Built-ins: Part 2

This is Part 2 of an occasional series on built-ins. Part 1 is here.

By the end of the first day, we had built and fit the boxes for the entertainment center (right) and window seat (center). The boxes themselves are made from 3/4" hardwood plywood, and trimmed with 1x1", 1x2", and 1x3" poplar.  The only disadvantage there is that for some reason I have it in my head that it's pronounced "POPE-lar," so now I have to be hyper-vigilant for the rest of my life (assuming, as I do, that these built-ins will long outlive me). If anyone ever comes to visit and--attempting small talk to ease the oppressive tension from some unforgivable gaffe I've committed--asks what kind of wood we used for the trim, I'll want to be able to answer "POP-lar, and, by the way, I'm so sorry about earlier."

We also had scribed the trim on the righthand side so that it would join with the baseboard trim. Though we could have cut out a section of the baseboard trim, that seemed a little unnecessarily permanent and irreversible. Who knows? Maybe placing televisions on top of things and people sitting under windows will be relics of a bygone era soon. You certainly never saw those things on The Jetsons, which I still think generally got things right.

Also, Paul insisted on sleeping next to the built-ins that first night, to "protect the structure from vandals."

"I'm just resting my eyes."

Just kidding. He's actually checking to see if the boxes fit well together, which they do perfectly. And far from sleeping, Paul led the whole project smoothly and expertly. I learned a lot just by watching him and following his lead. But there were other times where I apparently just stared off into space like an idiot, totally missing whatever he was doing:

You're blowing this, Harris.

When I wasn't having full-blown mental lapses, though, I managed to make myself useful. Here I am using the Kregg jig to make pocket holes in a piece of trim to be used on the window seat.

By the end of day 2, the fireplace was also starting to take shape.