Mid Century Modern Entertainment Console
Built by Holli Peterson
Built by Holli Peterson
I made this for my sister the day before her house warming party. It was a pretty easy build. I used wood glue and 2" nails. Using a nail gun, this came together pretty quickly. I do wish that I had wide enough clamps to hold everything in place while it dried, because there were a few gaps due to some imperfect boards. I used 104" stud length boards, so I only need to purchase 7 instead of 9. this was enough to make the cuts for the top and both leg pieces from each board. the price was the same and we had limited space in our van for boards, so this was a better option for us. I used a sprayer hooked up to an air compressor to apply the stain and was able to get in between the slats fine with this method, brushing over it as I sprayed. Luckily I chose the same color as her deck not knowing, so it matches great. Now I need to make one for myself! :)
Hi Ana!
My husband used your plans to build the 2x4 outdoor cedar sectional :) He did it in 1 day and it couldn't have been easier! He even tried first time working with pallets to make a small table and it came out perfectly too! Can't wait to enjoy family time on our new back porch.
Thanks Again & Love From Austin ❤️
Kathleen
Thu, 10/24/2019 - 16:35
Hi, your furniture is beautiful. May I ask: Where did you find your cushions? And what color/ brand stain did you use? Lovely job.
I made this in an afternoon. Loved this project. It is made with 2x4's using a Kregs Jig and mitre saw (plus additional tools like a drill and square). This was my frist time using the Kregs Jig and I am sold!!
The free plans were taken from another website. They are very detailed and there is even a video (I recommend it as he gives a great tip for making sure the back stays equal/level to each other before putting the back on). Even though you can build this by yourself, I did have help for the heavier sides once they were assembled. I plan to build the additional side table soon and finish them both with sanding and staining when the weather seems less iffy for rain.
If you are looking for a good beginner project that doesn't take forever or have complicated steps, this is your project.
We have considered buying a cedar-lined chest to store blankets, towels, etc. for many years. However, we couldn’t find one that came close to matching the Knotty Pine bedroom set that we had in our master suite.
Hence, our design criteria was quite simple; match the bedroom set and have a chest sturdy enough to support our Beagles as they peer at the squirrels outside the window.
We used plans / ideas from several different chest designs which were readily available on the internet. Most of those plans were using hard woods such as oak. Those plans called for a hard wood framing with ¼” oak plywood for the panels. Since we needed to use Knotty Pine to match the bedroom set, we used 1” Knotty Pine for framing and Knotty Pine ¾ ply w/ Kreg Screws and copious glue to strengthen the construct. We finished it off with locally available 3/8” cedar T.G. planks. It is very heavy and very strong! This project was done entirely w/ Kreg Screws and no router rabbeting for the panels.
We learned the following while doing this project:
· When using soft woods, always put the power sander on the wood before you start the sander. Otherwise, you can get scratching / sander burns that don’t present themselves until staining begins.
· While very strong, ¾” plywood is very heavy!
· When using plywood, it is recommended that you stain both the visible and non-visible sides of each piece where glue is not to be applied. Otherwise the chance for delaminating increases dramatically.
60 hours work and $350 to build.
Mon, 12/15/2014 - 12:40
Beautiful chest. I better get busy and make one.
Instead of attaching the top to the coffee table base as done in the plans, the top is attached using a set of coffee table lift top hinges.
Fri, 08/21/2020 - 23:38
Looks wonderful, love the finish. What kind of stain did you use?
Wed, 09/30/2020 - 19:59
I love this table. It is just what l have been looking for. Is there any instructions. I would love to make this.
thanks
peggy
I mainly followed ana's plans for this playhouse. Instead of a plywood roof I used cedar shingles. I also added plexiglass to the windows.
We have 12 foot studs in our house so I wanted to make use of the height of our ceiling to provide more space on the floor for the boys to play! With two boys sharing a room, the beds were going to take up a lot of valuable floor space. I found the bunk bed plans in Ana's book and decided to modify them to make loft beds. We had to do two so decided on an L shape so we could fit them into the room! Once we made the first bed we decided we should put only one set of stairs in to save space. The safest way we could think to do this was to place the stairs against the wall so the boys were less likely to fall. The stairs double as book shelves. The coloured rope was an added safety feature we thought up and gives me peace of mind! This was a fun, relatively easy build for two non-builders making their first big project. I bought a Kreg pocket hole jig for this project and it was a life saver. I can't imagine doing this build with out it!!! We completed it in about two to three days while my brother was down on holiday. It was fun and good brother sister bonding time! I am about to embark on phase two of the boys room, this time by myself , adding a storage dresser under one bed. I will modify Ana's laundry dresser plans to fit some plastic storage boxes. Then a day bed/sofa under the other bed using Ana's Alaska cabins day beds plan and finally (if I'm still standing) a shorter version of the craft table for the middle of the room! That's my year planned! Hope you enjoy the pictures, the beds are so big and high it's very hard to get a good photo.
We looked for a simple plan for a bed and found this one on Ana’s site. Easy to build in a weekend.
Mon, 06/03/2019 - 11:35
Thank you so much for sharing a photo! I've been looking forward to seeing how the bed turns out! Great job!
OK, I think this build may be my biggest project yet! It is definitely the heaviest. With the strong winds we can get here in Florida we needed substantial outdoor furniture.
