A simple bookshelf

So, with little brother moving out, the older boys moved into their own room.  Like all other members of the family, they have plenty of books.  So I needed to build a bookshelf.  This very simple one took about two hours to make. 

the front view

a side view - see how the shelves slant slightly to the back.

the final product in its current home.  This is also the cleanest place in the room.

A finished bench

A couple years ago, I bought an old door with plans to turn it into a bench. I can now say that the door has become a bench and the thing is finished. It is finished, but not done. I stained it and put polyurethane on it, but I still need to upholster the seat. The pictures do not look nearly as good as the actual bench.

Now every chair is a work chair!

I have a comfy chair by the fireplace. Not only that, it is leather and totally manly. The only problem is that it was only good for sitting in and reading, or dozing off. I needed versatility, or else sitting there would be unmitigated pleasure. Thank goodness I decided to make this lap desk! The top is 5/8 inch plywood and used to be a cabinet door, and the cushion is a pillowcase filled with foam beads and stapled in place. The paint job is not what I hoped for, as the fresh red paint caused the ancient existing paint to bubble up and crack, but it is functional. Now instead of just enjoying my sweet chair by the fireplace, I can get some work done!

The bench, assembled. Mostly.

Here are a couple of images of the bench made from the door. As you can see, I have a lot of work to do still. But I am pleased with how it is coming along. It is sturdy as can be and it looks pretty good in the living room, even without the trim and finish and upholstery.

The awesome door gets cut in half.

Remember the awesome door for a bench? Well, it has been sanded and stripped a little more. Here is a picture of my poor man's table saw, as I ripped it straight down the middle. Clamping a straight piece and then using my Skilsaw worked just fine.

Awesome door for a bench

This is a door. I got it at a store that sells salvaged construction materials. I plan on making a bench out of it. This picture was taken after I sanded the thick brown paint off of the flat parts. The carved panels required a bit more work with stripper and brushes and steel wool.