Cubby Bench
This was a very fun project to work on. One of my first ones, I chose this to replace the store bought cubby book shelf in my daughters room with something she can sit on as well as use for storage.
This was a very fun project to work on. One of my first ones, I chose this to replace the store bought cubby book shelf in my daughters room with something she can sit on as well as use for storage.
A big thanks to FSMumford for drawing this in Sketchup. I had to re-draw it to take into account metric wood dimensions and bed sizes here in NZ, and also to remove a foot or so from the length.
We just gave it to my daughter today, and already I need to make some modifications. I immediately put some vertical grab rails at the top of the steps and slide. The steps are too big for a toddler (she's 3 today) and I didn't take into account how thick a pillow top mattress is! I really needed to make the end guards higher. In fact, were I to make it again, I'd probably make the towers taller and lower the height of the bed by 8-12 inches. While this would lower interior room, it might make the steps a more reasonable height for a littlie. If you're building for a 5 or 6 year old, this may not be an issue. Also, it would make the angle of the slide shallower (it's a bit steep, I reckon). I used 7 sheets of 16mm MDF but if I'd laid them out like FSMumford did in her plans I would have used less. Our (one car) garage is too small and the whole build process, including painting, was a royal pain in the bum. Fun, but a pain. Speaking of painting, next time (riiiiight) I'd try to paint as much as possible before assembling. I built mine in modules but even so it's hard to get a nice coat of paint on the insides of things. Edges of MDF need to be painted and sanded at least twice to look nice. Don't underestimate the time needed to get a good finish - I spent a third of my build time finishing (mostly, again, due to limited space). A narrow foam roller is great for cutting in but doesn't seem to get enough paint on to cover well on larger areas. In places I have three coats and can still see my pencil marks. I used Dulux Aquanamel.
I was looking for something to build for a fundraiser this year and found the Beach Hut Bed plans. I liked the idea of a little house inside a kids room but I wanted to do something a little more rustic. here's what I came up with!!!
The shopping list and cut list is pretty much the same. However, I only used one 1x3 and needed to buy 4 extra 1x4s. I lowered the bed deck about a foot and left half of the walls open for easy parent access. I sorta just winged it as I went. Turened out pretty neat!!!
We made our bench 17-1/2 inches longer, just enough for a third panel on the back. We also added 2 braces under the seat slats to give it additional strength. A lot of fun to make! Thanks, Ana!
We just bought our first home a few months ago. It is taking me a long time to decorate, because I am more picky about what goes on my walls. I saw this shelf and I knew I had to build it. It was really simple to do. I even did it without my husband, and that is huge for me. I have step by step pictures on how to make this shelf on my blog.
supersaturdayldscrafts.blogspot.com
Ana's Barn Beam Ledges are very simular, but I turned them and added molding to the front.
My son is a little short for his age and we have been searching for a stool that he could use to wash his hands by himself. I came across these simple and quick plans for an amazingly, functional stool. I spent about 4 total hours on it, made it from scraps that I already had, it looks great and it hold me too... all 230 lbs.
This was one of my first projects. I made it for my daughter who was moving to a new apartment and wanted to replace her college coffee table. It was fairly easy other than keeping everything square so the drawers worked correctly. I finished it with Rust-Oleum Ebony stain and Minwax Satin Poly (3 coats). All the hardware and lumber came from the Orange big box store
These plans were perfect for the small space we had for the kitchen table. Really like how the benches fit under the table too.
I’ve been wanting a potting bench for a while now - something by the back door to display some decor, use as an outdoor work station, and double as a place for UPS to leave packages. After looking around online and at local stores, I couldn’t find anything that I liked that fit the narrow space - so I did what any #woodworkingmom would do, I decided to build it myself. Please see my blog post for additional photos and lessons learned during this project.
Overall measurements: 24x40. I followed the same basic steps as the nursery armoire, but on a much smaller scale and with a 1x3 added to the back for hanging the cabinet on the wall. I sketched this out on my own and built it to fit above the toilet in my girls' bathroom.
For the first time, I used my table saw to route a space for the 1/8" MDF cabinet backing and drawer bottoms. I will probably use the same method again, but the MDF has to be absolutely square for it to work.
Also a first for me, I used a shelving jig to drill perfectly spaced shelf pin holes on the inside of the cabinet. I love the jig and the accompanying drill bit (from Woodcraft -- orange and blue do not carry it) and I'm looking forward to using it a lot more in the future.
The white latex paint finish is covered in Krylon "crystal clear" spray, which is (sadly) not actually crystal clear. I really like its durability and ease of application (re-coat after only one minute!), but will only use it on darker colored projects in the future. I'll have to sand, paint again, and recoat with my old standby, Minwax Polycrylic, to get rid of the yellow tones in the "crystal clear" Krylon spray.
Modified Queen Farmhouse for a rental unit that we have. I changed the heights of the head/footboard to give it a taller look.
I built this nightstand when my wife and I purchased a new bed. We had to rearrange the bedroom and as such, I no longer had a desk or table on my side of the bed. I wanted something "country" style and after searching through several different plans I found a brag post that fit exactly what I was looking for. Well, technically, I found the original Farmhouse Bedside Table plans and modified them to fit what I needed. It wasn't until after I completed the project that I realized there was a "Mini" version as well. What can I say, I'm not that great as using search. I actually built this over a year ago at this point, and it was the second project I ever built. I learned quite a bit on this project, including the fact your project will only come out as good as your lumber selection! This build actually created my addiction for DIY and woodworking. Thank you Ana!
Mon, 09/14/2020 - 18:41
this is going to be a perfect first project for me and my daughter to tackle!
Submitted by Joanna Franke
I built these benches for my son’s school. Their current ones were very rotted and falling apart. These will be outside and uncovered so pressure treated stock was used and I filled the screw holes with epoxy.
Sat, 11/06/2021 - 17:44
Those are awesome and look super comfortable, thanks for sharing!
This was a fun easy build...I took the toy box plans and used 1X4s instead of solid sides and bottom. I cut the legs short and put finals on.
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!
Wed, 07/17/2013 - 13:11
Oh, great job!! I love it. The back stops for the bench is a great idea because those bolts are expensive! I'm going to do the same. Thank you for the idea!
Built to go with my farm house table. It looks amazing.
very easy
My husband and I just recently moved to Savannah from Annapolis.
I got my hands on some beautiful wood from an old house in Savannah. The console table for the bedroom came to mind immediately. Great project, thank you for the plans, Ana!
This was quite the project- took us several weekends to finish (we don't have a garage or really any good working area- we rent. Oh and we also have a toddler). We assembled the table in the living room, stained it on our front sidewalk, did a couple coats of poly in the backyard, and finished the last coat of poly in the dining room! (we know how heavy this table is, that's for sure! We modified the original farmhouse table dimensions so that this table would fit in our oh-so-tiny dining room. As you can tell, we also decided to build a bench to go with it. We are extremely pleased with the results!