Getting around to it.

The pace of modern life is such that there are often many 'little' jobs and ideas which get put on the back-burner, or even totally forgotten for an age. In my case I have lots of such 'projects', spotted and developed as I've wandered around our 500 year-old cottage here in Hampshire; there's always a modification, improvement or repair to be taken on......and some I never got around to doing whilst I was in full-time employment. So semi-retirement has been a Godsend - creating time-windows for the ideas I've had.

The latest such project involved a small space in the master bedroom, behind the door frame. For the 4 years we've lived here it's been empty space, housing a bin or a cat basket or both. And because there's an electrical socket adjacent, it's routinely had fitbits, razors and phones sat on the floor whilst charging.

Not long after we'd moved in I decided it needed a small 'console' table there, but it's a weird space, uneven floor and with a wattle/daub exposed beam running up the wall. So any table would need to be bespoke, and finding the time to get around to making something has always proved impossible.

It's only in this last week that I've finally got around to making something to fit the space. Using some left-over timber from our ongoing building work, a router, some resin and some hairpin legs, I've filled the gap with a unique and solid little table.

Having stuck two pieces of the timber together with woodglue and clamps, I went on to rout some channels in the surface, and chamfer the edges, as well as cutting a slot for the wall beam.

After doing this, and taking inspiration from my crafty daughters @victoriasthoughtsx and @charlottecarlotte aka @chars.craft.corner, (check them out on Instagram) as well as my equally-talented wife @queenymac, I mixed up some resin and poured away.

In a not entirely successful first attempt I managed to lose half my resin as it poured through my crudely taped 'dams' at each end of the channel. But sufficient remained in place to set, and create the desired effect. A further pour to fill the routed channels and cover the table surface, a set overnight locked away from any kitten paws and this morning the finished piece was installed in the gap. Finally, after 4 years here I have a table of my own on which to charge my 'stuff'. And I'll no longer be fighting Jeni for the acres of dressing table space on the other side of the room!

Thanks to our builder for the leftover timber. And watch this space for the story of the East Cottage renovation, when it finally gets finished in the next month or so (we hope). For now, here's a teaser....