“Back in 1999, my wife wanted a “nice bedroom suite.” I happily looked into it for her, and was shocked at the cost of a full bedroom suite. Anywhere from $3,000 to $4,500. And surely none of them were actually solid wood. I had just started my hobby of woodworking, and so I asked my wife if she was willing “to have a piece made one at a time.” She said she would be. I designed the first piece, the armoire, and then asked her what type of wood she wanted….she said knotty pine. “Sweet,” I thought, “that is the cheapest wood in the world.” First I made the armoire, then we moved. I then made the dresser and a few months later, I made the end tables. All of this within about 2 years. (hey, I was in the Army, and I was busy defending my country.)”

“Anyhow, I never made the bed because I had bought a nice and inexpensive wrought iron bed, picked up at a garage sale. Earlier this year though, I decided it was about time to “finish” the bedroom suite. I designed the bed to be very simple, but with the same raised panel styling I had used in the other pieces. It took me many nights and weekends, but in the end, I think it turned out pretty good. All of the lumber was purchased at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Each piece had three staining layers of Minwax Golden Oak. With three layers of polyurethane, semi-gloss.”

“Needless to say, my wife is very pleased, and I am happy to have the whole suite completed. As a side note, my wife told me a few years ago that the only reason she agreed to let me build the suite way back when was because, as she says, “I didn’t really think you could do it, so I said yes so that I didn’t hurt your feelings.” I guess it’s easy to please someone with low expectations!”

This jewelry armoire was a graduation gift for my niece. It is made out of Bubinga, Birds Eye Maple veneer (door panels), figured maple veneer (top), and Birds Eye maple (drawer fronts). Each drawer is dovetailed and the bottom drawer has a hidden compartment accessible from the back. The base is from a David Marks project Open Bookcase. The finish is Seal-A-Cell with several coats of Gel Stain on top. I was in way over my head on this project which means I got to learn many new things.

Here are some pics of a doll armoire I built last year. My niece is a big fan of American Girl dolls and stuff. Her mother asked me if I could make an armoire as a birthday present. The one in the American Girl catalog is outrageously priced for a painted version. It was a fun way to mess around with hand cut dovetails on a smaller than usual scale. The armoire stands 25 inches high. The case is made of black walnut. The drawers and door panels are birdseye maple. The feet are mahogany. The drawers are solid birdseye maple fronts with poplar sides and back. Were I to do this one again, I think I’d try the hidden rare earth magnet trick instead of the magnetic catch. I didn’t notice until after the first round of finishing that I didn’t quite sand out the score line on the drawer side. Nothing says “hand cut” quite like a score line, eh? The finish is three coats of the “Maloof blend” of equal parts tung oil, linseed oil, and poly followed by paste wax. Small scale furniture can be a lot of fun, and a great way to use up some stray boards around the shop.