If you build it....

I am on board with all things crafty lately. I have begun an "Irish Green" rag quilt as a gift to my grandma. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift , but it has kind of turned into a Christmas/New Years/winter/spring gift. I am really hoping to make some progress on it this week after work and hopefully finish this weekend.

I am now completely obsessed (I don't use that word lightly) with building a few pieces of furniture for my home. Big undertaking I know, but I was so impressed by my wonderful friend Sarah's daybed and kitchen island, I think I might be able to pull some of this stuff off. By the way, please check out Sarah's projects so far because quite simply they are amazing. I don't expect to come close to the quality of her craftwomanship but if I can get even half the quality level, I will be doing ok! :-)

Reading Sarah's blog has helped me discover Ana White's website, where she posts plans for an unimaginable amount of furniture as well as people submit their revisions. You could spend hours on there gathering inspiration. I know because I did it! Somehow I ended up on Ana White's facebook page where tons of people were posting their projects.... and I just spent 2 hours looking at all of the stuff, which is amazing!

This morning I complied a list of what I want to build, with a tentative list of things I want to build once we actually own a house, and I can make more permanent changes.

My first and easiest project will be Ana White's $10 ledges. I have been looking for a way to spice up the space above the sofa in the living room and this is exactly what I was looking for. It is very simple (or so I read) and I am hoping to give these a try this weekend.

This photo was from a "fan" on facebook.  Love it.

I absolutely despise the layout for the TV stand and media tower we have  currently, and everything I am looking at is several hundred dollars. I stumbled across this beauty again on Ana White's facebook page, and with a little modification, I think this would be the perfect solution. Of course I would probably stain it a deep dark brown with the wood grain showing through, but this will be a while down the road, when I am sure I can actually make things!

We are also in the process of looking to buy a new bed, king size of course. Frames for those suckers are really expensive. This is an example of the Farmhouse design. I am drooling over the simplicity along with the black-ish color and cannot wait to give this a try.



I obviously have a ton of other projects on my list like a new coffee table (with built in storage), nightstands for the bedroom,  a corner shelf unit for the living room, a hutch and a brand new authentic farm table for the dining room, and a new desk for the computer but those I am not too concerned about until these are done!

Hopefully I can pull this off!