The barn door likely would never have happened if not for this class.  In our day-to-day lives there are always things vying for our attention – classes, family, homework, housework, and work-work; not to mention all the things we do on the side to have a well-balanced fulfilling life: exercise, reading for fun, time with…

  I set out to create a rustic sliding door that would be utilized to divide the bathroom from the laundry area.  While the aesthetic was originally intended to be closer to shabby chic, the end result is something a bit more out of the ordinary.  Throughout the design and actual building process, the door…

The barn door is coming along. The pallet boards are painted and wood for the frame has been acquired. I am still playing with ideas for the back of the door, and nothing solid yet. The weight is still a big concern so I will be looking for wheels to place on the bottom for…

The barn door is coming along. . . Slowly. The pallet boards are painted, though I am still wrestling with frame options that will fit into the space available. I’m also trying to find a solution that will make the backside of the door reasonably attractive as well. The back won’t really be visible most…

Our object was a hair dryer and the aesthetic was mid-century modern. Mid-century modern hair dryer

I have made some progress taking the pallets apart and laying out the wood slats in a pattern that I like. I have become a bit concerned that the big, solid wood door will make the already small space seem even more confining. My original idea had been to incorporate some stained glass or something…

One constraint is time, though that is likely true of any project. There are only so many hours in the day and more obligations than comfortably fit. Another constraint is finding the right materials for the rail and wheels. I want the door to slide easily and quietly across the rail. While the door itself…

The barn door can be an attractive and functional solution to the real challenge of dividing rooms where architecture and/or space don’t allow for a traditional door.  For my class project I have chosen to create a barn door for my home, partly out of necessity and partly for the challenge.   My guest bathroom…

As I mentioned in a previous post, the idea to create a barn door to divide my guest bathroom and laundry space has been largely due to necessity.  Currently, the bathroom and laundry are not  separated and guests have a front row seat to our dirty socks (among other things) and shelves of cleaning products.  This…

Careers, like the design process, are constantly being iterated and improved upon. While it was once commonplace to have a job or trade that carried people through their adult lives and into retirement, that scenario is increasingly rare. According to an article published in Psychology Today, “Millennials have almost twice as many job and organizational…

I am not a mechanical engineering student.  Rather, my background is in anatomy and physiology with various topics of biology sprinkled in.  I enjoy design and learning about the various applications.  Over the past few years I have developed some very basic skills in a few software applications (photoshop, InDesign, prezi) as well as CRM and web…

Glass Flower Inspiration The inspiration for glass flowers came when I was shopping with my family one weekend and saw some in a store window.  It was some time ago and I really don’t recall where I saw them but remember thinking that it was a clever use of old glass.  I inherited some beautiful…

This is a progress report on my upcycle project.  Originally I had hoped to complete a barn door out of old pallets.  As I feared, it is a much more involved process than this project or time allows, so I have moved on to my alternate plan of making glass yard art out of old…

I have been wanting to make a barn door out of old pallet wood for quite some time.  The guest bathroom in my home is also the laundry room and I’m not fond of guests being forced to see our dirty clothes and cluttered shelves.  As you might be able to tell, there is no…

If you are familiar with rat rods the term may conjure images of Mad Max and the over-the-top rust-buckets that sped through the desert in the never-ending chase scene that comprised the entire movie. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)  Entertainment Weekly To many, they are cosmetically and mechanically cobbled together machines from repurposed parts used…