Dont Should on Me

Week 2 Recap

Am I the only one who gets confused by the week numbering system? Like, this is technically Week 3 but we’ve only been working on this for two weeks. Anyway, let’s get to work. It doesn’t look like we got very much done but let me explain a bit more about it. This room originally had NO overhead lighting. There was an outlet in the room on a switch (it’s kind of where the ladder is in the below picture). After much research, Husband was able to rewire the outlet so that it was NOT on the switch and he tied into the outlet to run the wiring for the new overhead light that will be on the switch. I think I’ve said this before but you should probably use a licensed electrician for this kind of work (do as I say, not as I do). These drywall patches are bigger than they look in person — it was a LOT of sanding overhead. But Husband rigged up his orbital sander to the shop vac and made rather quick work of it.

We installed the crown at the arches — that was a treat to figure out. And lots of filling wood holes, sanding, and priming. Lots. Then I reminded Husband I wanted a floating credenza situation and sent him the links for the IKEA Besta units I was considering. And the woodworker in him shouted, “I CAN MAKE THAT”! So we spent quite a bit of time figuring out dimensions and placement and he now has a build plan for that too!

I’d like to take just a moment to explain our plan for the desk top, credenza top, and how we decided on the top for the bases of the arched bookcases. In our previous house, we’d built a very long desktop that sat over these three Ikea file cabinets so that we could have plenty of workspace for two computers. When we moved into this house, we essentially replicated that setup along the back wall (the wall where the arches are now — picture below). In planning this room, we knew we didn’t have enough desktop material to do the top for the base cabinets, the desk top, and the credenza top. So as we were wandering Home Depot one date night, trying to come up with ideas, it occurred to me that we could chop the old desktop down and use that as the top for the base cabinets and then Husband suggested butcher block for the desk and credenza tops. Perfect! This way we’re not wasting our current materials and cutting down on what new materials we have to buy! And we’ll still have a good sized piece of the old desktop material left that I’ll insist we hang onto for some unidentified “future project”.

Week Three Plan

Husband will build the credenza while I work on sanding, priming, and painting the file cabinets to match the bookcases. We’ll prep for paint – the plan is to spray the entire room (except bookcases) then we’ll brush/roll the bookcases. The paint we’re using is a paint and primer in one, so we’re taking a shortcut and only priming the MDF material and leaving any real wood alone for the real paint. Smart or lazy? We’ll find out soon, lol. Husband is also working on building the inset doors for the base cabinets. I haven’t decided on door style for the credenza, except that I want it to be fairly simple. But while I noodle that, we still have plenty to keep us busy.