I did make some modifications along the way measurement-wise so the sofa would fit my front porch better. All in all, this took 2 full days. I built the sofa first, stained it the next day and then decided (due to trying to get stain in all the nooks and crannies) to stain the chair pieces first before putting it together.
I am so happy with the results and so far, almost a year later, this furniture looks great and hasn't moved an inch in any of the thunderstorms we've had! Thank you Ana!!
Needing a new bed frame because we upgraded our mattress to a king size. Looking for something simple and inexpensive. We came across this plan and loved the outcome!!!!!
Cupcakes for my daughter’s graduation party displayed beautifully on Ana White’s stand I built.
Loved this floating shelf. First time no Ana white and to woodworking. Thanks for the inspiration Ana white. Plans are from Best floating shelf. I used dark walnut stain. And just left the plywood off of the bottom. Low enough so no one can notice it
My wife and I loved the version that Finns-Dad made but we wanted it to be rectangular. The top is 1x6s around the edges with 1x4s in between. The frame is 1x4s. The bench tops are all 1x4s with 4x4 legs. There are 3/8 inch lag bolts in the legs. We did 4 coats of the urethane.
This was my first major project, and while there are many things that I would do differently if given the opportunity, we're still very pleased with it.
Thu, 01/01/2015 - 09:04
I really like the changes you made to this table, it looks really nice.
This is a rabbit hutch I created for my kids 5 rabbits. The thing that makes this hutch really nice is if you have a large lawn you can just move the hutch a little bit every day and the lawn gets mowed, fertilized and you don't have to worry about cleaning up all the rabbit droppings. I also mounted a rabbit feeder on the inside of the house door to keep the food dry, which has worked really well.
Here is a short blog of all the steps in its construction:
http://design.medeek.com/gallery/RH3080_COPALIS_2013/RH3080_COPALIS_201…
Sun, 05/05/2013 - 01:52
I apologize I haven't got the completed planset up for this project yet but I will try to get it up in the next couple of weeks as well as a very complete materials list. You will need to go to a farm/feed store to get the correct 1"x2" wire and 1/2"x1" wire for the floor. Do not go to Home Depot and use the cow wire they have or the hardware cloth for the floor, neither of which are the correct choice. Home Depot has the lumber but not the wire. If you have any questions or even improvements to my design I would be interested in hearing from you.
Sun, 09/13/2015 - 19:18
Finally got around to uploading the plans. I still need to create a material list for this plan but the basics are there now. We've had rabbits in it for about a year but recently we've tried some guinea pigs and it works great for that as well. The guinea pigs can pretty much live off just the grass and dandelions but you do need to move it daily to give them plenty to eat.
I wanted sturdy seating for my patio. Ana White had the perfect plans for my L shaped seating and coffee table. It was simple to put together and we love it!
This is one of the cheapest projects for my kids I have ever completed!! And the most rewarding. I think everyone of my neighbors has been on the teeter totter...including adults :) My kids just love it and I am thinking of making a few for my nephews for Christmas. I was able to find all the wood I needed in my scrap pile. I had the PVC pipe and bolt already also so all I had to make a trip to the store for was the foam for the seats. My son helped me build this in an hour. I liked the unfinished look so I just sprayed it with a little Thompson Water Seal. Thank you Ana White!!
Took the farmhouse plan and added a Trundle. Was initially going to build two farmhouse beds for my two girls, but thought adding the Trundle would free up some much needed floor space. The girls love it!
This project was inspired and guided by the plans for the
Farmhouse Storage Bed with Hinged Footboard by birdsandsoap.
The most visible parts, head and foot board, are made of beetle-killed blue stain Lodgepole pine, locally sourced and milled.
The boxes are made of 3/4" maple plywood and rest on a frame of 1 by 2's. I am still working on the 6 drawers, which will have blue stain pine fronts as well.
The bed slats between the boxes are stapled to webbing and the first and last slat are held by dowels drilled into the supporting rails to prevent the slats from sliding around.
Knock-down design - by removing the few (non-loadbearing) screws that fasten the head/foot boards to the boxes, the bed can be disassembled into manageable/movable components.
Just wanted to do something a little more original.
Sat, 12/10/2016 - 17:57
Hi. Are there any plans for this piece using the lift top hardware?
Wed, 12/21/2016 - 20:46
Just curious about the hardware and design if there are any actual plans for this coffee table
Wed, 04/08/2020 - 05:01
Where can plans for this lift top version be found?
When the Covid quarantine hit we decided to build a greenhouse - it's been on our To Do list for 9 years. The DIY Greenhouse was the first design I found via Google search and it looked so easy and has all the materials listed so we just had the materials delivered and dived right in! It took us 5 days, about 4 hours per day. The smartest thing we did was borrow a mitre chop-saw. There's a lot of 22 degree angles to cut. Other than that it was easy peasy as long as you follow directions. Also got a skill saw blade that cut both the plastic and the tin. It cost us about a grand Canadian, but the closest kit I found online was smaller and was $1500 US. I'm already growing stuff in it and the temperature here in Northern BC gets below freezing at night (around -1C) but everything is ok. The current temp outside is 15, but it's 30 in the greenhouse. We cut a few vents in the back wall panel to allow for airflow and I'm going to purchase a solar muffin fan to move the air a bit. Highly recommend this unit!