A New Light for Our Table

  We live in a small farm house. We love our small farm house. Sadly, we do not own this farm house, we rent it! The kitchen in this house has track lighting. We don't like the track lighting. We can not get rid of the bad track lighting. We made a light that fits in our small farm house in our small kitchen. We like this light a whole lot! Here is what it looks like.

    The black and white  helps to see the construction, which, by the way, is vintage cloth wrapped cord, 1/16" steel wire for the hanger, 1" square tubing, and 3 (10 points for seeing it before being told about it!) Ikea Vasen vases that have been sandblasted, drilled and inverted.  More pictures (color) and details after the jump....

A Complete DIY Farmhouse Table

  Tis the season all 'round the (Northern) world that we begin to think about the harvest season, the holiday season and most of all- just being indoors. Spending more time indoors working and entertaining requires a good size table.
    I myself am not interested in shelling out a few hundred to a couple thousand bucks for a good size table. So I decided to make one ! AND share the process with you! The cost of materials?  Wood, glue and screws-$60 Tops. That's it.
    If you need to buy the tools then plan on about another $150 to $200 for a low end table saw or a hand held circular saw, a cordless drill and some drill bits. Or borrow one from a neighbor or friend or work with them on the project!
  Surprisingly there are many steps that can be skipped and I will note them with an *. Not doing the steps will result in a less finished looking table but a table just the same.  So, shall we get started?

Then & Now Lamp

No springs. No tension. No problems.

Click the jump for the rest!!

Stereo Cabinet Restoration Inspiration

I've been working on this little gem:

   If you can believe it I picked this Magnavox stereo cabinet up for FREE!! The stereo inside didn't work any more. I suspect the of the tubes had gone bad as this is a pretty old unit. Regardless the record player still worked beautifully. But I had other ideas for the unit check after the jump for a big surprise!! I promise it is worth it!!

The Caterpillar is Released!

   As of late much work has been done in the bench genre. Now I am up to my neck in them! I have completed another Wine bench, a trellis bench (post coming), a navy chair bench(also- post coming), and the newest, the Caterpillar bench.
   This little wonder was conceived spur of the moment and now that I try to remember I can't even place its origin. All the same, it is just brilliant and I have to share.
   Each piece is 18" wide by 16" tall by 9" deep- But that's not a bench you say.....and I say RIGHT! But!...check after the jump.....

The Best Of: A Different Take On Floors

    One of the greatest things a trip to Sweden offers is quaint little reminders. The pace and social attitude of Sweden is a refreshing take on how life IS and not how it marketed to be. Being that this statement relies on experience from having visited of living in Sweden let me offer an example.
   While driving on Swedish highways it frequently happened that a motorist would be merging, but only doing so extremely s l o w l y. Large trucks, and occasionally cars, would have to brake heavily in order to avoid a collision or an incident. As this happened there were no flashing of lights, honking horns, dramatic swerving and violent acceleration finalized by the giving of "the look" (at least) or "the bird" followed by yelling and cursing (at most).
   So why the anecdote? Besides the fact that I was stunned by the civility and seemingly passe' attitude toward driving there were other standards that were not questioned, if only for the sake that logically, intelligently, and simply-they couldn't be. And this is where pine floors come in.....
Click on the Jump for more-

Chris Craft Restoration

   Here we are half way through summer it seems and the Chris Craft restoration is moving along slowly. All the same progress is being made. The bottom is removed and the replacement wood is ready to be milled. The type of bottom has been holding up progress though. I am not quite satisfied with the rigid properties of an epoxy "West System" bottom also I am not thoroughly convinced of the 5200 or BoatLife style bottom either and finally the lack of longevity of the original construction does not seem wise either...... And so the debate continues....

Geez has it been a month??

My sincere apologies to those that read this blog, or at least try to. I haven't really written anything in almost a month and as the last post says I have been super busy. Anyho.... 

Alfa Gazpacho-photo by Veronica Fermskog

 

       ....in that time I've built a wine celler, two artists' studios, designed an office space, refinished some chairs, striped and varnished a boat, put two  five (damn rain) coats of varnish on a beautiful sailboat, started varnish work on a 65' (20 meter) motor yacht and I've been travelling in Sweden for two weeks! Oh yes- and named a horse! Alfa Gazpacho - ha!  See him on the June 18th post or under Vora Fol (Our Foals). We are on the train to Stockholm as I type for the last few days and then there should be a wave of posts covering said work. So Hej Da (heya-doo-a) for now!!

Are (Aur-a)
and there should be a little o over the A

BUSY!

  For those that check in hoping for an update I would like to bring you up to speed. Lately all work has been outside and on boats. Varnishing season has opened here in Gig Harbor and is keeping me quite busy. Filliquist Studio also had a visit from the Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow. What a Treat!!

Matching Side Table for Winery Bench

Here it is! Using the two ends of the White Oak Wine Barrel yields two 22" diameter side tables. The base is a single piece of bent smoothed and waxed. The top is oiled and then waxed.

Retail $119