Community Brag Posts

In our new home there was a 46" wide coat closet at the entrance. My wife wanted a place to sit down, take off shoes and put our coats and backpacks when we were home. I found Ana White's plans for this shoe bench and modified it to fit our space. The project took 3 days to complete due to the painting, staining and polyurethane, construction of the bench itself was quick. Previously I added a light switch and two 3" LED recessed lights in the ceiling. The project came out wonderful and I am very pleased. Thank you for the inspiration!

-Mike

Here is my first attempt at this bookshelf. Don't own a pocket hole jig, so I used screws(1 x4 shelves) and brads(Molding) through side boards. Gotta invest in the Kreg jig for future projects. I used a jigsaw with a guide to cut the back panel. I cut it a little outside the line and sanded it flush with the sides. (no table saw, either)...

For the fronts, I used molding. I found out that the pre-painted molding, doesn't like to hold paint. Took several coats of the Hunter green to cover sufficiently for the base coat. Time estimate was given for construction and sanding. Thanks for the awesome design Ana. My wife's Kindergarten class should really enjoy this in the classroom along with the Kinder-nook.

My kid-o's love to sell lemonade. So, we made a trip to the local hardware store. Because I am terrified to use my husbands electric saw, any wood we purchased would have to be cut with a hack saw and a miter box. And since the stand is to be stored in the backyard, we opted to build it from cedar. We ended up purchasing 8 fence pickets for about $15 total. This was also to be a great way for my kids to apply the some of the knowledge they have picked up this year, our first year of homeschooling. My children, ages 7 and 9, measured all of the boards that needed to be cut. It turned out GREAT! We already had some extra boards, spray paint and screws on hand; so, the grand total was $15.00 for the entire project!

Hi I was tired to see the magpies and flickers destroying the nest and kill the sparrows After days of research i came up with this model that i tested last summer and believe me, it was successfully accepted by sparrows This year i made bunch of them, some different models till i get to the yellow one style that is perfect I really loved it and i'm here sharing it with you guys I will share plan for this bird house in my Instagram next week (June 12)

This was a fun project for my husband and I! My 4 year old absolutely loves her bed. We have plans to add a curtain to the bottom to let her open and close it for her reading nook (or as curtains for her "stage")! :) 

This cabinet was inspired by an Ana White project. My wife wanted more storage in our new home, and we had a sofa table at this location. But it was just a top, no shelves. I custom fit it to be flush with the window sills at the top and ends so it takes on a bit of a built in appearance. The top and bottom are oak faced plywood, all edges covered with iron on oak facing. As I was short of the expensive plywood, the ends, shelves and kick are doug fir plywood with a light oak stain; while not a perfect match gave a pleasing result that guests have not caught. The doors are 1/2" MDF, with a 2" solid oak end glued on where I routed the slots to open them. Slots are 1/4" +, 3/8" apart, and the top and bottoms of the doors routed to leave a 1/4" rail. The bottoms of the bottom slide slots have a slick poly tape in them, which really helps the doors to slide easily.

Sides and interior are brush finished with 3 coats of semi-gloss polyurethane, while the top has 5 coats. The MDF on the doors has one sprayed coat of white primer (oil based to avoid bringing up the MDF) with a final sprayed coat of mat finish enamel. I need to do one more step, light sand with 320 grit and paste wax the top to get that really fine finish.

While not as easy as Ana makes it look, it turned out pretty well. That hard part on a piece this size is getting all the pieces cut precisely, and I mean with less than 1/32nd difference, to provide a good fit. As it was I had to custom cut the oak opening ends on the doors to account for the small differences in widths at the top and bottom to obtain a nice fit against the sides. Next time I'll triple check all finish dimensions to make those small adjustments in parts before assembly, then triple check again for placement during assembly.

While I'll always see the small "errors", my wife is very pleased with the finished cabinet.

First time wood working project!

