March? April? All a blur...

Since I'm too lazy to figure it out precisely, let's call this the update for what I was up to in March and April. I was between SAVED BY THE BELL #s 4 and 6, and it was the right time to get some rainy day DIY projects off my plate. 

First, March is typically my travel-for-MIT month (my day job is at MIT), with 3 trips nearly back-to-back-to-back. Second, my mom's chemo was over and she was feeling pretty reasonable and the noise from my dad's wood shop wasn't as likely to bother her...and her surgery wasn't scheduled until early May. Third, I've generally been trying to finish up my projects out of the woodshop in case my folks need to sell their house in a hurry, I'd be out of the way. 

Closet shelves from 2010, plus headboard from 2012.

 I bought my loft in the Brickbottom Artists' Building and moved in May 2010. That summer, my dad, Richie, and (a very little bit) I created a closet and installed a Murphy bed.

It was a challenging project for my dad, since he was used to working in his woodshop and having everything he needed right downstairs. So, there were errors here and there.

One of the errors was a mis-cutting of the extremely odd-shaped closet shelves which maximized a small, triangular space resulting from the project.

As a work-around, my dad installed the trim away from the wall using blocks of plywood. The plan was that I could re-make the shelves one day and finish the project.

This of course would mean emptying out the closet, and living without it for a few weeks.

Closet and headboard, 2014.

I removed the trim pieces and blocks of wood.

The back of the closet had been primed in 2010, but never painted, so I painted the back wall of the closet the color of the walls of my apartment.

I stained, varnished, and reinstalled the trim boards. While I was at it, I stained and varnished the closet floor and trim, while still affixed.

Already a huge improvement, though my dad used a lot of scrap wood, and it had all aged nearly 4 years exposed to the air, so they each took the stain very differently.

I then made a new shelf template, and cut new shelves from thinner but better quality plywood than the initial batch were made from. I then stained, varnished, and placed them. 

Voilá!—a cohesive, finished space, which not only looks better but is also more functional (since the opening is now wider). Felt awesome to finish this project before my 4 year anniversary in my space.

Headboard with vinyl grasscloth covered doors.

Above, you'll note the headboard. The first thing I made solo. It was a good first project, but I used some warped scrap wood, made some construction and finishing errors, and ultimately didn't like the design.

Also, I had this lovely set of four brass hourglass-shaped pulls.Using but two of them in the last headboard piece, it was nagging me to have another pair un-used.

As I finished the awesome closet, the headboard looked like a real eyesore to me. So, it became the first piece I re-made. I batted around better designs, used solid poplar, and made fewer construction errors. And my finishing skills have improved dramatically since 2012, so I am happy (for now!) with the headboard. 

I made a few sets of doors from MDF which I can swap out seasonally. The wallpaper-covered ones pictured above and the citronella painted vinyl grasscloth ones pictured to the left.

It was also time for new sheets and towels, and I was shockingly able to find ones that looked great in my open closet and the bathroom.

Mr. Darby photo-bomb.

Next up, kitchen phase V: over-the-sink lighting.

When I embarked on my kitchen redesign, it centered around the vintage mid-century solid maple cabinets I acquired via Greengoat.org, a recycle-reuse non profit. 

Along with the cabinets came this nasty old gas wall oven. My building isn't set up for gas appliances, and I reiterate, the old oven was nasty. But I swiped the control panel with the idea to turn it into a light fixture for over the sink. Two years ago, my dad re-wired it so the clock, timer, and indicator light work, and set it up so the dial that controlled the oven temperature would operate the light as a dimmer dial.

I came up with the idea to use it as a drawer face and the whole thing could slide and and out if repairs needed to be made. Then we constructed the drawer. I'll give my dad a lot of credit, he was figuring this complicated project on the go. But, it was done.

Back at my apartment, I nervously drilled the cleats into the cabinets. The drawer slid in snugly. It functions perfectly and looks great. 

Just in time, about a week before my 4th anniversary in my space, completing a 3 year 5-phase kitchen remodel. Done, yay!

After this was complete, and I had but one project left in my dad's woodshop, which is now 75% complete. Yay, finishing unfinished business!

Might not be art week: H&B modulars

Here's another furniture project via the MIT Furniture Exchange.

As you know, I have lots and lots of books—inventory, rather. So I have been collecting storage furniture for my closet-less artist loft. Enter 4 pieces of labelled Heim & Buch modular cabinets from the '60s: two cabinets (missing the sliding doors) with two bookshelves. Modular furniture is nice, because you can keep using if your needs and space changes.

