Last week, my schedule was absolutely insane. And, I did not have time to be piecing together furniture down at the barn. But, piecing together furniture is just such good therapy when life gets crazy. So, I carved out a little time for creativity and built this buffet cart out of pallet wood and construction scrap and thought I would share it with you.

If you have yet to discover the magic of pallet construction, you are missing out! I set out with a rough drawing, but I really make most of my construction decisions as I go. I know that would drive a lot of folks crazy, but it's just my process.

I needed this piece to sit between the two windows on the screened porch. It would serve as a buffet area. The curtain was made from fabric I found on the $1 table (I <3 Marshalls!), and I added casters so that it would be more portable and easier to clean around/under.

The curtain serves to hide the trashcan and extra bag of charcoal, while the other shelves keep a serving tray at the ready and hold other supplies (currently dog treats and insect repellent). We even mounted a flyswatter hook to the side to take care of those pesky guys who sneak in the screen doors.

Once the project was complete, I noticed that the cut ends of several boards and even a few complete boards were a bit too pristine looking to go with the rest of the piece. So, I turned to my handy-dandy jar of aging stain. If you like the rustic look, you should have one, too. Just submerge a piece of steel wool in some apple cider vinegar and keep stored in your project zone. When a project is in need of some aging, wipe on as you would any stain and enjoy the nice gray look it provides!

This piece makes our screen porch much more functional, and I love it!

What summer projects have you got planned?