Thanks for your thoughts and prayers yesterday. We had a good meeting with a production company that we really like and have an agreement to move forward with our project. We are still a little ways from our ultimate goal, but progress is definitely being made. I know the end goal is always worth it, but I struggle day to day to do the somewhat small unenjoyable task that make dreams come true. I can always use a little wave of encouragement to help carry me forward.
I will get to my post about skirted tables in a bit, but I want to throw in a little story and hopefully some encouragement. If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you know that it has been Kara and I’s dream to have our own Design TV show for a while. We have taken every possible opportunity to tell anyone who will listen. We have received quite a bit of encouragement, but also a lot of dismissive responses.
Yesterday, Kara mentioned that our friend Renee came into town. This past October when we were working on a movie we met Renee and shortly after told her about our plans. She IMMEDIATELY saw the vision and said, “Let’s Do It!” I can’t tell you what a blessing and encouragement she has been to us. Her experience and expertise in production has been a tremendous asset, but more than anything, her belief in us has spurred us to dream even bigger. I like to think Kara and I dream pretty big, but Renee saw even bigger things than we had ever imagined.
I wanted to share this for a couple of reasons. First, to publicly acknowledge and thank Renee for what she has done for us, but also to highlight two important lessons.
I believe there is power in sharing your dreams and plans with other people. It is one thing to wish, dream, and plan in your head, but things get real when you start to tell others about your plans. When I share my ideas with a group of friends I feel pressure to start working on them, because I know they will be asking me about them later.
But probably more importantly, Kara and I have learned that things start to happen when you make the decision to take the leap and actually verbalize your dreams, goals, plans, or ideas. In this instance it was obvious that if we hadn’t told Renee about our idea there is no way she could have known and jumped on board.
Most of the time it isn’t as easy to see the cause and effect, but Kara and I have observed numerous times that we have the audacity to start verbalizing our goals, opportunities present themselves and doors open for us to move towards our dreams. If you aren’t ready to start telling actual people, start by telling yourself in the mirror. It seems silly, but it will help you start believing.
Secondly, I wanted to share with you how important Renee’s encouragement has been to us. The sense of validation we received when someone outside ourselves really started believing in us raised our confidence to new levels and gave us the courage to make some pretty large investments in our dreams. It is impossible for you to encourage yourself this way, but do it for someone else. We believe that one of the best ways to reach your goals is to help someone else reach theirs. Alright, I am done. I will move onto the stuff you really came to see.
Kara recently finished up designing this office/playroom (which she will fully reveal next week). I didn’t have a lot of work to do in this particular space, but she did ask me to build some tables. The client wanted to be able to hide a bunch of unsightly office stuff- printer, modem, router, files, ect. Kara decided the best way to do this was to create some skirted tables.
I can’t take credit for the actual skirting, but I did build some tables strong enough to double as dancing platforms for your next party. While I think I did an INCREDIBLE job building these things, I have come to the realization I did a miserable job documenting the process. I will do my best to explain the steps.
First, I cut a piece of MDF to the dimensions Kara had given me to fit the space. This is a step you can let Lowes or Home Depot take care of. Not only does this save you the hassle of getting your tools out to cut it yourself, it can also simplify transporting materials to your home or apartment.
I like MDF for a lot of reasons, but it has a tendency to sag under pressure, so I decided to beef this guy up with some 1×2 furring strips. I used my Kreg Pocket jig for this, but you can do it with normal screws or a finish nailer.
I designed these to rest against the wall, so next I found the studs in the wall and used lag bolts to attach my cleat to the wall. 3in drywall screws would probably be sufficient, but this office is doubling as a playroom and I am quite certain these shelves will inevitablely double as a ladder at some point. Make sure your cleat is level.
Next, you can see I cut (2) 4×4 post the same height as my cleat. Be sure to take your flooring into consideration. If you are building on carpet take that into consideration adjust accordingly. You will notice I didn’t place the legs at the front of the ledge. There were a couple of reasons I did this.
Kara let me know that the shelves on this ledge would be full of heavy books. I wanted the shelves to be directly supported by the legs and not just the MDF top, even though it was beefed up. Additionally the set back legs provided unobstructed storage for some of the child’s larger toys or oversized office supplies.
