Early this month we welcomed a baby boy. As soon as we found out he was on the way, I knew I wanted to build a piece of furniture for his nursery - not only was high quality baby furniture a bit out of our price range, but what better reason to get covered in sawdust and wood glue than preparing for a new baby? So with inspiration from Pottery Barn, guidance from my wife and her keen eye for expensive furniture, and working loosely from plans by Ana White, I designed a changing table with a side cabinet that can be converted to a dresser as our son grows older.
The chest has three deep drawers, and the side cabinet has a pull-out shelf that we use to hold a laundry hamper, but it could also be used to hold a diaper pail, toy bin, or shelves. Ensuring the work was square from the first cut was key in getting drawer slides to eventually roll smoothly and inset doors to fit. Note to self: the panel saws, the home improvement stores use to cut your sheet goods, aren't always perfectly square... My cordless Ryobi drill, driver, and Airstrike brad nailer (highly recommended purchase) were all instrumental in putting this together.
Although I've built a handful of simple furniture pieces in the past, nothing has been as enjoyable as building an item and knowing where it was going. It almost made the sanding & painting process bearable. Almost.
Although he hasn't thanked me personally (yet), I know my son will get a lot of use from this, and my hope is that it will be passed down for several generations or until my descendants decide to sell it in a garage sale :)
Early this month we welcomed a baby boy. As soon as we found out he was on the way, I knew I wanted to build a piece of furniture for his nursery - not only was high quality baby furniture a bit out of our price range, but what better reason to get covered in sawdust and wood glue than preparing for a new baby? So with inspiration from Pottery Barn, guidance from my wife and her keen eye for expensive furniture, and working loosely from plans by Ana White, I designed a changing table with a side cabinet that can be converted to a dresser as our son grows older. The chest has three deep drawers, and the side cabinet has a pull-out shelf that we use to hold a laundry hamper, but it could also be used to hold a diaper pail, toy bin, or shelves. Ensuring the work was square from the first cut was key in getting drawer slides to eventually roll smoothly and inset doors to fit. Note to self: the panel saws, the home improvement stores use to cut your sheet goods, aren't always perfectly square... My cordless Ryobi drill, driver, and Airstrike brad nailer (highly recommended purchase) were all instrumental in putting this together. Although I've built a handful of simple furniture pieces in the past, nothing has been as enjoyable as building an item and knowing where it was going. It almost made the sanding & painting process bearable. Almost. Although he hasn't thanked me personally (yet), I know my son will get a lot of use from this, and my hope is that it will be passed down for several generations or until my descendants decide to sell it in a garage sale :)
