Cedar Planter
Used repurposed lumber for most of the project. Only thing I bought was the cedar pickets. This project cost less than $9
I also chose to cut the tops off and add mitered boards on top.
Used repurposed lumber for most of the project. Only thing I bought was the cedar pickets. This project cost less than $9
I also chose to cut the tops off and add mitered boards on top.
My husband and I made this for our daughter as a Christmas gift. We were very pleased how it turned out, especially being our first furniture project. We found the directions clear and easy to follow.
Our daughter was very surprised and loves it.
Ana, thanks for the online lessons! I’ve built four desks and the coffee table. Having fun too great retirement gig!
Ron from Ohio
We cut this plan down by 8" in length to fit in a nook behind our front door. The opening was 44.5" and we cut our longest piece to 42" to make sure we had clearance for baseboards and door trim. We finished both items in an afternoon, even with adjusting measurements and having kids ages 5 and 2 "helping".
This was a bit daunting as my first woodworking project, but after a few mistakes (and taking it slow), I'm pretty proud of it!
Mon, 07/01/2013 - 16:07
Congrats - You did great on your first project! Looks super! Love the gray finish. Before you know it, instead of going to a store to look at furniture, you'll be "shopping" Ana's plans first to find just what you want. I'm so hooked on this site - since becoming a reader I haven't bought a single piece of "furniture store" furniture! :)
In reply to Looks great! by JoanneS
Mon, 07/01/2013 - 21:14
Thanks!
I think I've already picked out my next project ;)
I changed up the plans so this table would fit my space better. This was my first time building with a Kreg jig and a miter saw(I'm a newbie). Love how it turned out!
I started looking for plans for a bunk bed for my grand kids and found Ana's Simple Bed and Simple Bunk Bed.
I took the advice of some of the posters here and used head board plans for both top and bottom beds. I drew up the entire bed in Sketchup prior to building and realized I could improve the strength a bit. The attached pictures illustrate those changes. I used laminated 2 x 4 posts for the legs and cut a notch to receive the rails into that notch on the inside 2 x 4. Making the rail longer to insert into this slot allows the bed to be supported directly on the 2 x 4 instead of relying only on screws. I then used 5 1/4 lag screws from the side through the 2 x 4 , the 2 x 6 rail and into the head board structure. Additionally, I screwed in triangular corner pieces under the rails to reduce racking when the kids play.
Making these changes, I also attached the end supports for the spring/mattress only to the head and foot boards which allows the rails to be separated for transport, i.e. smaller pieces. This thing is heavy!
I also slotted the stanchions on the guardrail for the top bunk, inserted into new supports, so it can be removed for easier changing of the sheets.
The kids really love this bed and played in it for most of the time they were visiting. Thanks Ana for the initilal plans.
We too you’re 2x4 shelving unit with some small tweaking of measurements and added a barn door!
We needed an outdoor table for our patio, and this one fit the bill!
I loved the photos that others have put out of their own tables, but I was concerned about eating off of a table that was stained and varnished with petrochemicals. In order to avoid the toxic finish, I built the top and stretchers out of cedar wood, which I sanded down to 220 grit, and gave a light coat of tung oil finish. The legs are untreated 2x4s that I sanded down and gave a heavy coat of tung (e.g. seven applications.)
To ensure the legs remain in good condition, I intend to foot them with sheet metal casings when I remove them at the end of the season.
I also took Ana's advice, and attached the legs using bolts, so that I can disassemble the table and throw it in the garage over the winter. There's a close-up of how I inset the bolt-heads with a spade-bit below.
I didn't build this shoe dresser because I particularly needed one, but it looked so lovely that I couldn't resist.
- I modified the plans by building 3 bins instead of 2 so it could hold more shoes.
- I decided against the dowel stick and opted for hinges instead, which were surprisingly not too difficult to assemble. I found that I didn't even need the magnets after installing the hinges as the doors stay closed.
- I used 7" chains on both sides of each bin instead of a belt to make it extra sturdy.
