Community Brag Posts

We adjusted the plan and created a 4x7 sand box with toy box and canopy. We are in love with the way this has turned out!

Loved these plans. Top unit was built exactly to specs. Bottom unit was built to accommodate one column of cans. I have also built one for my sis-in-law and will be building one more for this pantry. Love this project!

Inspired by Ana's Flip down wall art desk. It has different dimentions since wall space was limited. I used a magnet as a lock, added upholstered back, dowel for storage and extended the bottom part to add some strength. It is very handy!

I had a big empty wall in my den/man cave, so I decided to build a dartboard cabinet instead of just hanging a dartboard on the wall. No plans for this, I just made it up as I went. Measured twice, sketched it out and cut as I went.

I use pine 1x4's for the frame and back. 1x3's for the accessory box, 1x2's for the door frame, and poplar strips for the doors and door braces. The darts are held by 6" long 2x2's with holes drilled.

Wood screws, finish nails, and small brads were used to hold everything together.

The chalkboards are simple MDF's cut and sprayed with chalkboard paint. Overlay hinges are used for the doors, and the dartbord is held on with screws from the back so it can be replaced when needed.

The Alabama A is hand-painted.

I built this bed for my sister's new house. I used aspen for the visible boards and furring strips and regular lumber for the rest. The only change from the original plan is that I used 1x6s for the legs so it would sit higher off the floor.

I painted it with Rustoleum Painter's Touch Metallic in Oil Rubbed Bronze and I really like how it turned out. I didn't use any primer, so you can almost see the wood grain which gives it the illusion of being stained. It also has a metallic sheen in the right light, but it's very subtle. The only downside is the metallic gives it a rough texture. I contemplated putting a couple coats of poly over it, which I may do later.

*Picture was taken with her old full size mattress

Thanks ANA for the plans!!

I saw a type of this for sale at Costco for $109 (for just ONE bench, not a pair). It' looked nice, and I almost bought it, but it had metal legs and trim and I wanted more of a natural look to go with my Cedar theme that I have going in my back yard garden/patio/greenhouse area. After seeing it in the store, I did an online search to see if I could find something a little more organic in nature... imagine my surprise when Ana's version of the bench/table came up! I looked over the plans and thought... well, I made the modified Farmhouse Table via her excellent instructions, I can surely do this! I did make a small change, I cut small pieces of wood to use as stops for the backs of the benches, instead of using holes and bolts to hold the backs at an angle that is comfortable. You can see this in the pictures, they are just beyond the back of the seat boards, on the leg supports. Thank you Ana! It was easy, quick, and they look SO good on my patio. I will be making more, maybe even selling a few because so many have asked me if I might :) I figure the cost was about $65 for both benches. A great deal and a fun project! Patrick really has to refrain himself from wanting to "help" me, but I am determined to do it myself... and low and behold! With Ana's generous free plans and inspiration, no problem!

When I first saw the outdoor sectional plans from Ana I had to build this! The sectionals at potterybarn cost at least $1500 and that is without the cushions. I chose cedar for the lumber because I wanted a high end stained wood look that would stand up to the pacific northwest weather. I purchased most of the lumber from Orange and some of the smaller boards from a local lumber yard. Every board was cut first then sanded and stained before assembly. This made it look a lot more professional and no drips! There are just too many tight areas to do this after it is assembled. I made 2 Weatherly outdoor sofas and used the plans from the Weatherly loveseat to leave the end off of one of the sofas to make an L-shaped sectional. This fit perfectly for my narrow deck which is the beauty of DIY and Ana's easy to modify plans. I  followed the suggestion of another brag post to attach the 2 sofas together with carriage bolts and nuts. It is important to be very accurate with all of the cuts because they have to fit together perfectly for the final product to look straight and measure correctly. Because there a about a million repetitive cuts in these plans I took the idea of another brag post and youtube and created a stop out of leftover lumber which really helped me keep my cuts accurate and saved me a lot of time. I really enjoyed using my new Kreg K5 pocket hole jig on this project which saved me time and my new Ryobi brad nailer that I convinced my husband I needed. I plan on using it on several projects which "require" a brad nailer! I bought six 25" cushions in turquoise from Pier 1 in mid-July which were on major sale and several pillows to match the color. I am somewhat of a beginner so I didn't adjust te plans to fit six 25" cushions so I had to have one cut down to 22" by a local upholstery shop (I could have purchased a 22" cushion but of course they were all sold out). I suggest at least a 3-4" depth cushion that is fairly firm, which Pier 1 cushion were.

I love the outdoor coffee table with built in beer cooler idea that another brag post had suggested.It uses a planter box as the cooler.  I used the same stain which worked well and adequately waterproofed the table. It also has a cover for the cooler when it is not in use. I thought it was a nice addition.

I loved this project and how it turned out! Thanks for the plans and inspiration!!!

In need of outfitting the spare bedroom for overnight guests I came upon this site and found the storage bed plan we liked.  After building the bed of course a dresser was in order.  My sawyer has some northern white pine that came from the Wisconsin Northern State Fair grounds in Chippewa Falls.  Having never worked with white pine before I found it rewarng and was happy with the finished product.  Hope our guest enjoy it as much I had building it

This was a great plan to use!  We changed some of the measurements to fit our space and added a simple base to the bottom.  My inspiration was a picture of an old chippy mantle from a flea market.

This was my first furniture build.  Wanted something a little more detailed, so did solid panels, and inset molding into the panels for depth.  I also wanted a taller footboard, so the panel is 18" high instead of the 15" that the plan showed.  Ended up adding some crown molding as well, but mostly to cover up my mistakes.  Also dressed up the side rails by covering them in a matching molding as well.  Didn't want to use box springs, so moved the slats up to the top of the rail, and spaced them with 2" gaps between slats to give maximum support to the mattress.  Since we have a small dog that I tend to trip over in the dark, I ran a 24' rope light along the interior side panels and footboard, and plugged into a wireless switch that I mounted to side of headboard, which I can turn on and off from bed.  Stained it with General Finishes Mahogany Brown and then two coats of poly.  Really happy with the way this turned out!  Can't wait to do some more building, thanks to Ana! :-)