scott has always wanted a man cave. our new house may finally allow for that, not because it’s so large, but because the layout is so strange. scott does a great deal of the laundry, well let’s be honest. scott does all of the laundry. it was a task he picked up during my sabbatical from household chores while i trudged thorough nursing school. after i graduated and we reassessed our responsibilities and approach to household tasks, he still won this one. no, i’m not a feminist power working woman that demands he does menial tasks around the house. it’s just that in all reality when you have a large family tasks need to be divided. we analyzed our strengths and weaknesses and determined that i was a better homework helper and he would rather do laundry than follow tommy around and remind him that he should be doing his homework roughly every 30 seconds while walking gavin through a long division math problem across the room while holding petey on his lap so that he can watch you hold finn’s hand and help him make the two rainbows at the end of his name. multi tasking and persistence and the patience of a saint weren't his forte, so laundry it was. of all the icky household tasks scott seems to like laundry the most. it’s always predictable, it’s located in a much quieter part of the house and he get’s to spend time in his man cave. sometimes i’ll see him disappear down the hallway with his shopping cart (not kidding, we actually own one) full of laundry and his little portable radio. scott and glenn (beck) will go do laundry together somewhere in the back of the house in another world with the peace of the dryer humming and the fresh scent of scott’s favorite detergent.
so scott is getting a man cave. traditional? no, but functional? yes. scott’s man cave will not have a recliner, sports memorabilia or a wet bar, but a freezer full of my latest stock up coupon items, a sewing machine, the entire family wardrobe, and the single, but desperately seeking a mate, sock bucket. yes, scott’s man cave is actually a multi purpose space. it’s the laundry room/utility room/sewing room/family closet and most recently dedicated, man cave.
it will take some time to complete due to the fact that i never go out and buy everything we will need for a project and complete it in 48 hours. i will slowly collect, then repair, then place each item in it’s new home. when you have a budget of $13.38 (and i just spent 12 of it) for the entire man cave remodel things move slowly. but, i’ve started. the central piece of furniture was to be scott’s folding table. shouldn’t every man cave have a table designated solely to folding laundry? he’s so spoiled. i found the perfect table weeks ago. perfect except the price. those of you who know me or follow my blog know that i am not a fan of actually having to purchase any of my project items. it is much more satisfying to be able to tell someone it was free. i was thrifting my way to my aunt’s house the other day and happened upon the table. it was listed at a whopping $18.00 but I was confident I could get her down to $15. i pointed out the discoloration on the top, knowing full well i would paint it, and the clerk agreed. not much you can do about that she commented, such a shame. she offered me the table for $12. more than fair i thought and smiled as the thrift store stock boy loaded me up.
i was not a fan of anything but the shape of the table. in the coming days i broke it to scott that i had spent money at the thrift shop again today and that i bought him something (scott does not usually share my passion for thrift store finds especially when i buy things for him), and that it was heavy and i needed help getting it out of my truck, and that he would have to put it together and that it was for him to fold laundry on and that it would go in his man cave and that his man cave was actually going to be in the laundry room.
i took my time telling him all of this of course. wouldn’t want to overwhelm him or with all the good news.
first step of course was the standard bleach and water scrub, rest in the sun and then a bit of goo gone to remove the stubborn tape marks from the not so crafty thrift store folks who thought it would be a great idea to use shipping tape to affix the legs to the top of the table. i turned this into a life skill lesson for the boys. they all practiced applying goo gone to their own designated sticky spot and removing it with their own washcloth. their wives better appreciate me one day. in the last week, many of my boys have been checked off in goo gone application, electric hurricane shutter operation, breast pump set up and application and safe handling and storage of breast milk. they will be so well balanced, or maybe just weird, but never the less, i never miss an opportunity to teach them something.
after drying the table thoroughly, but actually not. we applied the first coat. one particularly eager student attempted to get checked off on his spray paint application skills but was quickly sent back for remedial training. he pouted when i explained that he wasn’t really ready for a project of this caliber and trudged back to his cheap black spray paint and his piece of scrap plywood. sorry tommy, maybe you can retest on the next project but keep up the good practice.
i will have the most beautifully colored pea gravel patio in the neighborhood. the beauty of this ground cover is when we finish a project i simply send the boys through to scatter and redistribute the stones and it looks normal again. i love skipping the actual ground cloth step.
as my first coat dried it became apparent that i had actually sprayed over several drops of water. this did not allow the paint to adhere and actually caused me a great deal of grief. i had to sand each spot once it dried. i burnt my thumb in the process and i wasn’t even using an electric sander. i’m just that fast, super impressive i know.
with the water spots sanded it was time to dust off the table and give it another coat. then it was time to go to home depot and pick up another can of matching paint because i ran out.
i made several little boys turn my table up on end so i could get the bottom of the legs.
as usual, when we get near the end scott finally sees my vision coming to life and offers to help. as usual, i took him up on his enthusiasm and allowed him to give a shortl seminar on the polyurethane application process. the boys were not impressed, not only was it boring and colorless, it stunk.
after a nice coat of polyurethane and a few hours of drying in the sun, the little table came to life. i decided not to rough up the edges on this project the way i usually do. the clean blue lines appealed to us as we marveled over just how clever i was.
before
after
i think we did this guy some justice and i hope gave him a little make over for his next life. this table will enjoy the company of scott and glenn beck in the man cave and provide a surface to fold lots and lots of laundry for lots and lots of years to come.
note for those of you who read the other day’s gracie post: the dog just flew through the living room chasing that cat. who let that cat in?!?
