The Hall Tree

[Don Grubish]

OK, something happened to the first blog post about this project, and I'm tired of seeing a blank page here. Therefore, I'll explain my story again.

When I moved into my current place, there is a nook just inside our front door, immediately to your left as you walk in. Next to that is our front entrance closet, but it's way too small for me, my roommate, and his two kids when he has them over. Something needed to be done, and that nook area was just too barren. I decided to make a hall tree for extra coats when company comes over.

I went to Menards and picked up 12 6' pine planks. I used five of them to make the back board by using the Kreg Jig to join them together. Check this out:

That was a lot of Kreg screws, but a lot of fun putting it together. I learned a lot from that, for when I someday do a dining room table for a buddy of mine at work. Anywho, after that, I made two sides for my tree, again by joining cut pieces of planking to one full plank. I then put them together so you can get an idea of where I was going with this. Pictures below:

My next task was joining more plank pieces for my bench, as well as the tray that will go underneath. The tray will hold hats and gloves during the winter months here in Minnesota. Underneath the glove tray, I built the hall tree to hold a metal rack for snowy/muddy boots. Check this out:

and the rack:

After all that was done, I was wondering what I could do to the backer board that would take up the space elegantly, as well as be something I haven't done before. My original thought was to whip out my trusty woodburner yet again, but a part of me said something more needed to go there. I then looked carefully at the woodwork done at my place of employment in the upstairs conference room. Then it hit me. I needed to buy trim and do a design with that, using my mitre saw and finishing air nailer. The result is what you see below, and I couldn't be happier!

I will have a mirror go into the hole cut at the top, and used the trim work for a frame. It will hold the mirror nicely and look exquisite when finished. Tomorrow I will give this piece a final sanding and apply stain conditioner as well as my coat of stain. If all goes well, I'll add coats of finish to it Saturday evening and Sunday, and apply the hardware last.

This job will be done in time for Thanksgiving, which I'm hosting this year. I'll have plenty of hooks for all those extra jackets now. Also, here are the plans I whipped up so others can see just how I built this piece.

November 23, 2009 UPDATE

I stained my project over the weekend, using Minwax Red Oak stain, and here is what it looks like:

And after that, I applied three coats of finish and added the hardware and mirror. The result is what you see below. I am simply thrilled with how well this project turned out.

[Michael, Liam's Dad]

Really nice work Don, I really like the added accent within the diamond pattern.

[David A Mages]

Don that hall tree lookes like it is real easy to put together. I just wunder on how long did it take you to build it?

[Don Grubish]

November 23rd update. I added finished photos for this blog post. Enjoy!

Don

[KregRep]

Thanks for reposting it! The progress looks great... the decorative pieces in the center really added a lot of eye-appeal.

[Don Grubish]

There, I re-wrote my blog on the hall tree. Hopefully this time it stays put. lol ;-)

[Don Grubish]

I changed the date, but no luck. It's still gone.

[KregRep]

Most likely just some sort of technical fluke. Are you able to adjust the date on the entry though? If you click on 'edit post' you should have the option to adjust the date of your post. Maybe bringing is back to this decade will do the trick!

[Don Grubish]

Kevin, I found out that there is a glass/mirror company in a strip mall across the street from where I live. $25 later, I have them cutting my glass to size by Friday. Tonight I cut the hole in the back board for it. This should look awesome when installed.

KregRep, I'm about to check. As far as the text is concerned, I didn't "save" it on my end. I just typed it into your site here and saved it there. If you guys don't have it on your end, then it's lost. I'd have to retype the blog entry from scratch.

[KregRep]

It appears to be just yours... are you able to go in and re-edit the date? Very strange. Sorry about that... haven't seen anything like that happen here before.

[Kevin]

Don, I used to work for a building materials supply company (here in the Atlanta area) and they had what they called a "specialties division" who installed mirrors, shower doors, shelving, and other "finish" type products done at the end of the home construction process. Not sure where you live, but maybe that would be something for you to look into. Also, any glass company should handle mirror. Got to handle that stuff very carefully. EXTREMELY SHARP edges.
Also - did you see the "G" I put up on here for you?