Making the Bookshelves
Fall 2024 One Room Challenge, Week 6
It’s Week 6 of the Fall One Room Challenge and we are on the home stretch! This week it appears that our progress has slowed but we actually got a lot done. One little project was fixing a mistake at the bookcase bottom/counter on top of the lower drawers. When we cut those pieces, we were not taking into account that they needed to be a little wider than the top and the bottom to close in the gaps. We came up with a solution though. We had practiced using the router on a 2x4 so we sliced a few pieces to use as filler pieces and attached them to the top.
This proved to be a little tricky since there was nothing to hold them in place. We ended up using shims underneath them to allow the glue to dry. They are not perfect and I’ve had to use some wood filler to build up the cracks a little more but I think once they are painted, they will not be noticeable. The router also got away from Doug a little bit so there is some reshaping that has to be done with the wood filler. It needs a little more work, but it has to dry thoroughly between each coat so it’s a work in progress.
Next we moved on to making the shelves. Once we got the first one measured and cut correctly, it was just a matter of cutting 5 more just like it. We then had to do my favorite thing which is attach edge banding. Then we sanded and primed those pieces to get ready for our final coat of paint.
While I worked on painting, Doug started stripping the finish off the little side chair that we are going to use in this room.
This chair was a rescue from a vintage shop and this is what it looked like in its original form. And, here is how it looks now. Still some work to do, but we are moving right along!
Then our cabinet maker came in and installed the doors and drawers for us. We had a little bit of an issue though. The doors and drawers do not line up. Yikes – I'm one of those people that that is ALL I’ll see if we don’t fix this. Fortunately, he is going to be able to make some adjustments and wrap that up in about a week. There is another small issue with some of the trim pieces but I think it’s all workable. Whew – it was a little stressful!!!! It’s is so hard to trust that someone else understands your vision. In this case, there were some miscommunications, but we will get it worked out. It made me wish that we would have just built these pieces ourselves. But, what’s done is done and we just have to move forward. Things are looking so good though! We are still waiting for some of the hardware to arrive but hopefully it will be here next week. If you haven’t checked out the other participants’ projects yet, please go to the One Room Challenge blog and see what others have done! There are so many great projects out there and it will be exciting to watch these projects come together!
We have a long punch list of items that still need to happen. Here’s our to do list:
Put a final coat of paint on the bookcases
Install the hardware (which is delayed)
Paint all the trim in the room (baseboards, windows, doorframes and doors)
Install baseboards and shoe molding
Stain and apply polyurethane to the side chair
Strip, sand, stain and poly the desk
Hang curtains and art
Hang television
Style the room
See below for some of my favorite products for this week
Paint Spray Gun
Wooster Brush
Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Earbuds
Saw
Sanding Sponge
Aluminum Mini Disposable Loaf Pans
Mister Rui Foam Paint Roller
Brown Paper Roll
Frog Tape
Brown Kraft Paper
White Vinegar
