The Dakota House

I love spending time in our backyard but the afternoon sun, heat and mosquitos were unbearable for the majority of the year. I decided a pergola with shade cloth and ceiling fans was the perfect solution!

I found Toja Grid and designed a custom solution for our existing flagstone patio. It only took me four days to build the pergola and add the shade, lights and fans. It feels like we added a room to our house and we love it!

We discovered a leak in our girls’ bathroom which led to pulling out the bathtub and putting in a tiled shower. Ted Castro, owner of Wood & Stone Homes, and his team did an amazing job with the shower! After they left, I got to work on the trim, paint and accessories. I wanted the girls to have a spa-like retreat. We all love how the space turned out.

I wanted our bedroom to be a calm, serene retreat instead of the dumping grounds of laundry and storage bins it had become. I started by adding picture frame molding, fresh paint, new curtains and a new ceiling fan. My favorite part though is the bump out wall with lime wash I built for our new electric fireplace and floating cement bench. It’s my favorite room in our house now!

Now that our girls are getting older, it was time to turn our upstairs playroom into a second family room. We still need storage for toys and games so I built this 15 foot floating console. Each cabinet has two adjustable shelves so we can rearrange as our family’s needs change. My favorite part is the grooved doors I made.

This family command center has been so useful during virtual learning this year. I made a pocket folder for each of my daughters and I installed a USB extension strip so we can charge all of our family devices in one spot (that isn’t the kitchen counter!). The upper section is just for me. I keep important papers in the top pocket and my planner and notebooks go behind the brass bar. It felt good to get our papers organized and out of sight. Bonus- the entire project was made with scrap wood!

We’ll keep this rolling slat wall on the side of our house to create a privacy screen between our kitchen window and our neighbor’s. No more hiding while I pour coffee in my pjs every morning 🤣 Bonus! We can roll it out and use the back to hold the screen for our movie projector. Outdoor family movie nights for the win!

I’m almost done with my kitchen remodel! Eek! It took way longer than expected- hello kids, I’m looking at you! 🤣 I have a few adjustments to make to the drawer fronts, some touch up painting, and I’m going to make a new barstool seat out of maple to match the barn doors I made last year. But overall, I’m feeling so relaxed and ready to cook our Easter meal in my new kitchen!

Look how gorgeous this fireplace is! The homeowners purchased reclaimed wood and asked me to wrap their fireplace around to their kitchen backsplash. I also built a new, simple mantle for the fireplace.

Hi friends! I want to thank everyone for the continued support and interest in my woodworking adventures. For now, I’m focusing on projects for my home and family so I’m not taking on any customer work. I’ll continue sharing pictures of my work here and I’ll be sure to make an announcement when I’m ready to do this as a “job” again. Thanks!

Barn doors and custom closet are complete! This is part of my daughter’s 10th birthday room remodel. I’ll post pictures of the rest of her room soon!

It has been almost two years since I worked with these amazing homeowners to give their beautiful new home some love!

Hi friends! The holiday season is rapidly approaching and I’m looking forward to spending time with my family. I’m going to close up shop on new orders for the rest of 2017. Thank you for all the support this year as I started this new adventure in sawdust making! Cheers! -Gayle