Jeff Staley

Andrew’s Desk

As we continued remote learning, it was clear that Andrew would benefit from a better desk situation. Luckily my uncle Rod graciously provided a wonderful slab of walnut to use. He is completely renovating this amazing octagon house in Indiana, and the house had this walnut slab that had been joined with a spline joint….

Matthew’s Bed

When Matthew was close to transitioning to a regular bed, we wanted to create something with storage. We liked a style of bed with drawers on both sides and on the end. I had really wanted a chance to do something with drawers on a big scale, and this bed was an opportunity. The idea…

Boys Bathroom

We had wanted to redo the boys bathroom, and after putting it off a few times, at one point we quickly coalesced on a design that included a tropical ocean water feel, a new dark gray vanity, and straight from Chip and Joanna—shiplap. After removing the old glued on mirror, I got started applying shiplap….

Closet and Ironing Board Project

Our master bedroom partially sits above our garage, and as a result has always been noticeably colder than other parts of our upstairs. We have three dormers, and I wanted to add insulation between the floor joists, as I suspected that the insulation had settled, and within the dead areas under the roof besides our…

Maple End Tables

I wanted to provide an item for a charity auction at work benefiting Girls Who Code. Building two of any item is typically less than double the work, especially when you consider planning, machine setup, any learning curve, and finishing. So, for this project, I decided to make one end table for our house and…

Backyard Patio Structure: Electrical and Wrapping Posts

By the time I installed the basketball goal, winter was approaching, and I decided to hold off until spring to take the next step—installing the electrical, lights, fan, and speakers. First up is installing the rigid conduit required outside in Illinois to each of the 6 posts and the areas I wanted outdoor outlets. Then…

Backyard Patio Structure: Basketball Goal

In the design phase of the patio, I actually increased the patio by a few feet outwards, specifically so I could fit a basketball goal, including enough room for college three point shots. Our driveway has a fairly significant incline, so it isn’t a good place for basketball at all, so if this Hoosier was…

Backyard Patio Structure: Steps

When our old patio was removed, they took out the concrete poured steps as well, which meant we had no steps for quite some time coming out of the back of our house. Inconvenient, and a little dangerous. Our original plan was to go with stone steps that mimicked the look below all of our…

Backyard Patio Structure: Roof

Once the framing was complete, next step was putting a roof on it! I used tongue and groove boards because I wanted that look on the inside. After debating several different ways of running boards, I decided while framing on a pattern that resembled a pattern in nature—a leaf. This made the angles a little…

Backyard Patio Structure: Framing

I started working on the framing as soon as the posts and the fireplace were finished, but took a break in the middle for a few days when the patio pavers were laid. Once complete, I had a nice stable paver patio to setup my two ladders, and I sure needed it. To start out…