Community Brag Posts

Built this table using plans from Anna's amazing book. It was a much easier build than I anticipated. The actual finishing took longer than the construction. I did a slight modification by attaching beadboard to the top of the table. I had some leftover from a headboard my daughter and I made so I put it to use! Anyway, LOVE the table! Thanks, Ana! I would never have ever attempted building furniture without your virtual encouragement! Blessings!

I was only going to build the table, but after I found this chair and decided to make the 8 chair set. Great descriptions a d plans. 

We wanted to replace the vented / painted bi-fold closet doors in our Master Suite with something that was warmer and more consistent with the decorating motif of the house.  We priced out various wood bi-fold doors and were shocked at the $350 - $600 price range of what was available.   We decided that building them ourselves was a much better choice.

The frames are made from 1” Knotty Pine and the panels are from ¼” Knotty Pine.   Frames were made to fit and assembled w/ Kreg screws & Glue.  Rabbet channels were cut w/ the router and the panels were brad nailed & glued.

It was finished w/ the same stain used on our Knotty Pine ceilings / walls and finished w/ a satin varnish for a perfect match to our house.

This was a very straightforward, quick & inexpensive alternative to purchasing expensive bi-fold doors.   

The doors took about 15 hours to build / sand and 10 hours to finish.   Total cost was around $100. 

After I built my nephew's AT & T Park bedroom, I had to figure out what to create for my 5 year old niece, Maggie. She loves drawing, so I settled on an "art studio," where she can work and display her art.

The bed was created using Ana's Camp Loft Bed Plans. I narrowed the stairs by 4 inches as one of the other posts had done. I also put shelves under the stairs like another post I read on this site.

I built a small drafting-type desk for underneath using my new Kreg Jig (Man, I love that thing!). I also made some curtains to pull shut in case Maggie wanted to escape from the world. Chairs, storage containers, flower light, and leaf above bed are from Ikea.

I bought some cheap picture frames, and put a bulletin board in one and a chalkboark in the other for above the bed, and the string hanging across the front of the bed is from Target. It actually has clips to hang artwork.

I painted the bed using Ana's antique finish with the Minwax pen. It came out fantastic.

Although I didn't build this from a plan I wanted to be sure and share it as it is because of my experience building from Ana's plans that I felt comfortable giving this a shot.

My in-laws were just updated their lake cabin and wanted a storage headboard as space is a premium and it will be the only furniture in the guest rooms. It is unique as it has shelves on either side which can pull out to function as a small night stand, perfect for cell phones, books etc. The back of the piece is tongue and groove knotty pine which for the more rustic look they wanted.

I will probably do things a little different when I build the next headboard but overall I am satisfied with the end result. I chose not to do a lower storage area, mainly to keep the cost down. It could be done very easily but this piece is already very heavy and that there is plenty of storage.

Modified the plan to use pallet wood and stained it classic grey for a weathered look.

I wanted a bunk bed for our daughters, it needed to be easily moveable like the "classic bunk beds." I also wanted stairs like the "Sweet Pea Garden" bunk bed because we have toddlers in the house. I modified the classic bunk bed to put the ladder on the end, then built the Sweet Pea stairs to fit to the opening (I think the only difference in dimensions was a 20" top stair. I didn't want the unfinished ends of plywood so I got 4'x16"x3/4" pine boards from lowes which happens to be the width of the stairs in the plan. Instead of using the 1x2's as trim on the ends of the shelves I put two of them together, one all of the way down the front of each stair and one resting on the top of the stair (screwed together) so I wouldn't lose lateral stability. I then spaced 2x2's in between to keep it "simple" looking instead of the heart shaped decorations from the sweet pea bed. I used some 1/4" paintable composite board to provide a backing to the stairs. I bolted the stairs on to the bed with some flat bar stock cut to size and 3/8' in hex bolts cut to length. I used pocket hole joints wherever possible and countersunk all other screws and used 3/8" dots from lowes to fill the holes. I painted it with a coat of primer and a coat of Glidden Trim and Door paint in antique white from the Easy Vintage Step Stool project.

Thank you for the plans! They were easy to follow and my girlfriend and I are very happy how the pergola turned out. I used the 2x6's and 2x4's due to being in Nebraska with heavy snow and high winds often to give it more durability. I can't wait to start on the sectional. Total cost was about 350 dollars...so cheap in comparison to what they sell for.

I built these doors for a very good friend of mine who actually helped me get started turning my new love for building (after finding Ana's site) into a way for our family to make some extra money.

It took me a little while to wrap my brain around building something without using my Kreg Jig. I used a router table set up with some raised panels bits and put the whole thing together with glue and nails! Wonderful experience!

For the finish, I used a vinegar solution to give the cedar wood an old barn look. I think the final result turned out great and the final step was a clear coat sprayed on out of a rattle can.

I used the same cedar fence boards, but for a large berry patch made with minimal cuts. The end boards are 1/2 the length of the long side boards. I made them 2 fence widths high - about 11 inches. Each bed is nearly 12 feet long. I joined the dogeared ends of 2 boards in the center, making a diamond cut out pattern that looked good. In order to support the tall sides, I used cedar 2x4x8 boards. Use 18-24 inch posts on each corner and at the center joint. I cut an additional board in half, affixing it to the center posts, to brace the long sides and add stability. Each box is approximately 3 feet wide, 12 feet long, and 11 inches tall. You'll need 8 fence posts for the long sides, 2 for the short sides, and 1/2 for the brace - you could use a different piece of wood for this, but the cedar fence posts are such a deal. You'll also need approximately 9 feet of cedar 2x4 for the corner posts - I bought 8 foot lengths and cut each into 2 foot posts for stability. The cost was around I'll add 2x4 posts in the spring and put a trellis behind the raspberries. If the birds start to steal my blueberries, I'll add metal or wooden corner posts that will support fruit netting. We're planting strawberries around the base of the larger fruit bushes. The 11 inch sides should keep rabbits from invading. If they are persistent, I'll add a few inches of chicken wire around the top edge. This made the equivalent square footage of 4 of Ana's original $10 beds.

Hello Everyone! This is my FIRST brag post here on Ana-White.com - but not the first project that we've built from her awesome plans. :) 

We have an unfinished basement that desperately needed some shelving because 1. It's our workshop in the Winter and 2. We don't have an official 'storage' room in the basement of our split level home. When I saw these plans I immediately thought they could be modified to fit our space and get my stuff off the floor! 

I modified the plans just enough to fit our space. After reading through them completely, I realized for an 8 ft wide space (beside the stairs) I only needed three supports for the shelves. Easy! The only trick was fitting the shelf into the space AFTER installing the shelves. Because I had walls on two sides (unlike the tutorial) I couldn't do the shelves as the last step. 

I LOVE how these turned out! They are a strong as a ladder (we tested them... :)) and they hold everything I need them to, and a little bit more. It's a definite improvement on my previously messy, cluttered, saw-dust covered space ... :) 

I chose to make this island 48 inches long to fit my smaller kitchen.   I also used pine trim for the bottom shelving to make it more delicate.  

This is our version of the potting table all made with free materials. We love it!!!