Don't Do What I Do

Be inspired by my idea, not my method.

I don't like coffee tables. I love that we can play on the floor with the kids and we are inherently cluttery people, therefore a coffee table would just be messy and in the way.

Instead, I wanted a sofa table, but to make it look right in the living room, it needed to fit with Karl's length (100+ inches) and be only six inches wide. So we were totally in DIY territory.

Oh, the six inch wide thing. That was mostly because it would line the arm of the couch up with the the line of the window frame. A small detail that most people didn't notice, but does make the room feel better when it's lined up.

So, we decided to make it out of a 1 x 8 that was ripped down to 1 x 6 (because lumber doesn't come in that dimension) and just finish the top and outside legs. The center needed legs for support, but it would be sandwiched between the couch and wall and never be seen.

So, here's the general appearance.

I stained and waxed the outside legs.

For the top, I decided to cover it with maps. I love maps. One car trips, when I'm bored, I just pull out the atlas and study maps, sometimes of places we are not even going.

First I used the whole glue/water mixture, and it didn't work at all. It wrinkled the maps and then they peeled off. Strike one.

Bought a new atlas. Realized spray glue would work better. And it did. They stuck with no wrinkles. 

Then, to deal with the excess, I used and X-acto knife and trimmed the maps even with the edge of the board. Strike two.

Seemed fine, but when I sprayed the sealer on, assuming I could seal the edges. But no. The paper again began to peel. Grr.

So, I used a paintbrush and wood glue and reattached the paper, and it held, but sorted of wrinkled a little bit. I sealed again for good measure.

Mateo assembled it all and got it in place.

You can see we did not finish the middle legs or the underside since they would never show.

It works great and the maps are awesome, but they have begun to peel in a few spots. Strike three.

So, if I were starting again. I would have left the excess maps and folded them around the edges and stapled them. But for me it's too late. Seriously, don't do what I did.

However, the six inch wide table is perfect for the space. It's just wide enough to set down a drink, and for a couple of small lamps. And here is what I mean about lining things up with the window.

See how the window panel lines up with arm of the couch? Before things felt slightly off, and now it feels balanced.

Most of the time people will never notice these little details, but they are the ones that make a space feel polished and planned.

Walls Pretending...

I found this door. It is beautiful. It is awesome.

But let me explain. Our town has "free" (meaning we pay for it in our property tax) large item pick up once a month. Set it on the curb and they come by with the heavy machinery and haul it away. I love this service. It's nice to have, but more importantly, you can find some awesome stuff by the side of the road for absolutely free. Like this door.

My ultimate plan is to banish all uninteresting slab doors from my house. I envision replacing the screen with frosted plexiglass. I hauled this bad boy (solid wood!) into the car myself, and hauled it out of the car into the house. And--!

It doesn't fit. Anywhere. Not even with trimming. We'd have to trim so much we would lose the integrity of the door. >:(

But I love the door. I said, "It could just be decorative?" and Mateo said, "I know! We can hang it randomly on a wall and it will be like Harry Potter." Me, "?" Mateo, "You know walls pretending to be doors..."

At least I'm laughing now. I'll keep you posted. 

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Pallet Garden Fail

There are some awesome ideas out there using wood pallets. I love that these are being recycled because it is hard wood. But, I've hesitated to bring one in the house because they are treated with formaldehyde to prevent rot. I don't want that in my house. If you are using them inside, please, please, please don't sand or at least wear protection if you do, and seal it well.

I did have a pallet on hand, sitting in my garage waiting for me to decide what to do and I saw this lovely idea on Pinterest:

from  Life of the Balcony

I decided to try it out. Lowe's had a great clearance on some annuals and even perennials and I already had dirt.

Lay the pallet front side down (doesn't matter, you decide) and staple landscaping fabric on the back and bottom edge. You get to go a little crazy with the staple gun.

Flip over (or have a strong person do this; pallets are heavy!) Fill with dirt. Really pack it in.

Then add your plants. (And note that I did not plant anything I intended to eat because of the chemical issues.) I only did the main part; once it was tipped up I was going to plant in the top as well.

Water it in and wait at least a week, two would be better to allow the roots to take hold.

Tip it up. *Warning: this is now incredibly heavy! And, woh-woh, FAIL!

Oh, sure, it looks pretty from the front, but a peek around the back shows the landscaping fabric sagging and that means the plants aren't actually in the dirt.

We did not try to repair it this season because it turns out, we need it out of that space to make way for another project and it is too heavy to move. 

Next year we are trying again, but we are going to nail a plywood board to the back to prevent the dirt from pulling away. It may have worked if the pallet was smaller.

Ah, well, it was pretty while it lasted.

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