Plans

Ugh! Has is really been over a month since I last updated? I would say 2011 will be different, but I've had this blog for over 2 years. It won't get better. There is a little bit of hope though, because I have several projects planned for 2011. Unfortunately, they won't really get started until early-spring.

Until that happens, I can share what I'm dreaming up FOR said projects ;) I've mentioned Ana White's website several times. So far I've built this headboard:

this console table:

and talked my dad into building me these nightstands:

(By the way, I added some curtains in this room, too! One day I'll actually take a picture of it!)

A few days ago, she had a post about Google's SketchUp, the software she uses to design her plans. Naturally, I had to play around with it! After my initial learning curve (and it was a pretty big curve. I had given up last night, but decided to try one more time today), I sketched up my plans for a workbench for the garage:

Ignore SketchUp Susan standing IN my workbench. I am still learning and literally figured out about 5 minutes ago that there were more than 4 template options :/

Anyway, my plans aren't nearly as informative as Ana's so I'll just have to explain them. I plan on an 8 ft. workbench. I know, it's crazy long, but since studs come in 8 ft. lengths, it's kind of perfect. Second, it's only going to be 21-22" deep. That's crazy shallow, but we just don't have the extra room in the garage for wider without sacrificing a parking space. And since it snowed about 2 inches last night, neither one of us are willing to give up our indoor parking spots. It should, however, be deep enough to hold my miter saw (which is all I cared about). I also plan to put casters on the bottom, so that when I am working (I do actually sacrifice my spot for that), I can pull it away from the wall for easy clean-up. I love the idea of the bottom shelves to hold my new circular saw and those other odds and ends that are too big for the pegboard and compressor shelf. I might end up just building the miter saw it's own bench and build a separate bench for clean work space...Winter is just beginning, so there's no telling what this will look like in a couple of months!

So that's my big plan for 2011. I've got a few other projects for the garage, including mounting pegboard for the smaller tools and building a shelf for the air compressor. I also plan to build these bookshelves for the office to give us a little more room in the garage. I have a few other smaller project hopes, which may or may not include a trip to Ikea (OK, probably, may or may not include a few gallons of paint (OK, probably), and possibly may involve me departing from my beloved Lowe's for it's big orange competitor because I REALLY want these chairs. We shall see how it all plays out!