A WoodWork in Progress

During one of my last projects at a client's house, I noticed their mudroom was full of shoes and boots laying in the middle of the floor. There are 2 adults and 3 teenagers, which apparently equals 50 pairs of footwear on the floor. They simply had nowhere else to put it all. They had a wall space that could handle a shoe shelf, but a store-bought shelf wouldn't fit that unique space. It needed to be a certain width, and quite tall. After speaking to one of the homeowners, it was agreed that a custom shoe shelf was needed. I was also recommended to extend the shelf quite high, to add additional storage and functionality. So, out of this necessity, I designed this tall shoe shelf unit. Their home had a recent major renovation to their main floor - all new stairs, bannisters and a gate. All of those elements were hardwood maple. It made for an attractive upgrade to the their main entryway. Just off this entrance, was the access to the garage and their mudroom. This is where all ...

As with most of my home projects, it began with a request from my wife. She is a plant-lover and has transformed much of our home into a jungle. Along with that comes the challenge of finding enough space for all of the pots, big and small. My wife asked for a shelf that we could put on the wall in our bedroom for small plants. I did a quick internet search and found images of what the internet calls a 'Shift Shelf'. Basically, it is a frame that has a few boards inserted into it, shifted from one side to the other. The design was simple enough that I didn't need to download any plans for it. I guess that comes from having a little bit of experience. I showed it to my wife, she loved the design and asked for 2 of them! Google search results for a 'wall plant shelf'. I sat down and drew up the plans. I looked at the wood I had available in my stockpile of scrap wood, and found that I didn't have all the boards I would need. I discussed it with the boss and we agr...