Wednesdays, Fridays, lumber and chili....

Yes, they all go together at one point; but I had my doubts.

Let's back up a few days first; no, well, lets first back up a few years .
Five years ago we offered to hold a chili dinner at our house to get together some of our friends and just have a good time.  We open each floor (living, bedrooms, and partial basement. The adults congregate in the kitchen, the kids run around all three levels and outside and have a great time. 

We had such fun that by the next year, everyone was asking when the next chili-fest was going to happen.

Here we were in 2011 planning our 5th annual chili-fest! 

http://www.younghouselove.com/

In the last few weeks, I've also been wanting to recreate some version of Jon and Sherry's awesome desk builtins in their office.  
Thing is, I don't need a desk. What I could use though, was a buffet table in my sparsely furnished almost completely unfurnished dining room/Lego playroom and could really solve some storage issues. 
You see, 99% of the year, the "dining" room is much more accurately described as a "Lego" room.  We're just not "dining" type of people, and I like having the Lego builder close to me.

So on Wednesday, with 50 dinner guests scheduled to arrive Friday at five for dinner, I went to Lowe's.

 I know, a trip to the grocery store would have made more sense, but this was more fun. I surfed the Habitat Store and Lowe's, and finally decided this was going to have to be a temporary fix until I could decide on a final cabinets or bases of some kind.

With only 24 more hours though, I didn't have time to think or shop. I needed to BUILD. So off to Lowe's and home with a truck full of 12' long boards and a bunch of 2x4's. I was so glad they stayed put in the truck!


Each base piece (I made 4) was a simple box, just designed to hold the boards stable and in place. 

Once in place, I cut the long 10" wide planks and screwed them into place. I chose screws instead of nails for easy removal; as I said, this is not a permanent solution.  I also pre-drilled each hole because 1: it makes it easier to get the screws in without a ton of upper body strength, and 2) it keeps the wood from splitting).  The top is the size I want, and those boards will be painted and reused for the final product.

I love a cute, cheap option!

Covered with a cute piece of fabric I picked up with chilies all over it, and it was sturdy, cute, and ready to be used!  I added cute chips baskets and yellow and red condiment holders (all from the Dollar Store!) and I had a long, narrow, out of the traffic pattern spot for all the yummy food.  

So on Friday, the chili was made,  the friends and food arrived, and the fun began.  It was a fun time!
 It was a good test for the size of the buffet with so many people in the rooms, so I'm ready to go with it.
NowI need to shop and find a deal on cabinets and decide on finishes, but I'm thinking it will all be painted the same whitish/off-white color as the trip to set against the red.
Carter is already making plans for storing all of his Lego pieces we are organizing , so I better get planning and shopping!


I love my new (soon to be finished!) storage buffet area!