Destroy to Create

When needs change, there’s no shame in repurposing.

- By Collin Knoff

I have a confession to make: I don’t do nearly as much woodworking as I should. As someone with limited time and resources, I like to do things once, the correct way, and not have to worry about it again. This philosophy can cause some trouble when it comes to projects though. Unless I know exactly what I need and where I want to put it, I tend to hold off building things.

The kid’s playroom is a perfect example. When I bought my house, I needed somewhere to put all of the art supplies and games, so I picked up a large IKEA armoire from a friend that was moving and stuck it in the space. In some ways, it was perfect: it had drawers with built-in organizers, shelves for games, and I could close the doors to hide the chaos. However, it was nearly 8 feet tall and dominated the corner of the room, and the top half was entirely unusable for the kids. After using it for a year or so, I decided it was time to make some built-ins that would be more functional and fit the space better.