A Little-Known Fact

Not many people know this about me (even some friends and family!) but I LOVE to build things! Seriously, if power tools weren't so expensive (and if we had the space for it...), I'd have my own little shop set up as soon as possible! I remember days as a youngling where I'd go out to my dad's shop and nail together pieces of scrap wood. I don't know that i ever made anything functional, but i had a lot of fun! And as fun as Home Ec was in high school, I enjoyed Shop more.

Josh and I often discuss our "dream house". We talk about layouts, number of rooms, special spaces such as and office, sewing room, library, play room, etc., and the kind of furniture we like. One of the things I hope for is a garage big enough for a simple woodshop. I wouldn't be making extremely elaborate pieces - i'm more of a simplistic/straight lines type of person when it comes to decorating anyway. But when i think about the custom pieces i could make to fit my own personal needs and space - sturdy, solid wood furniture, designed just the way i want it without having to pay the extortionate prices of furniture stores - I REALLY crave that workshop!

One of my time-wasting activities (cuz i really need more....) is blog browsing. A few weeks ago, i somehow ended up on this website called Knock-Off Wood run by a woman named Ana White. She gives free instructions for building furniture and other things, and oh how I'm craving power tools! She mostly takes furniture she sees in other stores and writes up a plan so you can build it yourself! And she even posts price comparisons - because it's always fascinating to see just how much you can save by building it yourself!

Here are some favorites from the site that i would LOVE to build!! Someday...
(photos courtesy of Knock-Off Wood)

A kid-sized chair with a little storage bin underneath. Isn't it just the cutest??

A storage hutch for the entryway. She mentions that these are for kids, so i imagine they'd be fairly small. How cool would it be to have a unit like this for each child? Especially when they start school - backpacks, hats, gloves, coats, shoes, bike helmets.... oh, look at that, I'm drooling!

And this is really fun! A coffe/console table with storage in the top, and a shelf underneath!

Anyway, that's my dream for the day. I really need to make some friends who have power tools... At least until i can get my own...