week sixteen

Dave bought wood for this project just days before our quarantine started in March. Of course we didn’t know then that we’d be at home for so long, but it turned out that this tack locker was a great project to keep us occupied in the early weeks of the pandemic. It’s been functional since mid-May and got it’s fabulous trim treatment in June, but this weekend we put the final icing on the cake with the bee decals. On the 4th Dave bbq’d on the driveway while I fiddled with a popsicle stick and the bee. 

I’m super happy with how it turned out. It fits (nearly) all of my barn stuff and keeps me organized and contained so I’m not looking in five places for things to grab and take with me. I especially love that we finally found a home for my random assortment of drawer knobs from Anthropologie. Along with the wall paper we chose, they really make the whole thing quirky and very ‘me’. 

There are cubbies on the bottom where I have room for blankets and saddle pads, and a nice big area under the saddle rack where I can keep my barn bag with all my grooming tools as well as a wash bucket behind. The shelves are all lined with a clear plastic shelf liner we picked up at Home Depot, and that has worked really well keeping the paint from getting scratched up. 

We modified the right hand side of the bottom cubbies to have a cut out so my helmet/boot bag could slide in and be stored. That’s way better than having it floating around the garage to catch sawdust. There’s still a half shelf in there where I keep a box of more leather cleaning things. 

This wall paper was totally worth the expense. I found it on Spoonflower and it’s pretty perfect. We even put some of the extra up on the panel in the right hand door so there’s a sassy little palomino looking out from between the bridle hooks. It was quite easy to get in there, though I did have some apprehension about it, and it’s stayed on really well so far. Instead of the wooden saddle rack in the design I opted for a metal one that we just bolted through the back panel. 

The vinyl bee decals were purchased from a vendor on Etsy. They’re pretty perfect and I think just what Dave had in mind when he first suggested doing a painted or vinyl design on the doors. Hopefully they’ll stick on for a while; the rough wood isn't’ exactly the perfect substrate. If it starts to become an issue a layer of clear coat might be in order. 

Very fun project for this year and a really great way to spend some time in the garage doing some woodworking with Dave. Brought back memories of building sets in high school, for sure!