Community Brag Posts

Ideally we would’ve loved to have found a nice thrift shop coffee table and added a nice upholstered top to make a cheap and cheerful bench for the dressing room.

Unfortunately, no such table was to be found. So we did what DIYers do. We built one ourselves. Of course, as usual, we had big dreams and no clue where to start. In theory it seemed easy enough. Wood, nails…put them together.

After visiting Ana White’s amazing site, we came across this plan. Come on, it has the word EASIEST right in the title! It was perfect for us. Our bench is tweaked somewhat from Ana White’s.

Submitted by Abigail Marolt on Facebook -

I made a your crib mattress sectional with an extra armless couch to make one large U-shaped design! It was my first project with a kreg jig and a circular saw, but it certainly won't be my last. We love using this couch every day!

I have used one of your cooler plans to create this one of a kind piece. Love your website - Thank you !

This was my first major build and while not perfect and I was little clunky building along the way, I’m happy with how it turned out and I think the girls will love it for Christmas. We are beach dwellers and surfers, but I’m also a former (always) a farm girl as well, so we put a surfing pig on it too. I wanted to keep it whimsical a bit so put starfish knobs for the burners. Took me a long time and more money than average probably because of learning curve as well as having to sneak work on it between working, toddler and infant. I got a Kreg and more tools for Christmas, so I am looking forward to more building! 

update: My little destroyer broke the door within 10 minutes because it was too big for her to work around. So I “remodeled” it and made the door just the top half so that is her oven. MUCH BETTER. Now she can use it far easier and it isn’t dropping to the floor. 

Had to adjust the measurements to fit the space I had to use it in my tiny kitchen but it turned out pretty well.

We bought a vacation home that has such a small kitchen. I knew we needed more storage. So I checked out Ana's plans and made this bad boy based on the Simplest Armoire plans.

The home is in the mountain/lakes area of northern New Hampshire, so I wanted to bring the outside colors in. I used Valspar Cabin Red paint and the Valspar Antiquing glaze over the top after distressing it a bit.

I originally planned to make the Lydia daybed as is, but we decided to make it with reclaimed materials after being inspired by redwood we found that had been salvaged from old pickle barrels. We ended up with chunkier posts for the legs (3 1/4" by 3"), and used a thick solid piece of wood for the front (2"x 7 1/2") , which did change the dimensions of our project a bit. We attached an old shutter to the plywood for the sides, and found salvaged bed post tops for the tops. We left off the scalloped edges because they seemed too delicate for the look we had going. Also, my husband had fun with his new router on the edges. We decided to use 1x8's for the slats under the bed b/c we thought it would give more support to the latex foam we had used instead of a traditional mattress. Because we move a lot, we wanted to be able to take the daybed apart if necessary. We attached the sides to the daybed with bed rail brackets. I posted more about the daybed on my blog. Sewing the cushions/pillows took much longer than making the actual daybed!

I adjusted the height of the armoire to 72 inches. It was a little tricky getting the doors to hang straight. I blame the new driveway; we just moved into a new house with a sloped driveway (our old one was super flat). I got the hardware at Lowe's. I also added a block of wood at the top, on the inside, to mount the door catches. I mounted them on the top and bottom on both doors, so four catches total. That really helped with the way the doors looked when closed.

We used old dock wood for the surface of our X table for a nice beach house beverage center (sand bar!).  We adjusted the size to fit our space (a little longer and wider) and used additional studs for the shelves instead of 1" shelving, glued and PH/PS together.  To cut the X pieces I just held the 1x1 on the end of the table where it goes and marked the lines. Then I clamped a guide board at the correct angle on the table saw to make all the cuts, starting a bit long and shaving off until it just fit.  

With all the pocket holes and screws I wouldn't consider this a beginner project. Some additional steps and pictures in your description would help also.  End result is really nice.

First time really building anything out of wood. Getting a kreg jig was probably the best decision I made on this project. I made the legs slightly taller (7") for a bit of underbed storage and used a 2x4 brace instead of 2x6, so I could sit the slats down a bit lower but still keep a gap above the legs. The mattress sits 3" below the edge of the bed. I put a few legs under the center support, but they probably weren't necessary for the queen size bed. I spent about $150 for the lumber ($50 just for the bigger slats for my memory foam mattress), and about $50 for the kreg jig jr. and screws. I did not use any glue so I can take it apart later, and so far it seems pretty sturdy with no creaks. Thanks so much for the plan Ana!!! On to a headboard and bedside tables...

I made this two years ago in my daughter's room, before I got to know Ana's site. This was my ever first carpentry project. It took me 4 whole days to finish. The whole wall is like a bay wall so I had to custom make the built in. Also – I did that when my husband was out of town so in order for me to be able to lift all the pieces from the basement to the second floor, I made it of 4 pieces. When my husband came back home he thought I paid someone to built it.

I made it out of 2x4’s and plywood. I trimmed the bottom with a trim.

One day I will add drawers and the cushions are in the making.

My sister and brother-in-law recently moved to Albuquerque and purchased a home with a wonderful view of the Sandia Mountains. I built them the mirror from The Handbuilt Home (p. 36), and they hung it in the entry hall. The reflection in the mirror is a gorgeous view of the mountain range out of their large living room windows. Because this was not a rustic build, I used better pine boards, sanded very smooth.
Thank you to ANA for the great plan (and book!). Also a great big hug to JOANNE and TRACY for responding so quickly to my query regarding attaching the mirror to the frame. I ended up having the mirror company attach the mirror with silicone because I was afraid mirror clips would mar the smooth, shiny surface of the wall. We also covered the back of the mirror with craft paper, contact cemented to the frame to protect the mirror silvering.
This was a fun build, and my sister and b-in-law are very pleased with it.

We made this peace 12 feet long, the hardest part was to find straight boards at home depot and adjust the feet because of an uneven garage floor. It was my first big project and hubby helped so I can't take all the credits :)