- I added two back legs.
Et voila! This is the end result. I'm very pleased.
PS. Those flopping bins are a pain when you're trying to build!! An extra pair of hands is definitely recommended.
Fri, 07/05/2013 - 22:49
Pretty :) Good Job. Now if I only had the space for one thats 10 rows high :P I like the stain color too. Shanty 2 Chic always uses Rust-o-leum. I think its called dark walnut. Dont quote me though. I love the stain and spray paint combo colors they use.
~Melody
In reply to Nice Job by SoCaliforniaMel
Sat, 07/06/2013 - 20:00
Rust-o-leum, that's the one!
Yes, if only every woman could own a 10-row cabinet for all her shoes! :)
I've made a couple of tables from this plan now, and I love the simplicity of it. I changed the top to 1x4, 1x6 so that it doesn't look so bulky.
My wife and I moved in to our new home in July, fast forward to November and we still haven’t gotten our furniture due to the supply chain issues. With just over 2 weeks left before Thanksgiving we decided to host! Being a woodworker we decided I would build us furniture! Using plans from the rustic X collection I built 4 tables; 2 end tables, 1 coffee table, 1 console table. Slightly changing the plans for the end tables and raising the bottom shelf of the console table an extra 3 inches to be able to put shoes underneath. I also built a custom coffee bar I designed to ad to the collection. It’s really awesome and I’m super proud of it! It also has a hidden message to ad to its awesomeness! I hope you enjoy the coffee bar along with the rustic X collection! Thank you.
We have a little craft, woodworking business we just started called
jake n’ Jill’s woodshop
Facebook page under the same name, website is still being built.
(I did finish everything on time, bringing in the last table from the woodshop Thanksgiving morning, not sure what we want to do as far as paint or stain yet)
In reply to Love every piece! by Ana White Admin
Thu, 12/30/2021 - 08:14
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! I love all your work and your plans are amazing and easy to follow. I love it!
I built these bookshelves with the help of my husband for our daughter's nursery. They were so simple to build, the finishing work is what took the most amount of time. They're very sturdy, and we get tons and tons of compliments on the 'feel' that they add to the nursery!
I couldn't believe how much twin beds cost in stores and couldn't find anything I liked for my son under $350. I have already made a few other things from Ana White, so I was excited to see this "knock-off!" I followed the plans exactly and didn't want his bed to be too high, so there is so box spring.
I have recently discovered how much fun it is to make things, so I couldn't wait to build my son his "big boy bed!" He loves it! He's happy so this momma's happy, too!
Built this industrial coffee table without plans
I fell in love with a headboard I found on Houzz that was priced over $1,500. I knew I wanted to build it myself but I had never built a headboard to this scale before. Several headboards from Ana's site helped give me direction and this is what I ended up with. My husband and I build furniture for a living, so we had plenty of lumber around to put most of the body together, but we don't often work with trim in such fine detail, so that added significantly to the cost (and time) invested. If I had to guess though, the headboard as we built it was probably around $125.
The plans were easy to follow. The family loves it! The top is made of 70+ year old rough cut oak.
While out shopping with my 4 year old son we came across a picnic table that he absolutely adored. I had wanted to purchase a kids picnic table last summer but never got around to it. After checking out the price tag on this little gem I decided I would check out Ana White’s collection of plans before I spent $80!!! I made a few alterations in size and added extra support for those changes, but even with the added lumber I got it ½ off the $80 store price!!
I was inspired to build this table after taking Ana's Adirondack Chair Class at Home Depot. Living in Fairbanks, AK means that the pickings are slim and pricy for quality furniture.
I shortened the table length to 5' to fit my space and made the benches 4' long and lined the legs up so they would fit comfortably under the table. I also made the chairs based on Ana's Parsons chair pattern.
This sweet bookshelf was the perfect summer project. Our girls loved painting it and have already spent hours playing with it. We used High Gloss paint.
Here is a link for a video where you can see the kids painting it and how it looks in their room. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tYXcWxQJ_U