Natural Beauty

My September Reflection:

The "Door to Tables" project that was to be done in September bled into late October due to, well, LIFE! I found this project challenging and timely mainly because I needed help from other people. If I could do everything myself, it would be a breeze as I'm too organized for my own good. I needed to buy a sander that I knew not much about, borrow saws, and my husband had to help me cut and assemble and make sure Kit was occupied(and safe of course). With his work schedule, trying to spend any amount quality family time and even taking weather into consideration caused the delay in its' completion. There really wasn't any rush to complete them as they were meant to be used on our patio during the summer months, but they were taking up our entire garage space. It would've been nice to have them out of there to allow for a vehicle, especially on those early snow days we had this year. Besides a couple of hiccups in the timeline, I was given the opportunity to try things I haven't done, either at all or since grade 8 shops class which was really satisfying. They may not seem like hard things to do for some people, but when you don't normally spend your days doing woodwork of any kind- they are a challenge- and I conquered them!

1. Use a hand sander

2. Use a circular hand and table saw

3. Use a drill

4. A lot of painting

The sanding I found almost soothing, but the painting and cutting not as much. And I was very thankful to have Chris to help with the assembling of the tables, as I literally had no idea where to start. After assembling the large table, my plan changed completely. It was intended to be our outdoor patio table, but it was too beautiful. I had to have it inside. For now it is in our front room where we now require a little rearranging of furniture, but I think in the end it will look wonderful! Another interesting conversation piece for sure!

My top 5 this month could have been made into my top 25. I seem to always be drawn to wooden textures when I am out shopping, so our home therefore is full of them. If our house had a style I guess it would be rustic. Generally earthy tones with accents of colour (but nothing too bright)! I see other people's houses full of bright colours and think they make it look so good- but I guess I'm not brave enough to take that chance in my own house. Wood textures fit well with our colour palette, and I think it has such a natural beauty to it.

Now that I am at the end of my first month of this little endeavour, I am feeling excited, empowered and open to the personal growth I hope this will bring. I already feel a sense of accomplishment in finishing one big project with my own two hands (and Chris' two hands haha), and I have really enjoyed taking the time to think of the meaning behind things we have inherited over the years.