We have a big empty wall in the living room, and not much to put on it, except this cool vintage clock Dave’s Dad Gave us. I decided to build a shelf around it, so we could have a place to put a few knick-knacks. I sketched up a design.

Then, I hung the clock, and laid out the design using painter’s tape

I went out and took advantage of my newly organized garage and built the shelves (and simplified them by leaving off a couple short shelves I felt weren’t necessary), then laid on a couple coats of stain, but it came out ugly and drippy. So I sanded it clean and got a gel stain, applied that, and it again came out looking terrible. Finally Dave suggested I paint it, and knowing that it would look terrible if just painted brown, I suggested green, to match the carpet.

Dave helped me put in some screws to hang it from the studs so it would be secure.

Tah dah – just as I envisioned it!

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