knock off wood.

Uh, so the power of the internets really is profound. I was glancing at the Woot! blog yesterday when I noticed a little link off to the righthand side that said something like 'crate your own barrel' and so, eh, I clicked on it. And it brought me here. To some woman named Ana's blog. And there I found something completely amazing ... plans she has made from reverse-engineering furniture from places like Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and - yes, apparently - Crate & Barrel. Why? Because that stuff is ridiculously expensive and she could not afford it, but has good taste (don't we all?). So ... she started this blog.

And a quick search of it, well - much to my amazement - brought up the detailed plans of the very bed I have had in mind to buy for a couple of years ever since first eyeing it in a Pottery Barn catalog (as apparently this post at my old blog confirms). For what I am estimating to be maybe $100 in materials and a solid weekend of my time (OK, the staining might take a few days to apply multiple coats of stain and then varnish), I will get the satisfaction of having not spent about two grand on a bed and having made it myself.

I figure with the $1800 or so that I'll save - since the plans look like the only real power tool required will be a chop saw - I can afford to buy a laser guide for my 12" DeWalt double-compound miter. Cos I will have to do a nice job, and having a laser will make my saw even more precise than it already is.

And she has dozens of plans for bookcases, coffee tables (although not the one I want unfortunately, but it leads me to wonder could I make it from plans I could come up with myself after fifteen minutes with a piece of paper and a measuring tape in a Pottery Barn store?), end tables, kitchen tables, etc. etc. I am going to build Julian a bed, too that will match mine (uh, except in size and sans canopy).

This is the most excited I have been in some time. The idea of getting something amazing and saving a ton of money is alluring in the world of remodeling. Thanks to this woman and her amazing blog - so I am just doing my part to spread the word. I will be sure to send her some photos when I am done (a modest request she has made for anyone who uses her plans).