Heads Up

Over the weekend I finished another furniture project which has been a long time in the making: a headboard for our bed. We have not had one since we moved to our "new" house two-and-a-half years ago and got a new bed.

Years ago Kim's uncle, a woodworker, gave us three large flitches of willow. Back in 2009, we built a table out of one of them. It currently lives outside on our deck. The second was split down the middle to make two benches, for said table, but I have never completed that project. Perhaps "someday." The third I thought I might turn into the top for a sideboard, but a suitable design for that never materialized and we do not really have the space for such a piece anyway. We ultimately decided to use it for a headboard and probably about a year ago--I do not remember quite when--I started sanding it.

The piece was rough-cut from a sawmill and had a lot of parallel saw markings transverse to the length of the flitch. It took a lot of sanding with 40 grit sandpaper on a belt sander just to get some of the darkest and deepest marks out of the wood. I had anticipated sanding all of the marks out, but after multiple days of work and learning a bit more about some of the soft spots and other "character" the flitch had to offer after working with it, I decided to leave it a bit rough. (OK, so I'm not gonna lie--part of me was just tired of sanding!) Many of the prominent marks have been diminished, but it still features some sawmill marks and the rough scars of the coarse sandpaper.

I followed up the coarse sanding with 100, 220, and ultimately 400 grit sandpaper to get the piece baby's-bottom smooth. Because willow is such a light wood and our bedroom has predominantly darker furniture (a walnut dresser I refinished a few years ago and our Paul McCobb Planner Group side tables, which, contrary to what this listing may suggest, only cost us $17 for the pair at Goodwill--no Kim, you may not sell them!), I stained the flitch a dark walnut.

After the stain dried, Kim and I rubbed it down with steel wool and then waxed and buffed the surface for a smooth, matte finish. We then mounted it to the wall with a french cleat, which stands it off a bit from the wall so that it appears to float at the head of the bed.

Except for the still-diminishing (though not completely unpleasant) scent of stain and wax, the finished headboard has been a welcome addition to our bedroom!

Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

I recently re-finished a nice little cabinet (only about 21" tall) into an media storage unit for our electronics and DVDs.

My wife actually saw a corner of this piece sticking out of a snow pile near a dumpster during the winter and we had to wait until the spring melt to pull it out.

The piece is a mix of plywood and hardwood. Though I am usually a wood purist (i.e. I really hate to paint wood furniture) and the cabinet was in surprisingly good shape even after a winter under the snow, I decided to paint the piece. After drying out, this was what we were left with . . .

I removed the retro slanted legs, doors, and hardware and sanded down all of the surfaces. I used steel wool to clean up and smooth out the bright aluminum door rails and rub down the metal handles before spray painting them glossy black. I filled a number of holes and large dents in the body with wood putty.

The exterior of the piece is painted Sherwin Williams Sealskin to match the walls in our family room. To provide a "surprise" pop of color, the inside is Sherwin Williams Cayenne. It took two coats of paint for the exterior and four for the interior. Oh, and the best part: I already had the paint, so there was no cost for this project!

After reassembly, I drilled two holes in the back for cord management and set the unit up in our family room under the wall-mounted TV.

I really love how the piece turned out. The paint took really well to the body and I like that we can finally close up the DVD player and the DVDs (formerly on an open shelf) when not in use. 

Choosing to match the wall color means that this fairly small piece is pretty minimal in the room, but the bright interior really gives it a punch when the doors are open during use.

Overall, a great little refurbishment. Who could ask for more from a grimy snow pile next to a McDonald's!?

Most Inspiring Lunch

Last October I announced on my blog that I had won the Founders Day Instagram Challenge at Yale with my photograph of Timothy Dwight College as viewed from my office. The prize for this particular competition was to be lunch with Yale University's President Peter Salovey for me and a guest.

From left: Nick, President Salovey, and me. I thought it would be fitting to also post this photo on Instagram, #InspiringYale.

On March 24th, my friend Nick and I claimed my prize at a really enjoyable hour-and-a-half long lunch with President Salovey at Mory's on York Street. President Salovey was a gracious host and a great conversationalist. His reputation as a kind and personable individual preceded him and I found it to be accurate.

President Salovey made friendly recommendations concerning certain dishes and told us a bit about the history of Mory's and "The President's Bread Pudding" (which, incidentally, he enjoys...but because it is named in his honor he feels slightly guilty when he orders something else for dessert). Our conversation, which was easy-going and never forced, included topics from architecture on campus to bluegrass music and many things in between. I was pleased that we never "talked shop" about working at Yale.

