How to Make a Wood Quilt

In this video, This Old House editor Michelle Brunner mixes waxed, stained, and milk-painted boards to create a wood quilt for a front porch entry.

Steps:
1. Cut ½-inch plywood into a square. Ours measures 32″ x 32″.
2. Make an X to find the center of the square. Now draw a cross over the X, connecting the midpoints of each side of the square.
3. Lay two panel strips side by side against one of the diagonal lines and draw a line along the edge that’s not resting on the diagonal.
4. Flip the paneling in place and draw another line. Repeat this process for all of the vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines. This will give you the 8-point star shape.
5. Darken the outline of the star.
6. Lay your panel strips over the star pattern and transfer the lines marking the paneling where you’ll need to cut.
7. On a miter saw set to 45 degrees, cut the paneling to shape. Dry fit all of your panel pieces in the star pattern on the board.
8. Attach them to the plywood with panel adhesive. You can tack them with a brad nailer, which helps hold the pieces in place while the glue dries.
9. Fill out the rest of the quilt with lauan, cut to size. Apply shelf edge trim to the edges with wood glue and secure with a brad nailer.
10. Finish your quilt. We used a mix of stain, wax and milk paint.