Thursday, March 16, 2006

It's been over 10 years since my brother, Kevin, dropped out of the "rat race"-- he left the overworked and underpaid world of retail management and went into business for himself. This career move was a dramatic and positive change for him. It has allowed him to use his God-given talents and to work with his hands doing things he loves. It also gave him much more time to spend with his family.

For Christmas a couple of years ago my father built my wife & I a coffee table for Christmas. He had all the pieces of oak cut to size, but he assembled it himself.











For a wedding present just last year Kevin built, from scratch, a pair of end tables to match the coffee table which my father had made just a couple of years before:



















To transport these beautiful end tables Kevin even built a crate using plywood and 2x4s.

On one of his more recent projects, Kevin & his wife have re-done their kitchen in a rather rustic Adirondack style:




And then, to cap it all off-- using the scraps left over he built a matching "trash can" to pull the whole thing together (kind of like The Dude's rug in The Big Lebowski)

I tell ya, he never ceases to amaze me.

8 comments:

Susan as Herself said...

Gorgeous---all of it! That kitchen reminds me of friend's camps growing up.

:P fuzzbox said...

That kitchen looks awesome.

Perplexio said...

Now if only my wife and I can convince him to come help us when we get a place of our own. hehehehe

Fuckkit said...

I never ever thought Id say this about a kitchen, but wow!

Bar L. said...

WOW! Thanks for the tour of all your beautiful HAND MADE CUSTOM furnishings!

I am really impressed, and how meaningful to have things made by your dad and brother.

Cool!

Perplexio said...

Well the kitchen is all my brother's. But yes the coffee table and end tables mean a lot to my wife & I. We will keep them in the best of condition and they will likely become family heirlooms.

Snooze said...

That's a great kitchen and story about a successful life change.

Perplexio said...

Snooze: Thanks! He's really turned his life around he's so much more relaxed and happy than he used to be. There's a lot to be said for being one's own boss I guess.