Overall we had a really enjoyable afternoon with President Salovey. It's opportunities like this that make me proud the be a member of the Yale community.

Most Inspiring

So, um, I got this cool e-mail from the Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communications last night:

Congratulations! Your Instagram photo is the winner [of the Founders Day Instagram Challenge] for the category Most Inspiring. . . . [W]e'll repost your photo on the main Yale Instagram account. (Please don't tell anyone until we've made the announcement by leaving a comment on your original photo.) Thanks and congrats!

The "Most Inspiring Instagram" was defined as "the best overall shot taken anywhere on the Yale campus during the Founders Day celebration." The prize? Lunch for the winner and a guest with University President Peter Salovey!

So, now that they've officially announced me as the winner, I can officially post this blog!

I joked about winning lunch with the President all day as I submitted thirty-one photos to the contest through my Instagram account with the tag #InspiringYale. Though I tried really hard by taking lots of photos, oddly enough, the winning shot was the first one I took! It's a view down toward Timothy Dwight College from the eighth floor conference room in my office.

Red tree in TD. #InspiringYale

I edited the photo in Instagram to punch the colors a bit, add a vignette around the corners, and use the radial tilt-shift to blur the edges and focus in on the single red tree in the center of the courtyard.

Below are the rest of my shots from the day. The photo captions are how I tagged the photos for the contest.

In addition to the winning view of campus, I tried to get a few overhead views of the campus from a couple of higher vantage points.

Harkness Tower etc. from the roof of the Loria Center. #InspiringYale

Yale and West Rock from the roof of the Loria Center. #InspiringYale

Kline Biology Tower, Marquand Chapel, Gibbs, Peabody Museum, School of Management, 55 Whitney, and East Rock. #InspiringYale

I'm lucky to have this skyline view from my office each day. Inspired by Yale. #InspiringYale

As a part of the day of celebration, I took the Yale Sacred Places Tour led by the Chaplain's office. We started in Battell Chapel, visited the Hindu and Muslim prayer rooms, walked through Old Campus, and ended up in the Buddhist shrine in the base of Harkness Tower.

Battell Chapel. #InspiringYale

Connecticut Hall, 1750. #InspiringYale

Fan vaults in the Harkness Chapel. #InspiringYale

Wood carvings in Harkness Chapel. #InspiringYale

I also popped in on the President's open house at 43 Hillhouse. The artwork he has on display from the Yale University Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art is amazing!

Welcome home, Mr. President. #InspiringYale

Oh, you know, it's just an old Albers in my parlor. #InspiringYale

I call this one "Founders' Day Selfie with Albers & Sleeping Toddler" #InspiringYale

May I take a message? #InspiringYale

The President's garden. #InspiringYale

YIMBY Mr. President. #InspiringYale

The Yale Center for British Art also opened their Founder's Room in honor of Paul Mellon.

Paul Mellon's Founders Room at the Yale Center for British Art. #InspiringYale

Louis Kahn's Yale Center for British Art. #InspiringYale

I Kahn't get enough of this building! #InspiringYale

Even my day-to-day business as I walked around campus allowed me the opportunity to post some additional shots of cool spaces and places, and the preparation for the Founders Day celebration.

Inspiring music. #InspiringYale

Ross Library at SOM...but where are the books!? :) #InspiringYale

Reflecting inspiration. #InspiringYale

Berkeley courtyard with autumn colors, presided over by Sterling Memorial Library. #InspiringYale

At the end of the day, I walked through Beinecke Plaza and stopped into the Beinecke Library on my way over to Cross Campus for the end-of-day festivities.

Fall colors are #InspiringYale

Calder on campus. #InspiringYale

The Gutenberg Bible at Beinecke Library. #InspiringYale

Noguchi? No problem! #InspiringYale

The day culminated with a celebration on Cross Campus in front of the Sterling Memorial Library, with yummy fall snacks and remarks by President Peter Salovey.

President Salovey is #InspiringYale

Shamelessly trying to win lunch with the President...but this is the closest I've been so far! :) #InspiringYale

Yummy fall treats for Founders Day. #InspiringYale

Party time! #InspiringYale

After the President's remarks, I left the celebration and headed back home on my bike, passing one last view of campus I always enjoy as I ride past each day: Harkness Tower as seen between Morse and Stiles Colleges.

Mind the gap, Harkness. #InspiringYale

Bass Library Court

Sketching is the perfect way to spend a lunch break on the beautiful first day of fall!

Entry door into the subterranean north court of Bass Library at Cross Campus.

Photograph taken after my drawing was complete.