I picked up this vintage round mirror with etched floral design at Goodwill for $4. Mark gave it a lovely cherry frame and we hung it in our guest room. First he took of the ancient backing, which was a disintegrating piece of MDF. Someone in the past had used duct tape to hold the... Continue Reading →
Keep it in your drawers
Let me tell you, one of my favorite upgrades we’ve done to this kitchen is a set of drawers Mark built for a cabinet that had been tragically underutilized. Aside from storing the slow cooker and the odd boy, this cabinet wasn’t getting much use. And this was all the more sad for it’s central... Continue Reading →
Venting displeasure
Under the kitchen sink cabinet, just where the toe lift meets the floor, was the grossest vent in the house. It was originally brown painted metal, but was now caked with rust and grime, since decades of floor mopping water had deposited a nasty patina of scum. An additional problem is that they had laid... Continue Reading →
Cedar Toy Box
Toy box for our friends new baby girl. Accidentally turned into an anarchists tool box thanks to literary influences from Lost Art Press. Once it’s done holding toys she can fill it with tools!
Oak Spoke into Wand
My first time using Mark's lathe. I turned the spoke of a 100-year-old broken oak chair into a wand.
Hammer Time
A friend broke his hammer at my house and said he didn’t want it anymore. I made a new handle from Osage orange, then burned it black. I reluctantly gave it back to him.
Wooden frames
Lately Mark has taken up making picture frames. He's framed several of the pictures for the boys' rooms from walnut and cherry. For the glass, he used the glass from the old storm windows. He's also made a framed mirror for our foyer. Oil landscape painting by Barbara Northern Watercolor print purchased from Little Truths... Continue Reading →
Walnut Nightstand
Mark made a walnut nightstand for our sons room. I ordered the cast iron drawer pull from Signature Hardware. I think it turned out beautifully.
Coat Racks
Custom wooden coat racks with pewter hooks. The bulk of this challenge was making a 72” tapered column. This exceeded the capabilities of my little portable table saw, which I discovered when the saw exploded. I have a new, nicer saw now, and a cool scar on my right wrist to remind me to stop... Continue Reading →
A porch swing for summer
For mother's day my request for Mark was to make me a porch swing. And he delivered in fine style. The porch swing was made of oak and black locust, which is very durable and rot resistant wood. The final design included one special feature I requested, a cup holder on the arm rest. ... Continue Reading →