Woodwork is my happiness, floor lamp

Floor lamp named “Lodge”
How do you think on this lamp’s shape, fine or queer?

This summer we have very hot days and heavy rains, frequently hearing ” the severest in history” all over Japan from south to north. In my home air conditioner is equipped three in main room but one more settled preventing the hot days’ continuance. So we use more frequently the ground floor room than the first floors. So I thought to make a new floor lamp for the ground floor using the short chips at making the garden house, bench and flower shelf.

When I combine the chips for the covering the lamp, wife said that such  queer- shaped woods are suitable to the lamp. Before she said to me, I myself questioned the finish shape. But human being is great. While I combine the chips from left to right and the next from right to left at last from under to upper or its reverse, the shape was gradually rather suitable to the floor lamp. Wife,  seeing my long and hard struggle (against great difficulties) said to me “You work fine, you have a good talent of art”. Really? All the shapes of this lamp is derived from the chips. I have not any art talent bu if this lamp be fine outer,  it shows a little talent of art, because I had cut the woods as if I would prepare the future lamp’s  style.

Further more one unexpected effect I must tell the reader of this blog, it is the wooden effect to the inner lamp itself. When come the night, we turn on the lamp, its spread light is so soft and mild, for which we are very comfortable and relaxed as though we spend a calm night at the highlands lodge where we frequently visited. So wife called this lamp “Lodge at the highlands”.

The lamp’s image is “Lodge”. Is it proper?

The light shows gentle and soft image in the room.

The lamp sends a fine dim light to the ceiling.

Woodwork is my happiness, veranda

Ou house’s veranda was my first large woodwork by which I and wife thought that the little house was used as effective as possible. At the preparation of making, I first knew the 2 by 4 wood were really useful for us beginners.

Veranda’s foundation was also 2 by 4 adapted concrete base. At first soil was made hard by concrete and the next there put the foundations where the ditches for entering the 2 by 4 woods were already made up. So the work was very simple and smooth. probably about one month we finished the whole work. That was about 12 years ago.

But this old veranda was considerably rotten by the rain earlier than I thought. So the winter 2011 we decided making the new veranda to keep the same comfortable house.
The new one was also made by 2 by 4 system which was my favourite woodwork material for various used products.

Old veranda’s dismantling started October and new one’s accomplishment was ending days of December, needing some 3 months . The product was very satisfactory for family.

Matching the new veranda, we again started the also new garden house on this veranda’s left side. The simple explanation is shown at this blog’s Woodwork is my happiness, garden house.

On the veranda, there is a remade bench which is also garden good containers under the sitting cover.

Behind the bench is a newly made flower shelf which is also what we long desired to make up.

Woodwork is my happiness, window flower shelf

When we designed the garden house,  wife proposed a flower shelf over the south side window. This shelf is at the same time used for tiny roof for the window. It was a nice idea. So we decided to practise this idea. Its result is fine and we two are enough satisfied to this design.

Red verbena’ pots on the window shelf

Moss-green tiny hedge is also designed and made by wife.

The tole painting plate and left side window shelf, over are grape hanging shelf.

Haiku for woodwork

Higurashi ha
Ikiru yorokobi
Tsuchi wo utsu

<Translation>
Cicadas singing is
The pleasure of life 
With woodwork hammering

Hibiscus on the newly made flower shelf

Tokyo
24 August 2013
atbankofdam

Woodwork is my happiness, flower shelf

At the veranda we have long desired making the size-suited flower shelf. But the size is rather complex, so we have thought its making as the next work of garden house and bench.

This shelf was thought as the garden good container for daily use of ours. Gardening is one of the main pleasure of our everyday. And further more two gardening-use ladders are hoped to hide from the veranda but always being able to use necessary use.

We have written many blueprints for making the suitable shelf. From June this year we have began to make using 2-by-4 woods. I like this materials so much because of economical cutting not for wide direction and for cutting longitude direction. It is a little puzzle for me. Floor has 5 woods, walls has 2 woods and  depth wall has 5 woods again. These woods are all not cut to wide direction an only cut to longitude direction.

using about 2 months, the shelf was accomplished with satisfaction. Of course under the shelf is added considerably wide container for gardening goods.

At  the wall. wife will also preparing to write a new tole painting for the shelf-image. From making the veranda, garden house, bench to this shelf, we feel a long winding travel of renewal f our narrow garden and plants-seeing from the veranda.

triangular shaped behind tall wall flower shelf designed by two.

Under front wall part is used for garden good container.

Covering of under shelf container.

Bench and flower shelf with veranda, all are made by wife and me. At the extreme left side unseen there is also our largest woodwork product, Garden House.

Quilt for garden house

My wife has made quilt cloths almost everyday after her retirement from busy work. This spring, long hoping our garden house at last accomplished. The house is new and clean but all wood house is felt like an early American log house. So she determined the quilt cloths for inner decoration and practical use. At first chair cushion was made in the early summer and the next covering of sewing machine was finely made up.

The cushion cover for chair, under which is used for paraffin poly tanks.

The sewing machine cover made by the same pattern of the chair cushion.

Her favourite machine from our marriage days.

Woodwork is my happiness, bench

At the veranda, there was a tiny bench for family, that was ever also made by my wife using her work-holidays. She is very fond of woodwork like me. But at those days some 15 years ago, I had mainly made garden works, for instance, garden edges  and ground covering by blocks. Some tall trees were also planted for tree flowers and summer shade. Grape and wisteria shelves were rather complicated works.

This bench was also hurt by  rains. So we once decide new one for more fashionably. But the bench’s wood is so fine and we rethought and decided to repair the old one for new use. The old is a little long for our tiny veranda. So I decide this cuts more shortly. At first this work was thought easy. But work began, some parts were rotten by the rain and some places have crack, because we used under-bench place for the stocking vegetables and some tools for gardening.

At last the remake work needed about 2 months till all finished. The new one is shorter than old but some parts are cleanly cut by knife and has smoothly curved line. We are so satisfied. Of course under the bench, the vegetables and several gardening tools are stocked preventing rain and wind.

remarked bench

Inner the bench, the cover is used for many pockets by narrow woods.

At right side of the bench, we have made a brand new flower shelf with tool container under part.

Woodwork is my happiness, garden house

At the veranda, there was a little garden-goods till the last year that was my wife made at the time of her work-holidays while I made  the veranda before living room. But passing some 10 years, the house became rain leaking through the roof. So we decided a new garden house together wife and me.

She mainly brought the inner design and arrangement and woodwork took my charge. From last early spring we began to write several plans on the notebook.

From May last year we began to make mainly using the pre-made wood-wall at the shop and floor and roof are originally made adopting the size of our house. In the house, tiny desk and many shelves are installed for her sewing and my woodwork and painting.

Almost one year the new garden house was accomplished containing the rather long summer vacation time.

In the house as scheduled her sewing machine and my woodwork tools and painting cans are all stored. More fine image before we imagined.  Sewing-machine table are made firmly by thick board  and its chair is also added using the paraffin boxes covering, where she made a quilting cushion for her sewing comfortably.

At the door she painted a garden plate by tole painting. At the southern wall fitted the tiny planters shelf.

Garden house from door with tole painting

Inner the house, sewing machine and several shelves for paintings and tools

Door’s tole painting and south wall shelf

South wall side shelf with flowers pots

Red verbena flower pots at south wall

Tole painting at the door, “GARDEN HOUSE”