Build the Stickley No. 802 Sideboard (Because I Don’t Have Room for it)

Of the many classic projects we printed in our 16 issues of Woodworking Magazine, this Stickley sideboard (No. 802), built by Christopher Schwarz (from the Summer 2009 issue), is my favorite*. I like the clean lines and the subtly tapered legs, as well as the shelf below for extra storage or display. And the ring pulls; ring pulls just look cool.

I want to build this, but I haven’t any room for it…unless I get rid of something. Almost all the furniture in my house is stuff I’ve made, pieces I inherited from my grandparents, or antiques my mother gave me. It would be difficult to part with any of them. (Yes, I still have my crib, and it remains intact.) The exceptions are my kitchen table (a country piece I picked up at an antiques store for $80 maybe 15 years ago), my nice “grown-ups'” couch (that I just bought last year) and a chaise lounge that doesn’t go with anything else in the house (it’s leopard print; what the heck was I thinking?!) but is really comfortable; it’s my favorite place to curl up with a good book.

I do have a “bonus” room on the third floor; I call it “the room where things go to die” and it’s where I keep the items I just can’t seem to get rid of (cassette tapes, Edwardian chairs with the stuffing falling out, a unopened board game called “The Headline Game” that I won in a contest in 1988 (pretty sure that game never made it into production…so it’s  collector’s item)).

But none of the items I’d be willing to move up there to make room for more will fit up the the staircase to the third floor. So I have to decide with what I’m willing to part – if I am – or simply start making things for others.

So maybe you should make it instead. I’ve uploaded the file to Google Drive (I couldn’t reduce the PDF enough to put it on our server); you can download it free here:

Stickley No. 802 Sideboard PDF

— Megan Fitzpatrick
@1snugthejoiner

*Or maybe it’s my second favorite – it depends on the day. I also quite like the Enfield Shaker Cabinet from our Spring 2006 issue. It, the piece above and many more Arts & Crafts, Shaker and period classics are available on our CD of all 16 Woodworking Magazine issues (on which you’ll also find instruction on the tools, techniques and finished we used to build the pieces).