This kitchen makeover Tacoma customer Heather shared with us is a perfect example of what you can do with a creative eye, some patience, and of course the bevy of reclaimed materials you’ll find in our stores!

Heather was excited to point out all of the tasty salvaged tidbits she cooked up in her kitchen:

“Stuff from the Tacoma Second Use is all over our kitchen now!”

“First came the cabinet handles. Then we found the live edge acacia butcher block and the huge sink. Then we found the subway tile and the edge trim bits. The latest was ripping out the ancient uppers and replacing them with open shelving made from reclaimed high school bleacher foot boards.”

“Bonus that we found the chicken on top of everything and bought it on a whim!”

Heather did a great job incorporating reclaimed materials into her project and so can you! Stop by, get inspired, find that DIY spirit, and email you project photos to customerprojects@seconduse.com, for a little store credit as a ‘Thank You!’.

For a long time I’ve wanted to convert my back entryway into a small mudroom. It was a nonfunctional space with no place to hang a coat or put shoes on.

I had the idea to build a bench seat in this area and clad the walls in beadboard, but when I priced beadboard at the local lumber yard, the cost for the nice tongue and groove stuff was pretty hefty–more than I could justify spending on a little mudroom.

Luckily for me, I found some really nice fir beadboard at Second Use Tacoma ( https://www.seconduse.com/?post_type=item&p=3593825 ) at a good price, and my little mudroom project began.

My first step was to draw a level line around the room where the top of the beadboard would go. Then I removed all the drywall below this line and replaced it with some 1/2″ plywood. I did this to have a clean, solid surface to nail my beadboard to.

Next I built a bench seat with finish-grade plywood. I built this a little smaller than the space it was going into for ease of installation. The beadboard was 5/8″ thick and would cover any gaps between the wall and the bench seat.

After that, I began installing the beadboard, which was the simplest part of the whole project. I first nailed up the trim cap along that level line I drew earlier, and used that as a guide to keep each piece of beadboard straight. Then I just cut each board to length, butted it to the trim cap, and nailed it off.

The item description on the Second Use website mentioned that the boards varied slightly in thickness, but I only had two boards (out of about 25) that were slightly thinner than the rest. Luck of the draw maybe. I sat them aside and used them on shorter walls where their difference in thickness would not be a problem.

Once the beadboard was installed, I added some baseboard to cover my nail holes, then caulked and painted. I’m very happy with the result. All in all, a very fun project!

Customer Sagar was kind enough to not only share their fantastic DIY project, they also included step-by-step instructions (With Pictures!) of the process they used! All words and photos are courtesy of Sagar.

It all started when I purchased this interesting looking antique oak heating grate from Second Use, sometime last year.

It was really cool for a heating grate (pun intended), but it stayed in my garage for months as I couldn’t figure out what to really do with it.

Recently, I was watching how the Japanese Kumiko lanterns were made and that’s when my bulb went on. Instead of making those small Kumiko style lamps, I decided to make a floor standing lamp. 

The build was pretty straight forward – make a box to hold the grate. I had a bunch of leftover birch veneer plywood from another project, so decided to use that to make the shell.

As the overall piece was pretty lightweight and doesn’t have to hold a ton of weight, I decided to just glue it. My wife was kind enough to let me use the kitchen counter as my work bench as my garage is not conditioned and glue needs a certain minimum temperature to cure properly.

The basic form was complete.

Next, it was time to clean up the grate. I used Krud Kutter and a toothbrush to scrub and clean up all the gunk accumulated in the grate over its lifespan. I waited for a day for it to completely dry off and then applied a coat of Spray lacquer to finish it off. For the plywood, I applied a coat of Osmo hard wax oil.

It was time to work on the light now. I purchased an off white Shoji paper and rice starch based glue to cover the grate from inside. The rice starch glue is important as it allows for easy removal and replacement of the paper in case of any damage in the future.

I used a paint brush to apply the glue on the grate. I didn’t apply on the whole grid, just on the outer corner and the middle intersecting pieces. Then I rolled the shoji paper and trimmed the excess.

As I wanted a soft low light with even dispersion, I opted to use a low 5v LED strip which doesn’t get warm and can be safely mounted directly on the finished wood surface.I tested it in the dark  to make sure I’m happy with the LED light.

That was it! Did you like it? If you’ve any comments or feedback, do share it! -Sagar

sagarnshastry@gmail.com

They have created a stunning accent wall that adds a distinct pattern and lots of warmth to this cozy bedroom. A paneled wall is a great way to add some personality and a bit of a Midcentury vibe to your small space.

