Small Work. Big Enhancements.

“The devil is in the details,” so they say. Along with everything else going on, I took on two small projects that really enhance liveability and style.

The first thing I did, was to hang my banjos and guitar on the wall. For those of you that play, you know that if your instrument is easy to access, you will play more.

So over the course of three days, I went shopping in the woods. I selected a dead tree with the right branch design and cut it down. Then i cut off the branch and turned it into a hook. I took the new hook inside and eyeballed location on the wall. When I liked it, i installed it, and hung an instrument off of it.

I had to make two leather straps out of an old belt to make it hangable.

The second project was to cut some triangular corner shelves to serve as my pantry. My counter was overflowing with food, dishes, mail, rags, project supplies, water bottles and various crap. I hate clutter.

Thusly inspired and motivated, I glued and clamped some red oak and aspen together. I cut isosceles triangles. Why? Because its the only way my shelves would reach my support strips behind the cedar paneling. Not only that, in my mock up shelf, they really looked cool. I was able to keep the open bright feel of the place, and still get needed storage.

After cutting I sanded everything smooth. Then over the course of a day, I covered everything with 3 coats of varnish. I took extra care on the visible surfaces.

The next day, I installed them. And Man! Do they look slick and function perfectly.

Whooosh! No more clutter!

These were not a huge projects. But, they were both necessary to do, especially the shelves.

Ill revisit the hooks when i get onto another outdoor project and oil them up before reinstalling.