PROJECTS

Here you will see some of my previous creations. Some of these have been a real labour of love, and now take pride of place in our home. Others have been commissioned by people.

Deluxe Bird Table

We love nature at home, but lacked a bird table for our feathered friends.

So, one Sunday morning the wife asked me to build one. I didn't fancy a drive out to the DIY store, so made this entirely out of what I had lying around at home.

We already had a two bird feeders - one for nuts and the other for fat balls. The water tray is actually a plastic dog food tray (always looking to re-use, not refuse!) which fits flush into the base.

The pillars were made from chopped firewood logs, carefully selected to be the same length. The apple skewers aren't just for feeding - they add structural support too.

Finished with a roof and a chimney (not an operating chimney, I have to say).

Now the only thing is to figure out where to put it.

Bedside tables refurbishment

The brief here was to update these two bedside tables into something complimenting, but not matching, other furniture in the client's bedroom. Quite right too - some people would spend £250 or more on new furniture, but these tables are great quality pine, spacious inside and have already stood up to the test of time.

Firstly, I undertook heavy sanding and smoothing the scuffs accumulated from over the years. Then a coat of primer all round and patiently allowing it to dry. Next day, two coats of Rust-oleum laurel green furniture paint, which provides quite a smooth but chalky finish, with light sanding in between coats to remove imperfections. The nature of chalk paints means they will act almost like a powder finish. I found a traditional lacquer caused the colour to run, so I used Rust-oleum spray lacquer, giving the units two coats all round - and an additional two coats on the top.

Finally, new antique brass handles and drawers treated to a teal and gold patterned liner.

Dining Table and bench

This was a renovation of our existing, 14 year old family four-seater dining table. We wanted something that would go with our Scandi feel, as well as increase seating capacity.

Once the old table top was removed, I used four 1.8 metre scaffold boards, glued and pinned together to create a surface the same width but 15cm longer each end of the table. The driftwood finish was achieved through applying a dark wood dye, sanding back and smoothed with fine grit paper.

The legs were treated to a light grey wood paint in satin, as were the chairs - with the seat being sanded back also to a natural finish. To turn this into a genuine six-seater, I then upcycled some old table legs to create a sturdy bench, made and finished in the same manner that the table top was. with solid timber. This now takes pride of place in our dining room, with colourful seat cushions and a faux fur throw on the bench (not in the picture). The bench is a great addition, and in fact can accommodate our 5 year old and two of her friends quite easily.