🖤 From “easy project” to emotional rollercoaster…

What started as a simple quest for dining room storage turned into a full-blown saga. Brandy and I had just picked up a massive landscape painting—over 7 feet long—and wanted to anchor it with something that matched our furniture and didn’t look like it wandered in from the wrong house.

After weeks of searching and coming up empty, I did what any stubborn craftsman with a 9,000 cubic foot storage unit would do: I improvised. Dug out some base cabinets that were barely hanging on to their dignity—wrong color, no top, no hardware, molding flapping in the breeze. I looked at Brandy and said, “I can do this! It’ll be easy!”

Cue ominous music.

I Frankensteined those cabinets into a single piece—secured the backs, added 4" base molding, custom plywood backing, and then… we both got sick. Flu? Covid? Who knows. All I know is it hit hard, and the shop was pushing 110° even with A/C. Not ideal conditions for restoration or respiration.

Eventually, I rallied. Built an oak top to match our dining room set, painted the base satin black to echo the table, and joined the boards with dowels strong enough to survive the next century. But when I stepped back to admire it… I hated it. Told Brandy I didn’t even want it in the house. It felt like a failure.

Then I added antique bronze knobs—same ones we use throughout the room—and suddenly, it clicked. The proportions, the finish, the warmth… it became a sideboard worthy of the space and the painting.

But more importantly, it became a gift.

On September 5th, Brandy and I celebrate 22 years together and 20 years married. I built this for her—with love, frustration, sweat, and a few choice words I won’t repeat here. I just hope it means as much to her as she means to me. Every single day.