New Veneered Door Stop, Item #630922, is still available (while supplies last) for just $2. each at our Tacoma store. Pick some up, get inspired, and send some pictures to outreach@seconduse.com for a special treat!

I shouted “That’s the one!”, while my wife shooshed me rolling her beautiful eyes that scanned the Second Use warehouse from floor to ceiling. My eyes were locked on a more attractive, curvy, and unusual piece of $45 live-edge maple lumber. When I think about it now, I can’t explain why I liked it. Perhaps because it was honest and sincere. A glimpse of the future went by my eyes, my hands gliding over the 2000 Grit sanded black epoxy surface without any bumps, and my hot coffee mug elegantly placed on a coaster made of cork imported from Portugal. My visions were quickly interrupted by my wife “Are you sure you can build it? I don’t want another lumber nesting in the garage”. I said “Absolutely!” and it just took 2 years to finally get to this project while I tried to convince my wife that live edge wood takes years to get acclimated to our home. 

When I finally got the chance, I placed it on the garage floor and stared at it for about 20 mins to appreciate the beauty but also because I was looking like a deer in headlights scratching the leftover hairs on my bald head. While I came to the realization that the live edge slab I bought is really small to make it a great center table, to justify my previous lecture to my wife about why we should build our own center table, and why we should buy epoxy in advance, I had to do something to save my face. So, instead of making a canal pour, I decided to do a Mississippi River pour. I carefully unwrapped the bark, used a wire brush on the angle grinder, and went crazy to make sure I look like a pro making some noise in the driveway. 

Anyways, I cut the pieces using my track saw and placed the pieces that looked balanced. 

Next, I created a simple plywood tray to hold the pieces and epoxy together and wrapped everything with Tuck tape to ensure that the Epoxy doesn’t stick to the tray. I also wrapped a few scrap pieces of wood and clamped them to the tray to ensure that the pieces doesn’t float/move after the epoxy is poured.

I used Crystal Clear epoxy and TransTint Black dye from Amazon and as the slab was just 1 1/2″ thick, I decided to do it one pour. It was time! I asked my wife to record this historic moment – the first epoxy pour. As soon as I poured and gave a big smile to the camera, smoke, and bubbles started coming from the pour! With a fake grin, I started scrambling to understand what was going on. I quickly brought all the table fans I had in the house and set them on high facing the epoxy. The temperature started coming down, but I started seeing some cracks in the pour. Once it started cooling down, I realized those were just surface cracks and nothing serious. I did a little show off by using the blow torch to get rid of the bubbles, unfortunately, my wife quickly pointed out that she was sitting next to me the other day while I was watching Blacktail Studio getting rid of the bubbles in his ginormous epoxy table pour. I later realized that I didn’t purchase the deep pour epoxy and had gone with the regular one due to the habit of picking the cheapest option that Amazon had recommended.

Once cured, it was time to plane that slab, but wait! There was no way it would fit in the standard benchtop thickness planer. So, I quickly made a router surface planing jig using a 3/4″ flattening bit on my Makita cordless palm router and leveled it out. The epoxy was softer than what I had imagined. It was easy, but really messy as they make plastic noodles instead of chips and they stick everywhere unless you have got an anti-static vacuum hose.

I did enjoy sanding through various grits (120, 220, 320) while listening to Odesza live on KEXP. I didn’t want a crazy mirror finish. So, I just stopped there. OSMO Polyx-Oil is what I picked as the finish, as that gave me a reason to buy that 14th can of finish that I always wanted but my wife never approved. It was super easy to apply and the contrast in the wood came out really well.

I got a blank stare when I said “I’m thinking of making these really cool legs” and pointed at my “Ultimate contemporary table legs” board on Pinterest. So, I got the message and started looking to purchase a pair of legs to put it on. Blacktail Studio’s Youtube channel came to the rescue when I saw him talking about Flowy Line Designs and how much he liked it. So, I found them on Etsy and looked through their options. We collectively agreed that if we could imagine those table legs with our live slab in our heads, we would be guests on Chip and Joanne’s show on HGTV. So, I called out to my inner Photoshop Gods to mask those table legs from Etsy to the actual slab to see how they’d roughly look. We went with the option on the bottom left that looked balanced to our eyes.

When the table legs got delivered after a few weeks, it felt like opening gifts on Christmas morning, except that I had to pay for them. Anyways, the black metal legs were beautifully made with powder-coated paint. Though we had narrowed it down to these particular legs, I still had to determine which way they should face and how far or closer they should be. So, I placed the slab temporarily on the legs with varying distances and directions and took pictures. Once I got approval from my wife on the bottom right one, I bolted them on. 

