perfect end tables, & a house update

It’s weird because my lack of blogging makes me feel like I haven’t been very productive lately, but I’ve actually been up to tons of stuff when I sit down and think about it. Anyway, I thought I would share my latest project since I’m pretty stoked about it!

On my 30 before 30 list, I included that I wanted to build a piece of furniture, and in my downtime between semesters (and with a few holidays off work), we whipped up some end tables for our living room! We used the plans for Ana White’s Perfect End Table. This is a beginner project, and my husband is capable of way more, but I wanted to learn to follow a plan (refinish and modify I can do, but building takes skillz), and I wanted something easy he’d be happy to help with. My brother-in-law helped us cut the pieces (since we needed his table saw). Jonathan and I build them using brackets and counter-sinking the screws (filling them with putty for painting).

They truly are the perfect end tables, at least for our hulking couches! They are 42 inches wide. Let that sink in a minute. That’s giant. This one contains all the books I’m into these days, those I haven’t read yet or have only started. (Sidenote: I generally have about 3 fiction novels and a couple non-fiction books going at a given time. And then I often stop reading at about the 3/4 mark. I’m weird like that.)

Do you remember when I revamped that lamp? It’s still one of my favorite big ol’ lamps ever, but I stole it from the entryway. I am in search of a pair for this room but I’ll hit a few junk shops first.

Here’s the other table. Ah, my lovely stack o’ magazines. Books and glossies are a sickness and these tables kind of enable my problem, eh?

Since it’s been a while since I’ve posted house pics, and I’ve made some other changes, here’s what the main living area is looking like these days. We are still rocking the temporary mantle from before last Christmas (but I don’t mind it). We are still trying to decide what to do to the fireplace. I added those blue curtains (from Target) recently, because the yellow ones were a bit puny. I like it much better.

Towards the kitchen shot. When we got new bedroom furniture last summer I moved our old dresser into the kitchen, displacing the yellow desk and white bookshelf. This is a bit more tidy looking, but now I need something hanging above it. But I’m undecided so it’s naked for now. The dresser is awesome for storing cookbooks, aprons, candles, etc.

Since the little nook area was looking a bit boring after the cute yellow desk was gone, I swapped out some chairs. This has seriously confused people who come over, but I like the eclectic look of it.

That’s about it! Nothing major, but the little tweaks are what make it your own place.

Some things I still plan to do:

• Put some curtains up on the bay window area in the kitchen
• Hang something about the dresser
• Pot a bunch of herbs and grow them on the kitchen table
• Get a new big rug for under the kitchen table
• Redo the fireplace area with rock or brick, and build a new mantle
• Get new lamps for the end tables

What projects have you been working on?

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