The Little Cabinet That Could

When you approach home improvement like Willie does—with vision, patience, and a truckload of lumber—you end up with walls that tell stories and a workshop that tells jokes. You’re also going to end up with just a smidge too much scrap wood. We’re talking “we might need a permit for this pile” levels. And then Helene swoops in and shaves the top of the ridge like she’s restoring the Alps. Because why not?

Now, Willie isn’t one to waste. Oh no. He’s spent full days presiding over backyard bonfires of teeny-tiny wood offcuts like some kind of lumberjack shaman, smoke-summoning the DIY gods.

In his endless quest to make use of every splinter, he’s also:

• Whipped up “modernist” speaker stands (somewhere between art installation and emergency scaffolding).
• Held garage insulation in place with the determination of a paramedic on a drama series.
• Fed the woodstove like it’s a picky toddler on an all-ash diet.
• Gifted each local grandson a lovingly handmade table: one for a printer, the other to cradle a vise with borderline religious reverence.

And yet… the scrap wood? It persists. Thrives. Little boards sprout in corners, under benches, on shelves—multiplying like caffeinated rabbits, whispering amongst themselves in suspicious stacks, likely planning a coup. So when we decided Willie could use his endless cache of kindling to tackle a simple garage cabinet to hold our large supply of bottled water, my expectations were somewhere between “functional-ish” and “it might survive a gentle breeze.”

Then came The Line: “Hey, got a sec?”

Naturally, I assumed I was being summoned to admire a proud but slightly crooked cube. But no. We never even made it to the workshop. As you can see in the photo above, that humble cabinet project swerved hard and emerged from the chaos as a rustic chic nightstand—something that looks like it was plucked straight from the pages of a boutique Airbnb listing called “Cedar Dreams.”

Turns out, when Willie hits his groove, he forgets he’s using future firewood. And me? I’m surprised. I’m impressed. I’m charmed.

And honestly… I’m a little concerned about what he’s plotting next.