She's a Maniac

To say that I've now lost all good sense is an understatement. But, I'm pregnant and my hormones are whacked out, so let's just roll with it. Mmmmkay?

Wheeeeeeee!!!!!!

So, we needed (wanted) a small little itty bitty table to put at our front entry. The area isn't huge and we thought it would be nice to have just a little something there with maybe a picture or mirror on the wall above. We've looked a couple of places, but most long tables are wider than 12" and we really didn't want to go more than that. No sense in harming our guests as they walk in the door.

The need (want) was there. I've always liked building things. Home Depot is right up the house and they sell lumber. What else was I to do? So I built (attempted to build) a table. I looked at a cool website, Knocked off Wood, written by a SAHM, who builds things for cheap that look like expensive pieces you would find in Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, etc. She has tools and a square and a level and more than half a brain. Most importantly, her furniture looks good and she makes it look easy.

I can do this, I thought!

Shey and I headed to Home Depot. I selected my 1x4s and 1x3s and 1x2s all based off an idea in my head and scribbles on Post it notes.

Did you know Home Depot will cut your lumber for you? The nice guy working told me that they are only supposed to give you two cuts for free and then charge you $.50 for the remaining cuts, but he took one look into my beautiful (crazy) brown eyes and made all 50 bazillion of my cuts for free.

$40 worth of wood, $8.00 for the screws and $12 worth of sandpaper later, we headed home. And yes, by this time, I realized I probably could have found a little table for this much without all the hassle, but I was a woman on a mission. I was going to build a table, dang it.

Bless my husband. When I got home and he saw the pieces of lumber, he just smiled and helped his delusional wife into the house with it.



Well, about an hour into my project, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. There's actually a reason that a square is needed and plans are helpful. My measurements were off and it really didn't look anything in person like it did in my head. I told Larry as much and he said, well, too bad we can't all live in your head. We laughed and then he posted that incriminating photo of me in all my crazy glory on Facebook.

I left my project there for a bit. Not sure if it was salvageable or not. I really hated to waste all that wood, but I was at a loss. About an hour later, I decided to do what I could to at least make it look like a table, which meant giving it a top and the ability to stand alone.

Funny, the boys thought it was cool and told me so. They thought I had done a splendid job on my table.






At this point, I was a little tired and disappointed, but inspiration struck again. What if we cut off the bottom, as the structure (or sculpture as Larry called it)was a little tall and then I covered it with fabric? Then no one would see the odd angles and mismatched legs and I wouldn't have to sand the thing. Bonus!

This was the plan until my friend Shannon and her husband came over for dinner. She looked the table over and deemed it "Not bad." Shannon is pretty honest and I knew she wouldn't lead me astray. She offered some decorating ideas and told me to go for it.

Recharged, I went to Home Depot again, bought some stain and began once again. A few days later, Shannon headed with me to Home Goods and we picked up the necessary accessories to transform my entrance into a Foy-yay. I still need something for the wall behind the area, I'm thinking a piece of wall art, but overall, I'm happy with the results and I built it myself!





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