How To Make a Tree Bookshelf

Wow! It's been quite a while since my last post. I'm going to stray from my usually format and try to give you an actual how to, since I think it's something people might actually want to make.

When deciding on a theme for the nursery, Al and I went back and forth between and under the sea theme and a woodland theme. Not knowing if we are having a boy or a girl, we needed something neutral. Eventually, we decided on the woodland theme. Somewhere along the way, we thought a bookshelf that looked like a tree would be pretty cool. We found two different types online: Graphic Spaces Woodland Happy Tree for $2100 or Shawn Soh's tree bookshelf for $850. Yeah, we can't afford either of those!! Since Al is pretty handy and artistic, he decided he could whip something up for around $250. I love a handy husband! :)

Here's what you need:

12 2" x 6" x 6' planks
Wood glue
Sander
Saw
Paint of your choice
L brackets and hardware

We decided the bookshelf would be more space efficient and look more 3 dimensional if it was in the corner as opposed to just stuck on the wall. The bottom branches would be three feet long, the middle branches two feet, and the top one feet. Keeping that in mind, we took two of the planks and cut them so we had two 3ft pieces, two 2ft pieces, and two 1ft pieces. We drew branches on each of these for our template. For the trunk, we used two 6ft planks and drew our template on those. Al then cut out the templates. Each branch was 4 pieces thick, so Al was going to be spending many days cutting and gluing pieces together. Fortunately, my dad knows a guy with a state of the art woodshop (Thanks Dad and Steve!). He let us drop off our remaining pieces for him to glue and cut out. Not only did this save us a lot of time, but it looked more like one piece as opposed to multiple pieces glued together.

Once all the pieces were cut and returned home, we glued on our original templates and began the painting. As usual, we couldn't decide what the right paint color would be, so we ended up taking the bedding into Home Depot and matched it with a green and red. I don't know what made us do it, but we went with the red. And I must say, that it looks stunning! So glad we went with that over the green. After it was painted and dried, we got assembling. We found some pieces could be assembled to the trunk, while other pieces were better attached to the wall using L brackets. After it was set up, we painted the hardware and started decorating. Thanks to my sis for having guests at the baby shower bring a book in place of a card, we are able to stock the tree full of books. And thanks to my mom and aunt for providing stuffed animals for additional character. We couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out!!

the finished and stocked tree bookshelf

 

Don't you just love it? :)
Happy Bookshelfing!
--Am

   

How To Install a Ceiling Fan

I know, I know, all those design shows talk about how ceiling fans are such a eyesore and that they should never be in your house. Well, we like to have decent air flow and coolness when it's hot, so we have fans. In fact, every room that would need a fan, now has one. We spent our Christmas night cleaning out the loft and tidying the soon-to-be nursery. That's when Al decided that he needed to install the fan in the nursery. Yeah, it was ten and I was getting tired.

This brought me back to the time we installed the fan in the guest bedroom. The fan was up, and well, not working. We flipped the switch and either the lights worked or the fan worked, but not both together. For some reason, Al decided to have me check the wires to make sure they were correct. However, the switch was not flipped down and as soon as wires were touching, my body was jolted with electricity. It took me a minute to realize what happened, then...waterworks. It wasn't a totally big deal, but it scared me enough that I just stood there, couldn't move, and wept. Al was stuck there holding the fan parts up while I broke down. He didn't know if he should comfort me, laugh at me, or yell at me. I think a little bit of all of that happened, but I don't quite recall all the details. I just remember feeling the electricity go thru my body and standing there not being able to do anything. As you know, I survived with minimal damage.

Last night, in the three times that Alex had to recheck the wires and partway dismantle the fan, I was sure to flip the switch in the down position. I wanted to make sure that we didn't have a repeat electricity offense. Although we did almost have a broken leg or concussion on Al's end, all ended up well and I was in bed a little after 11.

With the room painted, fan installed, and room partway cleared, the nursery is starting to come together! Next project on the list is to re-arrange the loft and to get Al started on the bookshelf. WOOHOO!! Having a baby really gets you in the mood to have your house in order. :)

Happy Installing!
--Am