Back To Normal Blogging... Woodworking

The master bedroom furniture is still on paper.  I just have to decide on the platform bed.  So while I am thinking about that I decided to put a mantle on the fireplace.  

I drove up to Bandera to checkout a sawmill that recovers fallen Cypress trees along the rivers and creeks in the Hill Country.  I wanted a slab of Cypress for the Mantle.  The place had some nice wood but they like to do the mantles themselves... so they tend to keep the good Cypress for themselves.  They do really nice work.  I visited with the guy for a long time.  He showed me his techniques in wood working and I discussed mine.  In the end I bought a 2 1/2 inch thick slab of Pecan with a live edge (bark on it) to make a mantle... it is a little worm eaten, but that looks cool to me.  I made sure the worms were dead before I brought it in.

Then I decided it was a little too rustic for the room.

So I made a mantle out of Poplar (inexpensive hardwood) and it will be painted and have the same bevel as the cabinets.  It is simple and not too deep.  I want to be able to set artwork on it and lean it up against the fireplace and hang stockings.  Here it is with the first coat of primer.

The mantle will be tough to put on since all of the rocks on the fireplace are natural edged and uneven.  As much as I love woodworking, I am not looking forward to trying to get it to fit right.  Who knows... maybe we don't need a mantle and it will be $28 down the drain... we will see.

That pecan slab is turning into a Entry Table now.  I finished designing that piece and I am in the process of building it now.  I had some left over pecan wood from the dining room table, so it will have pecan wood legs.

In the meanwhile I trimmed out all the living room windows with clear white pine.  Then we finally managed to decide on window coverings... We can't believe we waited so long.  We bought Hunter Douglas Pirouette... kind of a roman shade... they let a lot of light to the room while giving privacy.  They really keep the contemporary look alive. 

Closed and Down

Open and Down

Left window shade is up