Cathy Gemkow isn’t afraid of a hammer, nails or a chop saw, and she has the gazebo to prove it.
The Stanwood gardener built a bentwood gazebo in her back yard with wood from a downed tree and a lot of creativity.
“I’ve always wanted a gazebo, but Rick said it costs too much,” she said.
Rick Gemkow is her husband, and while he offered some help with the roof — he works in construction — the artsy creation that’s now the centerpiece of her garden is mainly Cathy’s work and vision.
“I’m the type of person who likes to do,” said Gemkow, an accomplished artist who also sews and crochets.
She built the basic frame then built the walls in sections on the ground and attached them to the frame with nails. The decorative bentwood designs also lend support. She poured the concrete floor and decorated the interior with a charming mix of second-hand glass windows and a chandelier. The gazebo is furnished with a set of $10 furniture she reupholstered with a $6 bolt of cloth found at an estate sale. The roof is topped with a $300 copper weather vane, her one extravagant purchase for the gazebo.
With the exception of the roof, the project wasn’t that hard, she said. Really.
It helped that Gemkow is an experienced do-it-yourselfer. She also built a fire pit, a dog run and several charming birdhouses.
And this isn’t Gemkow’s first bentwood creation. She started small with a potting bench after she saw a too-expensive bentwood piece at an auction. She bought a book, “Making Bentwood,” by Jim Long, and began experimenting. She now owns a collection of super-cute bentwood potting tables with mosaic tops, each a little more grand than the last. She also built an arbor using bentwood.
She found the most difficult part to be finding the right wood, particularly straight pieces. It’s also wiser to use long-lasting cedar than other types of wood. She made the arbor from alder, and it’s not holding up well, she said. As for bending wood, she said that’s easiest when the wood is most pliable.
She doesn’t spend much time sitting in her gazebo. It’s enough to gaze out on it from her home.
“I treated it like a piece of art I can look at and enjoy.”
What’s Gemkow’s next project?
“I have a couple of ideas,” she said, “but I haven’t told my husband that yet.”
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com. Visit her blog at www.heraldnet.com.
Gemkow’s gazebo budget
Cathy Gemkow built a bentwood gazebo on a shoestring budget. The materials for the gazebo and the decor:
Copper weather vane $300
Cement $300
Roofing materials $250
3.5-inch screws $125
Assorted old windows $45
Long nails $30
Rug on sale $19
Furniture $10
Upholstery fabric $6
Chandelier $2
Wood culled from a fallen cedar tree Free
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