhouse style and have been trying to balance it with the modern home DH wants. I got lucky and DH loved the bench. The one thing we agreed on was the original size given in the plans (NINE FEET LONG!!) was a little long for our day to day needs. So we did a little tweaking and he made it about four and a half feet long.

It turned out beautiful! The plans were so clear and easy for him to follow, and to tweak. The added bonus was the cost: about $25 for the materials! I've already sweet talked him in to building me a second one for added seating during the holidays.

If we didn't love our antique dining table so much - or just had space for a formal dining room - I would beg him for the table that matches the benches. For now, I just need to focus on making some cushions to put on top, as soon as he will let me cover his work!