Community Brag Posts

I didn't use any plans but the Outdoor Ottoman comes really close. Needed an end table to go with our Outdoor Sectional that my husband and I built. While he was at a ballgame I whipped this up. Still have to sand and stain this as well as the sectional, but will probably do it as a winter project. We bought the 1x4s a while ago when we bought the 2x4s for the sectional so I wasn't exactly sure of the cost. I think I used 2 1/2 pieces of 8' lengths. Who would have thought a couple of years ago that so many of us would have attempted to build furniture and then even without a plan now and then?! Ana rocks! :)

This playroom set was inspired by the plans you posted.  I was forced to make some significant modifications due to the fact that our bonus/playroom has angled ceilings.  We have a rock climbing wall, ladder, crawl tunnel with windows, trapeze bar, monkey bars, miniature baskeball goal and a slide.  My boys are 6, 3 and 19 months and they love it!  Thanks for the inspiration.

Jim and Caroline Sparrow

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!!!

This is the 2nd of two loft beds I have built using Ana's plans - they came out great and my girls love them! I did make some modifications to each, as the girls have different needs. It was a great project and I would like to thank Ana for the concise plans, cut lists, ideas, etc. You made it so easy!

If you are interested in seeing more about this project feel free to visit my blog at www.mothersmusings.net. See you there!

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

I used 1 x 10s to make the bookcase a little shallower, and left the back open. Thanks for the great plan.

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! :-)

We worked on this project on and off for a couple weeks.  60 degree angles were the hardest part.  Decided against adding upper coop floor to minimize cleaning.  Coop will only be used seasonally.  End coop is very heavy, so wheels were a must.  Scoured internet and found simple retractable lever design with bolts to adjust wheel height.  Very happy with project, thank you Ana!

Brookstone desk with a white oak top and drawer that I built for my 8- yr old son. It is a very fun build.

Here is my Providence Table made from scrap wood we had left from building our deck. I am not thrilled that it is made out of pressure treated wood but it is what it is. I used 2x6 mixed in with 2x10's for the top, 4x4's for the legs and used a 1/4 router bit for all the edges.