Restored Patio Table

Nice weather means Alfresco dining!  Today I'm sharing with you a fun little project that I took on for one of my clients.

The original table had a glass insert, and while she and her husband were moving it, the glass broke.  Such a bummer.  We bounced several ideas around.  My client wanted something durable, that wouldn't break, and would do well with the weather as well.  Some ideas were to do a tile insert, faux tile vinyl, or wood.  The tile was a no for a couple reasons.  One, it would be heavy, and two, the metal table was slightly flexible, so the grout would break.  The vinyl was a no simply because it would fade in the summer sunlight.  That left us with wood.

I chose a kiln dried redwood for the top.  It turned out so lovely!  

First I secured a piece of plywood to the bottom to allow a place to secure the wood planks.  Using glue and nails, I secured the outer frame of the top.  I chose to miter the corners.  I personally love this look.  Once the frame was built, I secured it to the table and plywood.

Next it was time to lay the planks down and secure.  I screwed the into place from the under side of the table top.  The center plank was run through the table saw and cut to size.  

Once everything was in place, I sanded the whole top, and then stained and sealed it.  The stain color I chose is one of my favorites from MinWax, called Provincial.  It's just a nice warm brown, and one of my main go-to stains.  

Now that everything was sealed, it was time to cut the hole for the umbrella.  Using the circular saw, we were able to cut the perfect hole!  I purchased a plain black plastic grommet to finish the hole off nicely.  And the table was finished!

I think the wood top was the perfect choice for this lakeside cabin!  

Have a great day!

xo Jen

Mahogany Writing Desk and Custom File Cabinets

This summer my hubby and I teamed up to build this custom job for my client.  Everything is built out of gorgeous Mahogany wood.  My client had four black file drawers that he wanted to have faced with wood to look more sophisticated for his new office space in one of the historic Jefferson buildings in downtown Boise.  So my hubby and I designed a cabinet to house two file drawer units, with shaker style drawer fronts and face frames.  

This was my first time building cabinet doors!  It was actually fun and once I built a couple, I got pretty quick at it and really enjoyed it. 

  

Everything got a coat of Mahogany stain, and then one coat of Ebony.  These two pictures are before the Ebony.

The corner desk and file cabinets had to be installed before we could build our top.  The top had to be templated just like you would do with granite.  That gave us the best seams and custom fit.

I love all the huge windows in this office space!  Great views and a really luxurious historical feel to it.

After we had the corner cabinetry installed, we began to build the writing desk.  I designed it with a trestle base, using 5" solid wood posts for the legs.  

We layered the foot of the desk with three pieces in different thicknesses and sizes to add character and make this thing solid and sturdy!  Using a router, I gave the edges a nice beveled detail.

I am so pleased with how this desk turned out!  The Mahogany is so rich and has a gorgeous grain to it.

We built a pencil drawer too.  Love the contract between the stained and the natural inside.

This entire project was sealed with six coats of satin Polyurethane to give it a long lasting protection.  

We wrapped this project up just three weeks prior to my due date.  Several late nights turned early mornings trying to get it done to make the deadline!  It was hard, but we conquered it!  Whew!  Well, I hope you are all having an amazing October!  November is just around the corner.  Have a great week!

xo Jen