Buy or Build?

The original plan was to sharpen the tools and prepare to build a LOT of cabinets, shelves and storage areas. As an example, I saw an episode on Hometime describing how to fabricate a home theater wall unit using stock cabinets from a home improvement center. I've seen Norm build china consoles for the dinning room, and relatives have done a nice job creating kitchen islands from pre-built cabinets. So I was convinced I would do the same thing. To help design the pieces I started learning Google SketchUp to visualize what the finished piece would look like. (Previous work with Powerpoint and other similar tools were OK, but lacked a lot functionality. More like a cartoon then a working drawing.)

My wife had heard that a furniture store called "the Dump" was close to where she worked, and suggested we go there to look for a few things. What pleasant surprise. Very reasonable prices for good quality merchandise. So the kitchen island is history. That will be replaced by a 'pub sized' table and chairs. More wall cabinets for kitchen storage. (That will require some design work.) The TV center is now a purchased item. But the prime purchase was a china cabinet. Some people will be relieved to find that the old secretary will not have to undergo the humiliation of being refinished as we found a wine cabinet matching the kitchen set. So in one trip we obliterated more DIY workload and outfitted three rooms. Not a bad days work.