Bookshelf

Here is another nursery project.  Since I made the dresser/changing table, there was no way we were going to find a bookcase that matched perfectly…

So back to the garage to build it.  I used pine planks, this time going with cheap boards with knots, some pine 2x4’s, and some pine bead-board panels.

I assembled most of the boards with pocket-hole screws and nailed the bead-board from the back.

Combination Dresser / Changing Table

When we found out my Wife was pregnant with Gavin, we immediately started his nursery.  We looked for a long time for a dresser that was the right style, width, height, and cost to use as a changing pad.  We even bought one from Ikea and had it assembled and set up in his room for a couple of weeks until our crib showed up with a slightly different shade of white.  Apparently Ikea white is not white.

Frustrated with furniture shopping I decided to tackle my first real furniture build.  We were doing a motorcycle/garage/workshop theme nursery so I decided to make the hybrid dresser changing table look like a workbench.  To finish off the look we added black plastic pegboard panels above it and hung pegboard baskets and toy tools.

The construction was done using clear pine boards and stain grade pine plywood.  All joints are simple but joints held together with pocket-hole screws.  This was the first time I’d used a kreg pocket hole jig and I can honestly say it’s my favorite woodworking tool.

The changing pad frame is removable so that when Gavin gets past the diaper stage, we can just use the piece as dresser

Antique Phone / Thermostat Box

Here is a simple project that didn’t require much more than a drill and a screwdriver.  I was given this old telephone that belonged to my great grandmother and decided to hang it on the wall like it would have been decades ago.  We don’t have a landline installed in our house so I wasn’t able to make it functional like I wanted, just kidding, so instead I used it as a way to hide the ugly thermostat which luckily fit perfectly inside.

All I had to do was drill a hole in the back of the phone, remove the thermostat, fish the thermostat wires through the phone, and then reinstall the thermostat inside the phone.