Dawning of a New “Wood Junkie”

My new-found love for wood working came from the most unexpected place. An estate sale. Yep, that’s right! From an older gentleman who was an excellent wood junkie himself.

I’ve always loved doing anything creative, whether it’s painting, floral arrangements, changing furniture placement, sewing, making wall hangings, or creating digital artwork. All things I’ve done many times before, tried and true, not afraid to go there. Updating things up, decoratively speaking, is usually not an issue.

Unfortunately, the list of furniture pieces I want to update is growing dangerously long! And building furniture isn’t something I’m prepared to tackle. So, when my husband Jason suggested making furniture from scratch, I was skeptical. It would be more affordable for sure! But really? Me?  I mean – what if I made a dining room table and it fell apart while we were eating at it!!!

After thinking about it for a while and researching how readily I could find plans/information online (I’ll be honest – with a toddler and baby in tow I wasn’t about to commit to hanging out at hardware store or attending workshops); I decided to go for my husband’s challenge of doing something outside my comfort zone.

Tiptoe in the Sawdust

Since we already had a somewhat healthy assortment of tools, my first step was locating wood. My preferred look leans towards modern rustic, farmhouse, and weathered with a touch of industrial. So, I didn’t want to go to the local box stores to buy wood. I knew I could make new wood look rustic – but I like pieces that have a story with some wear and tear! Local sale ads seemed the next best option.

I found an ad for an estate sale featuring some long, wide planks of pine, mahogany, and red wood. After informing my husband we were going on Friday night, we packed up the kids early Saturday morning to get there right when it opened. I wasn’t sure how many other people would be watching for these kinds of opportunities, but I didn’t want to miss out! We got there 15 minutes after the estate sale opened; I bee-lined for the backdoor to go outside where I guessed the wood would be, and it was already sold!!! 

Lucky for me, the gentleman who owned the house was a wood carpenter at one time. His garage was a treasure chest of wood, tools, and hardware. I had no idea what tools we might need, so I went back inside the house to look around. Double lucky for me – Jason started poking around in the garage.

Estate Sale Jackpot!

When I came back outside, he sweetly informed me there was some really nice wood in the garage. Sure enough, after looking at a few piles I realized we hit the jackpot! There was some black walnut, mahogany, pine, oak, and lots of cedar. We ended up purchasing entire racks (buy now, sort through later) for a reasonable price. Double yay. Now we had to come up with a way to bring it home…and find room in our garage for it.

Jason went back in the afternoon with a trailer. A second trip on Sunday would be needed. The sellers were so happy we were emptying the racks they gave us free reign to any other wood in the garage. Thankfully we didn’t have the kiddos with; which, meant I got to putz around looking through all the smaller cuts, scraps, and trim pieces. I literally looked through each cubby underneath his massive workbench (it ran the entire length of the garage!) and found a bunch more to bring home.

You can imagine the look on Jason’s face as I kept adding to the pile. In all fairness I did help load, even the larger pieces (quite a few were 16′ long)!  Organizing it in a use-able way back in our garage has been another story – some piles have been moved a couple time already.

Dancing Wood Junkie

What’s ensued since are several completed projects; an ever-growing list of furniture I want to make, and a passion for trying to make anything and everything myself! I’ve learned how to use many different tools. They’re not as scary as I thought and in fact many of them are stress relieving.

I get to be creative, and I love that I can tweak anything to make it fit perfectly for our family! Best of all, Jason and I have enjoyed lots of together time in the garage. Our toddler loves to come help too (“Mommy – nother screwiver fer you!”).

I’ve taken step by step photos of numerous projects and will continue to do so. Stay tuned for many DIY project posts including instructions and pictures. Welcome to my design madness – the dawning of a new wood junkie!