Good morning, I took this double chair with table and made it my own. Adding bigger arm rests and table top. This chair is so comfortable and sturdy. Totally love all your projects. Keep up the awesome work. Thanks agin

Perfect little playhouse my husband built for our girls.   It took about a week to build by himself, but worth every minute.   He did a wonderful job.   Such a good daddy!

Full over Full bunk beds. Adjusted for Full from a twin measurement. only 1" off floor for more head room.extra rail bar coverage upstairs for my daughter who rolls out of bed regularly.

These four raised beds are just the beginning!!!!

We wanted two smaller tables and four benches so we can rearrange as needed to make one big or two small tables. We can also move them back and forth between patio and deck. We hoped to have this done in a weekend but it took us two weeks working at night after the kids went to bed. I love how they turned out but I'm not sure I will try another project this involved!

With lots of deer, rabbits, coyotes, and the occasional bear, garden enclosures are a must in our area (although I am not sure they will really help if a bear decides they're interested in our food). As our old garden enclosure was falling down due to the high winds and a quite a few winters in upstate New York, my mom found a horseshoe shaped garden with rasied beds that she loved. So, after searching around for a good plan, I found Ana White's collaboration with Home Depot for this enclosure.

While the original plan was far too small for our needs, I was able to expand the length of the enclosure creating enough room to add two small beds on either side of the door and a center bed, which is perfect for herbs. The build was not difficult as I was able to do most of it by myself (with the exception of contructing the frame and attaching the door) and I am sure this would go much quicker with an extra set of hands. As I did not have a large chunk of time to devote to this project, it did take me quite some time stretched over a few weeks. Nonetheless, I am very happy with how it turned out.

After construction, my family got a little garden happy and decided we wanted to plant even more vegetables than we had originally planned. So, we created a much simpler but nonetheless less pest-proof enclosure for two more beds to the left of our original project (shown in the photos).

Although this was an expensive project (exact price is unkown), it is quite sturdy and we expect it to last a long time and provide lots of vegetables. We added some hanging baskets for decoration and decided next year we will add some morning glories around the outside corners for some extra shade during the afternoons. Some minor alterations also included a latch that allows us to open and close the door from both sides, we actually picked up a gate latch kit for this part of the project, and using welded wire fencing instead of chicken wire. While the welded wire added to the cost, it will hold up better to the wind and snow and is still protective enough to keep out our main predators.

Thanks so much for the plans Ana! In the begining, our neighbors joked we were building a guest house :). I have included some photos from throughout the build as well.

This remodel project was a year in the making. We purchased this 1980's house (notice the before pic) 3-years ago and immediately started tearing into it... all of it. The bathrooms were the last on the list to be remodeled. An impending baby shower spurred the need to complete this project, and we're pleased with how it came out.

We searched high and low when trying to decide on the vanity, and came across the plans for the one pictured here when searching for "Rustic" or "Western". Coming from a family of carpenters, I felt comfortable enough in my ability to tackle this simple project. I'm a tall guy so I wanted something that was comfortable for me to use as well. I made this vanity higher and longer than the plans originally called for.

The space in the bathroom allows for a dual sink, but we're a small family and felt the 2nd sink wasn't necessary at this time. I don't like to remove features that are already present, so the bottom crate is actually covering the plumbing in case we or the next owner decide to add a second sink. The other crates obviously provide the storage that isn't currently present with this type of vanity. I may add a shelf on the bottom, but I like the open look and feel.

The counter top is simply cedar fencing that's been well sanded, stained and protected with 4 coats of Poly. I staggered the top to give it a different look as well.

The mirror was the full length of the wall, but cut down to match the size of the new vanity and framed on the wall.

The lights ($29) are simple, outdoor galvanized coach lamps found at Lowes.

The vessel sink ($99) was found at homedepot.com (much better selection than at your local store), and the faucet ($149) came from Lowes.

Our guests loved the bathroom, as do my wife and I.