Creating a work space!

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For some time now, I have been daydreaming about creating a space in our spare bedroom that I could sit at the computer, and well…. start a blog. Of course, it would also include being responsible. Meaning I would sit at the computer, budget our money and pay our bills. Doesn’t that sound like so much fun? LOL

Well, in order for me to feel creative, I must be inspired. For the longest time I was feeling very adventurous and dreamed of building a murphy bed. Or, otherwise known as a wall bed. It really is the best space saving invention for an extra bedroom that also serves as an office. The only thing was, these beds run about $1600 – $2000!!! I could have purchased the kit and built one myself, but I really started to doubt my woodworking skills and the project seemed so daunting. Not to mention… I have A LOT of “stuff” stored in our spare bedroom. Finding a home for all of my crap brought on a whole other level of anxiety, if you know what I mean?

I hear you saying, get rid of some stuff. You would be right, I do need to do that too, but it is a process to purge your “stuff” that you have held onto for so many years.

Then… Out of the blue… I realized that I have been trying too hard to create a specific space in the spare bedroom. The solution has been right in front of me all along. Swap the spare bedroom with the sewing room and have a desk space in the “new” sewing room. Once I began pondering this idea, it really came to light.

The back bedroom (old spare room) and the sewing room are basically the same square footage, however they are shaped differently. The door, window and closet placement are different. This difference allows for the furniture to be placed in ways that allow for movement, storage, and separate work spaces. I can have my sewing table in center of the room, and ironing station, storage for all of my fabrics AND a desk space. Why didn’t this come to me sooner????? One will never know.

Don’t worry, I have been taking pictures of the project. 🙂

Yes, moving all of the furniture from one space to another, organizing all of the “stuff” and even purging some of it, has definitely been a project. There is still much to do before I am willing to share that process, but I couldn’t wait to share my most recent mini-project, my new desk!!!

It’s simple little space, with some pizazz for inspiration.

First, I shopped desks. Have you had the pleasure? Can we say CHA-CHING$$$$? Furniture is so expensive. For good reason, as quality furniture isn’t easy to make. But I am a miser, and if I can find a way to build/create it myself, then that is what I will set out to do. On Pinterest there is so much inspiration.

I fell in love with the simple idea of using two file cabinets and creating a wooden top that serves as the desktop. This way, I have an abundance of storage and a pretty top to look at while I am working in the space.

I found these simple metal cabinets on Amazon for $60 a piece. They aren’t the heave 1970’s version. They are quite light, maybe even a little too fragile, but they were in my price range and they allowed for some customization with the handles. Score!!!

I chose to use the same drawer pulls that I have been using on all of my projects. This will keep the continuity throughout the house that I am looking for.

The cabinets did come with their own handles, but these handles that I picked up at Home Depot, are stronger and allow my hand to fit into the pull without any pinching. Plus, they are more substantial.

From the start, I knew that I wanted to attempt to create a desktop with a herringbone pattern. This pattern is used on so many things. Such as fabric, furniture, art. It really does appeal to me. Additionally, it is simple to create, without a lot of cutting. I just had to figure out the overall size of the desktop, which is 64″l x 20″d, then determine how much movement I wanted to see in the pattern.

I simply used a piece of 3/4″ plywood, cut into the desired dimension. I ended up cutting my pieces into 10″ lengths and then placed my cut pieces on the plywood. I used 1″ x 2″‘s from the lumber department at Home Depot. This isn’t pretty wood, by any stretch. That is, if you are only looking at it for what it is in the store. But if you use a little imagination and can see the movement in the grain, appreciate the knots and imperfections, and notice the color variation from each piece of wood, there is some true beauty to be discovered.

Once I had all of the pieces glued and nailed to the plywood, I had to stand it up on its end and take in my excitement!!

If you know me well enough, you also know that I took in all of the imperfections.

I will be doing another project like this one in my future. I learned so much from this experience.

Like… Listen to your husband and don’t nail anything down until you are happy with the placement of the pieces. Or, start from the middle of the piece of plywood and work your way to the edges, in order to avoid big gabs. You see, one little tiny minute gap turns into big gaps the further you go. Wood is imperfect in nature, but this just exaggerates the imperfections, which then requires A LOT of wood filler!!! 🙂

Next up! I added the edging. Again, just two pieces of 1″x2″, cut to size, glued and nailed in place.

I promise the size of this top is not as big as it seems in this photo. This is an optical illusion. Remember, only 64″x20″.

A little glimpse of some wood filler.

Here is the beauty after two hours of sanding. Yes!! Two hours!!!

My hands and arms were numb from all of the vibration the tools create. First I used the belt sander with a 50 grit sand paper. This will knock down the high spots with a quickness. It will also add some huge gouges in the soft pine if you are not careful. These gouges can be mostly sanded out, but they’re never quite gone and you will not see them until you apply stain. So if you are new to the belt sander, I recommend practicing your technique on an old piece of wood first. Just to get a feel of the tool and learn how the different speeds work. It will make a huge difference on your end product.

Pepper likes to come visit when I am working in the yard. She is a very curious bird. 🙂

Next, I bumped to an 80 grit paper on the orbital sander. After that I bumped to a 120 grit.

My favorite is when I get to the 400 grit on the palm sander. This is when the wood becomes so soft that you can wipe your hand across the project and it feels like baby skin. So soft, so smooth. That is the point when the two hours become worth it and for a moment, I forget that my back is killing me and my hand and arms are numb. Such satisfaction!

With any wood project, there has to be some sort of sealing involved. This could be paint. It could be a simple sealer, if you want to appreciate the raw wood. Or, as I have done here, you can choose to add a stain and sealer. (on both sides!)

My sewing room is all black and white furniture. I have chosen this color scheme because I really want all of my fabrics to be the highlight of the room. With all the furniture being the same color, it an easy choice for me to decide on an ebony stain. You should have seen my husbands face!!!! He was mortified that I would choose black to stain with, after all of the work I put into this desktop.

I am going to admit, his concern did cause me to second guess my decision. So, I decided to be careful with the first coat of stain. If it wasn’t dark enough, I could always add another coat.

So glad I took this approach. The color is what I wanted, but the stain really enhances the wood grain and I LOVE IT!!!

Especially the edging. Who would have thought that the cheap lumber from Home Depot would have such beautiful grain? I almost want to create this same pattern on another project, only using the side of the wood, since these sides came out so pretty.

I sealed the stained wood with a satin finish sealer. I have been frustrated with this process “lifting” some of the stain on a few of my projects. I have used dark walnut and the sealer gave it an almost orange hue, which I have not been pleased with. However, with the ebony stain, it dried nicely and didn’t change the color too much.

I could not wait to move the desktop into my new sewing room. Even though the sealer was still giving off such a pungent odor, I needed to see it in the room!!