Garden comfort. Take some of the strain out of those garden chores with Ben Russell’s stylish and ingenious kneeler/stool combination. Now the gardening season is fast approaching, we’ll all have to reactivate some muscles we’ve forgotten about over the winter! When I was a bit younger, I hardly noticed the prolonged periods of squatting or crouching that are often required ...

This little folding picnic table has a variety of uses. It’s suitable for the garden, the countryside or the beach, and would make a good indoor play table for children too One of this table’s advantages is that it will fold down to a very compact size; another is that the choice of wood for its construction is almost limitless. ...

It’s always a treat to get a bit of free-standing furniture to make, especially when the customer doesn’t demand mdf. Such was the case with this painted dresser commission, and so it was with a light heart. I’ve yet to meet the wealthier type of customer with the six-figure salary, so we were keeping things real with laminated pine boards ...

Every home needs somewhere for family and friends to hang their coats. This modern version of an old favourite features eight double hooks, all neatly recessed into an oak back board In winter the family tends to use more and more coats, and this wall-mounted rack provides space for plenty of them with a useful set of eight double hooks. ...

Some projects are simple to design and to build. Others pose challenges that require a modicum of lateral thinking, and this commission is a perfect example of that. Solving the problems at the design stage led to a neat solution that delivered good looks and practical performance without breaching the budget This project started life when I was asked to ...

The brief was to create a bed that looked as if it had come straight out of an expensive boutique hotel. However it had to be practical too, with as much concealed storage as possible Our customer had found several desirable beds on the internet. She liked aspects of each one but none in its entirety, and wanted me to ...

I have a large wall-mounted TV, and needed somewhere to place the attendant Humax receiver and a DVD player. Off-the-shelf media stands seemed dull and ordinary, so I decided to design something a little more striking I considered lots of design ideas for the stand, and drew out the better ones using my CAD system. They would all tidy the ...

As much as I enjoy fixing the largest piece of wood I can find onto my lathe and making the shavings fly, there are also advantages – and a great deal of satisfaction – to be had from working in a smaller scale. These two furniture fittings are a perfect example of what you can achieve There is a wide ...

Modern hardware is too clever by half! This simple commission gave me the chance to try out Blum’s Tip-on push-to-open drawer system, and I have to say it’s wizard… When I was asked to make this mobile kitchen unit, it presented the ideal opportunity to try out a new one-touch drawer opening system as the client didn’t want any visible ...

This project is unusual in that it involves two very different techniques – turning on three centres, and turning a composite block. It produces an unusual and very attractive piece For some time now I’ve wanted to make a receptacle for holding sea salt and pepper and spices for seasoning fish and meat before cooking. I’ve put up with small ...