Trevor's Projects

Inspired by An image Jess found on Pinterest, and and over abundance of artwork, we decided to turn a large empty wall in our hallway into an art wall.

The wall consists of three sections. The first was easy. Using a little chalkboard paint I created a chalkboard.

The second was a little more difficult. I eventually found a sheet metal manufacturer in Ballard who was able to make me a sheet of galvanized metal to my exact dimensions, conveniently turning this section into a magnet wall.

The third section on top is a padded fabric background. I will string cables across to clip artwork to.

The molding really finished everything nicely. Of course, Jess wanted the molding ultra white which meant repainting all the molding in the hallway.

A few months later and the art wall is already well used. We have magnets aplenty, so much artwork to hang it has to be rotated, and a chalkboard full of pictures.

This project started out as just a test to see how easy it is to work with MDF. I believe this is the first project where I started using a counter sinking drill bit.

I saw the plans on Ana-white.com. I didnt have a specific use for this shelf unit but I thought it looked cool anyway.

The plans called for building the interior shelves first then adding the outer pieces. In retrospect, I think I like doing the outer frame first and cutting the interior pieces to fit.

This project sat in my shop unfinished for months until one day, randomly, a friend of mine sent me a picture of this very unit asking if I would help her build one.

I’ve discovered the downside of using MDF is trying to paint it. Sure MDF is nice and straight, smooth, and easy to cut, but this stuff soaks up the paint. Even using special sealing primer, it still took me several coats to get an even white finish.

Final picture.

Christmas Eve of 2010 was a historical moment for me. For the first time in my life I would not be spending Christmas Eve/morning at my parents house. At that point in my life, it just got too difficult to travel all over and we were actually really looking forward to our first Christmas morning as just our family.

As part of the new plan, we asked to host my family for Christmas Eve. As we did not have a dining table per se, a project was born.

I found this plan on Ana-white.com and we both liked it. For the table top itself I actually used a solid core uncut door.

Here is the basic framing.

I intend to allow for leaf insert to accommodate the whole family and collapse the table for every day use.

I mounted some 1×2 guides on the bottom of the top pieces so they would easily fall right into place. You can’t see it, but I have dowels between the two to line them up, buckles to lock them together, and deadbolts to stop them from coming up.

Here you can see the finished product with the leaf installed. Plenty of room.

Here is the table without the leaf in its default configuration. I really like this style with the gap between tabletop and frame, and I think the white frame and natural top turned out great.

When Jess’s business expanded beyond the capacity of her little desk, she commissioned me for a new one. Buying a new one is always an option, but this way she gets one to her specifications.

I began with the basic frame. The entire frame is built from 1x4s making it very easy to cut parts with just a miter saw.

I used a nice manufactured project board for the top cut to size. Since this will be painted, solid and smooth were more important to me than a beautiful wood grain. Simple drawers, simple rails. I love the nice, clean look of this desk.

Jess chose an ultra white semi gloss finish. I used several coats, sanding lightly in between to get it as smooth as possible.

She has been using it for quite a while now and it hasn’t fallen apart so I guess it works.

The Santa Display project was conceived while I was at work one sunny August day thinking, naturally, about Christmas decorations for the branch. One of my employees has a desk off to the side with a serious gap in decorations come holiday time. Above and behind his desk are some cabinets, the top of which, I decided, would make a fantastic rooftop.

What says Christmas better than Santa’s sleigh and reindeer?

I started my project by scouring the web for some cool clipart of a sleigh and reindeer. From there I came up with the final image, used some simple cross-multiplication to find the percentage I needed to increase the image, and enlarged it using the photocopier. From there it was quick work to trace the pattern onto a pine plank and cut it out using my scroll saw.

I wanted the sleigh to be 3-D so I made two of the sides and created a front, back and bottom. I used some gold bolts to attach everything together. Wait until you see the paint job.

The first step is the red. Obviously I wanted the brightest Christmas red I could find.

After taping off the red, painting the yellow, and giving it some black borders with a big sharpie, I love the way it turned out.

In the middle of the project I added to the concept and created Santa’s bag, complete with gold ties.

I also found enough scraps and paint to build this chimney quick. I think this will really give the cabinet tops a rooftop feel.

The reindeer were tricky but turned out amazing. There are four reindeer, two different patterns, and they all are prancing at a different angle. Once “harnessed” to the sleigh I will alternate one toward the front, one back, one front, one back giving it a 3-D feel. And yes, those are red, green, and gold harnesses with gold D-rings for the reins.

Of course, it is not Santa’s sleigh without Rudolph. Like any Retail Operations Banker would, I dismantled and rewired an LCD flashlight using a red sharpie on the light bulb. What do you think?

The moment of truth. Of course, the picture doesn’t do it justice, but I have snow on the roof, light surrounding the “rooftop”, and presents in the back of the sleigh. How am I going to top this next year?

Plans are already in the works…