I have become addicted to a new blog, and consequently, I have to share. This all started when I wanted new home office furniture for the home we just purchased in the historic district. It has been a long love affair, but darnit if the Pottery Barn Bedford collection won’t break the bank. I have wanted that collection forever. Even though my budget was generous, I couldn’t justify blowing it on just a few pieces. Late one night, I Googled “pottery barn bedford collection knockoff” and found something fascinating, inspiring and wonderful. Enter Ana.

Ana White is the author of Knock Off Wood, and I can only describe her site as fabulous. She is inspired by high-end furniture, figures out how to build it, and posts the plans and material lists for her readers to follow. And she had posted plans of her versions of pretty much the entire Bedford collection. *swoon*

So, of course, I start thinking: I can do this. We have all the power tools known to man, I just have no idea how to use them (other than the drill, my Dremel and Mouse). I printed out the plans, and started with one small open file base and I figured I’d see if I totally suck at building, or if I could hack this. With the help of a good friend teaching me proper power tool etiquette, it went well. So well, in fact, that the next day I was buying wood for the second unit and the drawers to go with it! My plans are to use one of the extra 1920′s-era doors as a desktop, using these two units as a base. They are built, but I haven’t painted them yet, as the room they will be going in isn’t yet finished. So at some point, I will post pictures of the finished pieces.

As I am having a field day with this, and following Ana’s blog every chance I have, I start thinking: what else can I build? There are tons of cool things on Ana’s site, but nothing that I need (lots that I want, but hubby wants to focus on finishing necessary things, like repainting the house). One of my biggest challenges with the new house is my new office. I am going from a spare bedroom to a converted sunporch, so while I gain a delightful amount of natural light, I lose my closet. And I have a HUGE walk-in closet full of stuff. All my sewing stuff, photography equipment, guitar cases and other detritus currently reside in this closet. Where will it live when we move? The sewing stuff will end up in my dressing room or the spare bedroom (not sure yet), and I imagine the guitar cases will get stashed in the attic or the hall closet, but I need to be able to get to my photo equipment in a moment’s notice. I considered a cedar chest and thought, heck: I could totally use something like that. My slingshot bag, tripods, collapsible softbox and all those other fun things could live in one, and I could also utilize it as a bench seat in front of the window by putting a cushion on top of it.

I priced some out. I checked Craigslist. They are not cheap. I already bought one, an antique Lane with drawers underneath for my dressing room, but that was a lucky find, and part of the “buying antiques in bulk” weekend spree last month. Then it occurred to me: What would Ana do? Build it! So, in the last few weeks while I have been waiting for lessons in using the paint sprayer so I can paint my new desk bases, I learned to use Google SketchUp and figured out what I wanted for a chest. I started simple, and I am sharing the plans with you!

Should you care to download the plans in PDF format, minus all my backstory, please do so here. And thank Ana while you’re at it!

Craftsman-esque Chest Plans

Materials List

1 – Sheet of 3/4” MDF or A1 Plywood cut into 1×16 boards (see knockoffwood.blogspot.com plans for 1×16 boards)
1 – Sheet of 3/4” MDF or A1 Plywood cut into 19 1/2” x 40” for bottom and 21 3/4” x 43” for top
30 feet 1 x 4 boards (Extra if you plan to trim the back)
*If you are confident in your accuracy in cutting wood, you can do this with five 6’ boards and almost no waste. I am still a newbie when it comes to measuring, so if you are too, you might want to do it with 8’ boards. I’m going to.
Hinges for lid (however you wish to attach them.)

2 ” Screws and 1 1/4″ nails….

Cut List

1 – 3/4 Plywood @ 21 3/4” x 43” (Top)
1 – 3/4 Plywood @ 18” x 40” (Bottom)
2 – 1×16 @ 40” (Front and back)
2 – 1×16 @ 18” (Sides)
8 – 1×4 @ 18” (Legs)
4 – 1×4 @ 12 1/2” (Side Trim)
4 – 1×4 @ 34 1/2” (Front and Back Trim)
2 – 1×4 @ 9 1/16” (Front Center Trim pieces, cut 4 if you would like to trim the back as well)

Cut legs from two 6’ (or 8’) boards
Cut front & back trim pieces from two 6’ (or 8’) boards
Cut side trim and center front trim from one 6’ board (or your leftovers from your 8’ boards)

***While I hope that these are accurate plans, I cannot guarantee accuracy, or be held liable for any errors. I have not built this yet! It is recommended that you draw out the plans and have a clear understanding of how the project will fit together before begining. I hope that if you do find a flaw in my plans, you will contact me immediately***

1. Attach back to bottom. Begin by fastening the bottom to the back, as shown below. Then fasten the sides to the back. Use the screws and glue.

