Dear Sandi: I was in your shop a few weeks ago, and I saw the bamboo-window awning you had done in your large front window. My husband is willing to try something like this in our sunroom, but I need some advice on how that was constructed. I appreciate any assistance you can give us. —Jolene R. J., Salem

Dear Jolene: I love this particular look. It is versatile, and by accessorizing it appropriately, the structure can be the backbone for creating a variety of different atmospheres.

You can have the warm feel of the south of the border if you add some more natural, earthy elements, such as terra cotta pots, tiles or baskets. A cool, breezy coastal look can be achieved by using airy fabrics (maybe ones encrusted with seashells), sea-tossed glass bottles and, of course, lots of shells. Or, if you want a real getaway spot, completely divorced from our Pacific Northwest reality, you may want to work with bright, bold colors and have an instant tropical island retreat.

We started with the giant jungle bamboo that is approximately 4 inches in diameter. Although you could work with something smaller, it won’t have the visual impact of a major structure that the jungle bamboo imparts.

The following should give you the basics of how the piece was constructed:

You can leave the poles whole that you are attaching to the wall, or, you can split the poles in half, giving you a snugger fit against your wall. Bamboo is relatively easy to split using a wedge to get it started. You will need two uprights attached to your wall to start. Leave a few inches of extensions on the uprights, then attach another bamboo pole horizontally at the top between the two uprights, allowing them to extend a bit past the upright poles at each end.

We used two smaller diameter poles as the connecting pieces at the top and two longer poles at the bottom of the wall uprights, then angled it out into the room and secure it at the top to the smaller poles. A final horizontal piece was attached about 18 inches from the top of the angled poles, with the ends of this pole also extending a few inches past the angled ones.

When cutting the bamboo poles, you should use a very fine-tooth hacksaw. Japanese saws cut on the back pull, unlike our domestic saws that cut on the forward push. You will find it much easier to cut the bamboo if you reverse the blade on your saw so that it cuts on the back pull. Bamboo is fibrous, and by reversing the blade, you are pulling the fiber back into the bamboo. If you cut with a blade that pushes, you will find the outer skin of the bamboo will shred.

Although bamboo looks a bit like wood, it is, of course, a grass. You will find that it does not take as kindly to nails as the average tree. You will need to pre-drill holes, then use screws for putting the whole thing together. If you are really adventuresome, you could cut notches into the uprights and fit your cross pieces into the notches, then peg them into place with bamboo pegs, but this probably is a bit more work than most people want to do.

After you have the structure basically built, you can give it a hand-hewn, Swiss Family Robinson look by using a heavy rope and lashing all the joints together.

Fabrics and/or matting can be laid across the top to form a ceiling, or you could lay thinner bamboo sticks to create a beach fort. Brightly colored fabrics will give you one feeling. Open, airy, crispy whites will give another.

However you decide to outfit the space, I think you will find there is something especially magical about hanging out there.

June 30, 2006