One cabinet had both shelves and some shelf holders; the other had no shelves, no shelf holders. My dad made me two shelves and I bought some shelf holders. Working with euro furniture can be a challenge, as most of what you buy @ Home Depot in way of parts (shelf holders, bolts, etc) isn't metric. And I lack the patience to wait for special orders.

He also made sliding doors for me, which I covered with a faux pigskin, and added these nice pulls that came from Italy. The tracks are very narrow and close...I think the original doors may have been glass (also b/c the inside of the cabinets are very nicely finished). So the doors—while functional—are not the easiest to use. That's Ok, as these are meant to hold inventory I don't access often.

Each cabinet holds 8-9 cases of books!

Might not be art week: LP cabinet

Moving in to a loft with no closets and very few walls (in lieu of the benefit of 25 windows!) has been a fun challenge. I've haunted thrift stores, eBay, Craigslist, and the MIT Furniture Exchange for decent or repairable storage furniture.

When I first moved in, the only piece of art I hung was my vintage Farrah Fawcett poster—perfect for hiding the fuse box. Of course, the fuse box can't be blocked by a large piece of furniture or art...as it must be easily accessible. So, Farrah serves a practical purpose.

But the set up left an awkward little space, and in need of evening light. Enter my sister's $5 find at the Goodwill. Took me a while to figure out what this was: someone had installed a horizontal shelf...but the base of the piece was riddled with holes. Then it hit me: the holes likely had vertical dividers, as the cabinet is exactly perfectly sized for holding 33 RPM LPs.

I painted over the cheap and ugly veneer with the same color as my radiators, so it works really nicely in my space. I covered the doors with blue burlap for some texture and color. On top is the blue and white glass shade lamp I've had forever, which ties the blue in and casts a fun pattern on the wall—but not so high as to hit Farrah with the pattern.

Lastly, I replaced the awful plastic door pulls with some really fun vintage mid-century pulls I had kicking around.

Credenza town

My new place has very limited wall space, 25 windows—and no closets. There are 3 walls that are "full walls" floor to ceiling. Of which, two are ear-marked for closet construction. But around the perimeter of the unit runs the heating pipes and a half wall, sitting underneath the 25 windows.

Hence, the credenza becomes a fantastic furniture option for both storage and as room dividers.

I bought my first via Craiglist for a fair price for the quality of the construction. I bought another for an super price at the MIT Furniture Exchange (considering it has beautiful tambour doors). The third I found for an AMAZING price ($10), with a catch—it was missing the shelves, 5 of the 8 shelf pegs, and doors. And, the back has holes cut from the low-grade plywood.

Thanks to my dad and his collection of scrap wood, he has made a shelf and doors. To stay a bit authentic to the period, I will cover the doors with cloth. And add finger pulls. I will take a photo when the project is complete.

In the meantime, enjoy the sketches I made, and instructions to my dad. As I said, he ended up using scrap wood and not buying inferior stuff from Lowe's.

UPDATE

Interior: I took a wooden dowell and made 5 shelf pegs. My dad made me 2 shelves, so it's wonderfully functional.

Back: I folded the edges of a piece of natural burlap and stapled to the back. I replaced the poorly-fitting make-shift cross board with a properly fitting one, and covered it with the same burlap. Now, the piece looks clean and neutral from the back and can be used as a room divider should I wish to.

Front: My dad made 2 doors from scrap plywood, and bevelled the bottoms so they would fit into the rubber-lined slider track. I wrapped them in "celery" colored burlap (period-appropriate grasscloth is tough to find in the colors I wanted!), added the finger pulls and inserted.

Now, I think this Canadian-made Paul McCobb-esque credenza looks far from perfect, but fantastic.

Into the closet

I'll spare you all the renovation chatter. I will, however, remind you that my new home (a live/work loft in an artist association building!) has no closets—not one!

In my sketchbook are pages and pages of closet/murphy bed idea sketches. My dad is going to start building it in 2 weeks, so I had to convert the rough sketches into more precise drawings on graph paper for him.

The first one!

Kitchen

Dear 55 followers and uncounted others,

I am now a property owner! Since the closing date, I have spent much time preparing my new dwelling. It was filthy...cleaning and painting took weeks, and is almost done. Along the way, I had to find a subletter for my rented apartment, pack, move, unpack. My goal is to get back to drawing and comics starting on Sunday!

In the meantime, feel free to comment on my old beat up cabinets which I am painting. The first image is my progress so far (original 1980s white doors, with orange, red-orange, and red). It's been suggested that I add more orange and red than the lonely 2 center squares. Which do you prefer?