2. Attach sides to back and bottom. Use the screws and glue.

3. Attach front to sides and bottom. Use the screws and glue.

4. Construct legs. Use the screws and glue.

5. Attach legs to box. Use the screws and glue. Legs will extend 1 3/4″ below base of box.

6. Attach front and side trim pieces. Glue and use 1 1/4″ finish nails, nailing through the sides.

7. Attach front inside trim pieces. As shown below, glue and use the 1 1/4″ finish nailers and nail through the sides.

8. Mark lid and add hinges. Lid will overhang 3/4” on front and sides, flush with back.

9. Finishing. Fill all your holes, sand all surfaces and finish as desired!

I hope to get around to building the chest this weekend… Ana, thanks for your inspiration and empowerment! You rock

Nina visits us in Florida every year, and is one of the people I have to thank for having great photos at our wedding. Whenever we see her, she has great stories of the animals she is caring for. She has quite a few permanent animal ambassadors at the Institute that we have “known” for years, and it was wonderful to finally meet some of them. The Blue Ridge Wildlife Institute is involved with wildlife rehabilitation, education and scientific research. Nina’s animal ambassadors are some of the few that cannot be rehabilitated for one reason or another, and instead of being released into the wild where they would not survive, they have the delightful job of being teachers to those interested in wildlife rehabilitation.

Some of the wildlife we were able to spend time with during our visit included Scruffy, an opossum; a precious little bobcat who will be released in the spring when he gets a little bigger; various birds, crows and squirrels, including flying squirrels.

The most fascinating and delightful were the owls. Barry is a barred owl, and he has found a permanent home at the Institute. Nod and Hamlet, who are absolutely precious and funny. Nina regularly takes them to presentations, and Nod is a little ham, while Hamlet tries to stay inconspicuous!

The little guy that stole my heart is a screech owl who had come to the Institute the day before with a head injury and an injury to his left eye. That reminded me of Roger, my husband, who is missing his left eye, so I asked Nina if we could call him Reetroo (as he was too new to have a name), which was Nina’s father’s nickname for Roger….I think it’s going to stick!

Nina always has many owls, and her most well-known is Sasquatch, a great horned owl who has been with her for many years. Sasquatch was found as a nestling with one of her wings torn off. She has been a constant companion to Nina, driving to and from the Institute every day with her. She is very friendly and likes to talk. I went out for another walk around the Institute after dinner and was able to get Sas on video talking to me!

The site design needed to be simple, as it is an informative site. It needed to be able to handle a monthly recurring membership, constant updates and member emails to keep the members updated. The site also encompasses trading strategies and how-tos.

What IS design meant to accomplish? In college, I was taught that we students needed to cut through the clutter to stand out as successful designers. Although there was an importance placed on getting the message out, we were more trained to design uniquely and beautifully. There was an intense emphasis on being well-rounded artistically, so we were encouraged to use our own photos, graphics and illustrations whenever possible.

I am often asked what I do for a living. Back when I was concentrating more on print work, I replied that I was a graphic designer. Many people asked what that entailed. I had a pretty standard answer, as trying to explain graphic design (without making a speech) always somewhat eluded me: “Well, I design logos, ads, things like that.” For some reason, that wasn’t enough for most people, so I ended up saying this a lot: “Oh, I make stuff pretty.”

Being extremely cynical, I could usually get away with that. The person asking would laugh; sometimes it would entail the dreaded in-depth discussion of what I do and how I do it (for some reason I always felt inarticulate about it). Now I realize that I should have come up with something better. Who knows who your next client might be? It might be the guy sitting across from you that might have just felt blown off, or felt that you didn’t value your services enough to smile, suck it up and have a speech prepared just in case.

Now, as a graphic designer who has shifted to web design almost exclusively because those are the jobs I have been landing, I usually just tell people that I am a web designer. (If they ask when my mouth is full, which for some reason is often, my husband inevitably replies, “Rebecca designs websites,” and launches into his sales mode and pitches my services for me. I love him for that.)

People know what websites are, so I usually don’t have to explain much more than that. When I do, or am asked what makes a successful website, I now have a standard answer down for that, something like “My job, in a nutshell, is to create an online presence for a client that communicates quickly to their viewers whatever products, services or information they are providing. It is necessary to grab a viewer within seconds so they don’t go looking somewhere else.” If I need to continue on, I do, but usually the following questions are the fun ones (what kind of clients do I have, do I enjoy what I do).

But I am still making things pretty. I love that part of it; trying to convey a client’s mission statement via a layout. If we could accomplish what we do by just putting type or images on a page without any styles or creativity at all, we would have really boring jobs. I remember something that a college professor stated: “When you can’t take anything else away without destroying it, you’re there.”

Enter Pre | Central. They have great tips and tricks (as much as the Pre is intuitive, it took me longer than I thought to stop thinking like a Blackberry) as well as Homebrew Apps that with a little work initially, install easily. Makes the Pre more fun, easier to use and more me. The forums are a wealth of information as well; between the applications that are in development and the themes, it is a wonderful resource for truly personalizing your Pre.

Inspired by all of this, I am going to try my hand at creating WebOS applications for the Pre. Hopefully the next related post will have an interesting app link!