Again I used my pocket screw jig to attach the legs and to secure the top to the cleat. I was hesitant to buy this tool, but have found a ton of uses for it sense then. Since all of this would eventually be covered by the shelves you could just as easily screw down the ledge from the top.
Kara wanted to upholster the top of this table and since I was using pockets screws and leaving the top undisturbed we decided it would be easier to upholster the top before I installed it. She simply cut a piece of material to size and used a stapler to secure it in place.
This is where Kara took over, but since you all haven’t heard much of me on the blog lately I will do my best to explain the process. You won’t ever hear Kara claim to be a seamstress, but she is pretty handy with fusible tape and a glue gun.
She wanted to keep the storage completely concealed under the table so she started by creating, “corner flaps,” I am pretty sure that is a technical term, but just take my word for it and don’t worry about looking it up. Making sure to account for her “hems” she cut two pieces of fabric to be slightly larger than the height of the table and about 12″ wide. Then she folded the top of the fabric down to create a clean edge and stapled those at the corners, flush with the top of table. Feel free to iron a crease in these if you want a tailored look.
Here is a picture of her heming process and if you want to learn more about that…..
look somewhere else. It is pretty straight forward and prevents the fabric from fraying.
Next she cut three rectangle pieces of fabric to fit the three sides of the table and “hemmed” them. She wanted them to be removable for easy access to the storage underneath and so they could be washed if need be, so she used velcro to attach them.
Finally she added trim to the panels to finish them off and although I did not see this process, if I know my bride, it probably involved some fusible tape or her trusty hot glue gun.
Thanks for stopping by, hope y’all have a GREAT weekend!
So glad you had a good meeting. Renee sounds like a gem!
That is a truly amazing job on skirting those tables without sewing! Honestly, make sure Kara knows I am impressed – I love the way they turned out.
And if you ever need a seamstress for anything just let me know – I LOVE to sew – and I do a pretty good job of it if I can brag about myself a little!
Can’t wait to see the progression of your dreams. Thanks so much for sharing with us along the way:)
Love the DIY, but loved the encouragement even more!
Looks great. Nicely done.
I love it! It looks so classy. I did get scared when I read the title….you know after you see so many frilly ruffled table skirts all one can seem to do is cringe in fear but I knew if anyone was going to fix the reputation of a table skirt it would be you! lol! Thank you for breaking my fear of table skirts lol!
Thanks Dana – She is a great gal. We have been trying to get her to come check in on the blog and introduce herself, so you all can see for yourselves.
First: I find I am constantly in excitement for you, because I feel like you’re living your life in a way that I find so admirable. This living for a goal.. one that seems to be a core part of your being. My dad once told me that with jobs there are two main factors in determining happiness (I think he forgot attitude, but go with him on this). The people you work with and the job itself. He told me that you’re set if you like one or the other and that you’re lucky if you like both. He said one of the two was under your control — whether or not you work a job you like… and that I should think about that before picking the easier route. What you wrote made me think about that…
oh and Kreg pocket jig = one of my favorite tools.
Very nice!!!
I LOVE the skirted table! It looks totally fabulous. I might need to steal the simple trim idea for some curtains I just hung. I also wanted to let you both know that I have total faith that your dream will become a reality, and I can’t wait for that day. I would love to be able to turn on the TV to see a couple designing that isn’t vain, and have good hearts. TV needs some more of that. Anyway, I have been checking in on your blog for about a year, and decided I should finally comment, so sorry if this one’s a little eclectic :o)
I have seen my fair share of frilly table skirts and I prefer this style for sure. I think the fabric adds nice texture and color, but love the structure and shape of this tailored style.
He is absolutely right. It has taken me a while to figure out what kind of work I enjoy, but luckily I have known who I wanted to work with for a while.
We are glad to hear from you and thank your for the encouragement and for reading. I think the trim makes a huge difference. I don’t know how hard it was, but I know it didn’t take her long. Send us some before and after’s of the curtains if you end up doing it. Have a great weekend.
Thanks, I am glad you all enjoyed it and hope you all have a great weekend!