Community Brag Posts

We needed a place to hang our stockings this Christmas, and Ana's Faux Fireplace was the perfect solution. We added the chalkboard paint for a touch of whimsy.

This was my first build EVER. I had never even used a saw before, so if I can do this, so can YOU!

The original plans call for this desk to be 72" in length, but my space only allowed for a 60" desk, so I cut the 3 braces that go along the back down by 12", as well as the 2x6s that make the desktop. The cross-braces in the back were also cut down, but I did that by measuring for fit (as demonstrated by Ana in one of her videos where she made the x-bench).

I described this as a weekend project ONLY because of the time I had to allow between coats of paint, etc. I built it easily in one day (with kids at home!).

This was a GREAT experience and I am HOOKED! Thanks to Ana and Shanty-2-Chic for designing this!

How I Spent My Spring Break Well, it was a long week but I finally finished. I made 2 complete sets of loft beds for my oldest son and my daughter. The plans were great and easy to follow. A few notes; the actual width of a 1 x 8 is 7.25 inches (not 7.5) and a 1 x 12 is actually 11.25 inches (not 11.5). I noticed this when constructing the legs and putting the optional shelf supports on the large bookcase. It's not a huge deal, it's only a quarter of an inch. Also, if you are going to assemble and paint in the room, paint the interior of the bed area BEFORE attaching the slats. That added a lot of extra painting time for me. I made a few modifications as well. For the desk, my wife suggested that the width of a 1 x12 was a bit narrow, so I cut a 1 x 6 and biscuit joined it to the desk front. I cut a 22.5 degree angle on the end that meets up with the small bookcase that is attached to the desk. The straight edge lines up with the face of the other small bookcase, like a puzzle piece. I then covered the desk top with a piece of plexiglass to make the surface smoother and to hold picture (slide under the plexiglass). In addition, I bought an LED light system (about $40 from IKEA) and installed under the 2 top shelves of the large bookcase. Really cool effect and the kids love it! Overall, I am very happy with the project results. Looks great, very solid and lumber on cost about $400 for 2 complete sets. Just need to put in some sweat...

I really liked the basic table design.  But since it was going in my wife's medical office I decided to make the top out of Maple and Walnut.  It turned out to be a very big job.  I had to Straighten the edges of the boards so that they would fit together without a space between the boards and then put them through a planer.  I then glued the edges and used Kreg screws to put it all together. Surprisingly it all fits and the base sits flat and level.  I spent a great deal of time measureing all of the 2 X 4s in an effort to make sure that the base was level and the angles all work. 

This was my first project and it come out beautifully. I did learn a valuable lesson - if you are going to build something in the basement, make sure it fits up the stairs. Not sure if you can tell from the picture but this ended up 6 inches shorter than the plans. Can wait to find my next project!

Bought only two 2x4s to complete this project. Ripped and chopped and milled like crazy to get it down to the dimensions of the plans. The pine is a little flimsy, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're on an extreme budget, but it CAN be done! Just know that any of the cross-bars that have a knot-hole will probably snap sooner than later. (Luckily I milled extras!)

Another cost tip is to skip the backing. I used two supports from the main material instead of any plywood. Watch out for wracking when doing the glue up and it'll be just fine. Fully supported with less weight too!

I built this as a Christmas gift for my office partner/best friend.

I modified this a tad from the original plans to suit my needs. I will eventually be adding a platform with attached slide and swing set.

Plans were easy to follow. My store didn't have 1x8's so I stacked 1x4's and used my Kreg jig to join them together and then I added extra bracing.

I had seen this on Pinterest a couple years ago and thought it was the coolest thing! Io excited I was able to build it myself!

We eventually will build the rest of the bed, but for now we needed a headboard. Hubby helped me with this one, since it was large, I loved having an extra pair of hands. This headboard is reversible, so if our tastes change, we can unbolt it and flip it over to the side that is just stained and polyurethane. Pretty neat! This headboard is extra tall, because we have our bed frame up on risers, and we wanted a picture shelf but didn't want it interfering when we sat up in bed to read or what-not. Hubby used the router to make grooves in the top before we attached it, so our pictures wouldn't be crashing down on our head! Our metal bed frame comes just shy of the outer edge of the legs of the headboard, so when we build the rest of the bed, the side rails will meet the edge exactly. We placed the headboard behind the bed frame to mark where to drill the bolt holes and attached the headboard to the frame with 4 inch long, quarter inch wide bolts with washers and nuts. Two on each side.

I’m in love with how well this bed turned out. Modified by using a 2x4 for middle support and 1x4’s for slats. It was less money and felt better for support.