As it sat next to my $1000 Article couch, the maple epoxy table had not changed its soul, it still looked honest, and sincere, just as before, but with a hint of added Glamour, perhaps making the couch a little jealous.

The doors provided the inspiration for a much more grandiose building than originally planned. And as the project grew, they started thinking of it like more of a “tiny mansion”! The family was dedicated to buying as little new materials as possible. Some of the items they bought used or repurposed include: lumber, nail gun, nails, oak flooring, granite countertop, doors, sink, tile, drywall, lights, shelving, the awesome spiral staircase, and they even used an old glass shower door as the railing for the loft (topped off by a beautiful antique handrail).

Mike even calculated the amount of materials reused, as well as hauled/lifted/installed by the family, “Construction industry standards estimate the average weight of a two-level home to be 275 pounds per square foot. We built a 300 square foot two-level (tiny) home. That’s 82,500 pounds, or 41.25 tons, our tiny house weighs. Six months to build means my son and I raised, moved, lifted or set into place a tad less than 7 tons of materials a month, or 3 1/2 tons each, per month, for half of 2020. Quite a work out!”

They even found another exterior door at Second Use to use on the other end of the home!

Rachael says of this wonderful project, “The best part of this project was the time we spent working together planning, building, and designing. My husband was able to teach my son all of his handyman skills he has developed over the years. We all feel quite accomplished having made such good use of our time during quarantine. All said and done, we are proud of our accomplishment and super pleased with how it turned out.”

We love a good ADU built with reused building materials! Thank you for sharing your stunning project with us! Best of luck on the deck and trim and finishes.

“We love perusing the aisles at Second Use-  our imaginations run wild and creativity overflows. “
-Rachael

Logan’s project and story:

Sometimes I find myself making the trip to Second Use with nothing particular in mind, just so I can walk the aisles in search of inspiration. This is the sort of trip that led to me constructing the perfect table I never really planned on building.

That day, walking through the indoor aisles of wooden building materials, I saw a small bundle of hardwood gym flooring – a mixture of what I believe to be white oak and hickory. Nearby I also saw a single piece of mahogany trim, as well as a random industrial looking metal table base. The materials were just begging to be turned into a side table, a mid-century modern meets industrial sort of piece, and since the total cost for all of them would be less than $20, I thought it was worth a shot.

After some time with a chop saw, all the tongue-and-groove floor boards were cut to equal lengths (I just chose the shortest length to define size of the table, and assigned a width that matched the metal table base). I then applied a copious amount of wood glue to the grooves, and used some pipe clamps (also purchased at Second Use) and tie-down straps to apply inward pressure as the glue dried. I then attached some thin support beams to the bottom using some small pieces of trim and wood nails, both of which I found in the Second Use assorted wood scrap and parts bins.

Once the floor boards were firmly laminated together and cross-supported, I used an old a belt sander (also purchased from Second Use) to make sure the edges were all flush, as well as get rid of the old finishing and surface scratches.

When the floor board portion of the table was finished, I then used a miter box (also purchased from Second Use) to hand saw the proper beveled angles into the mahogany trim so the corners would meet up just right. Then it was back to the pipe clamps for some more wood glue and clamp time. Eventually the table top was properly glued together, well-sanded, and begging for multiple coats of boiled linseed oil – my favorite wood finish.

The table finally had that mid-century modern meets industrial look. However, as I was preparing to attach the table top to the base, I stumbled upon some even cooler vintage mahogany tapered legs on the Second Use website. I placed a hold on them over the phone, and was lucky enough to bring them home the next day. The match between the newly acquired mahogany legs and the trim was too good, so the metal base got booted and will be used for a different project. The legs were missing their feet however, but fortunately I was also able to find the exact set I needed in the parts drawers at Second Use, which were designated for just that! The only parts I had to source elsewhere were the table mounts that accepted the less common thread pattern of the vintage mahogany tapered legs, which were only a few bucks.

After it was all put together and many, many coats of boiled-linseed oil were applied and allowed to cure, I now have a small mid-century modern inspired side table built almost entirely with recycled parts sourced from Second Use Building Materials.  It’s a piece I am proud of, and it was made possible by my favorite store in Seattle, Second Use!

(All photos and story courtesy of Logan Chin.)

Thank you Logan, for the story and the vision on this table. What a beauty!