Community Brag Posts

Full size Daybed (Hailey hybrid)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 04/02/2017 - 08:44

 This is a hybrid between the Hailey daybed and the Hailey platform bed. My son is in love with this bed! Used aluminum diamond plate for the headboard. 

Estimated Cost
$175
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Rustoleum primer, black paint (3 coats) and clear finish. Aluminum diamond plate headboard. Lots of sanding. Used sponge roller for smooth finish. Cut diamond plate into three sections because I found a 2'x4' piece on Amazon for $22. One that spanned the length of the headboard (73") was $100!
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Truss harvest table with white stain

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/07/2017 - 14:30

Absolutely love the finish on this table.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Comments

I did it! A bench,

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/25/2017 - 05:41

I've been doing only little projects here and there, so when I got an order for a bench, I was a little apprehensive, but of course I said YES!  I immediately started scouring the web for ideas on how to, and what the cost would be to build.  I came across Ana White's modern bench design and knew this was the one.  I priced out all the materials and gave my customer a quote which she, without hesitation, accepted.  The next day, I took a trip to the local lumber yard and purchased all I needed.  Now, here's where I messed up a bit. Like I said, I priced everything out before purchasing.  Well, I priced out the wrong 1x6s which threw me almost $35 over my original budget.  Womp womp, right?  I still made a little profit.  But this bench cost me $100 to build.  The customer ordered this bench for her garden and wanted it to be stained rather than painted.  So, the wood, the decking screws, waterseal, and the outdoor waterproof stain and sealer was my purchase for the build.  Totally worth it!  The bench turned out great!  I am delivering it to her in a couple of hours from now and I cannot wait for her to see it.  I think it turned out beautiful especially for my first!  Thank you, Ana, for making the design so easy to follow! 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
1 qt of BEHR Premium Padre Brown Semi-Transparent Waterproofing Stain and Sealer. I used a 2.5 inch stain/ paint brush to apply one coat. After 24 hrs, I then sprayed a coat of Thompson's WaterSeal Waterproofing Wood Protector on the entire bench.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Chair Build with Loveseat Modification

Submitted by Joshh81 on Sat, 09/02/2017 - 12:26

Built the 2 chairs according to the plans, and then modified it for a bench that's 48" (our cushions are 23.5 x 23.5). Worked really well!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Cutest Baby Doll High Chair

Submitted by tracysmith on Sun, 03/27/2011 - 15:29

My neighbors grand-daughter is about to turn 3 and I thought this would make a great present for her.. plus, when she saw it online while visiting me (I was checking the website as usual), she said "Oh, I NEED one of those!".  I laughed and then that night went out and checked my scrap pile to see if I had everything I needed to build it.

I only needed one 8' piece of 1x2 to complete it.. .everything else I had, so great!
Estimated Cost
About $10 with paint.
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
I have yet to paint this little project, but it will be painted in a gloss lavender purple so it's easy to clean.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Doll house for 18" Dolls

Both my princesses absolutely LOVE their dollhouse. It was my first diy project and it's wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. 

Estimated Cost
I spent roughly $46 on the wood. We had a bunch of extra paint lying around the house and left over carpet pieces we decided to use.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

DIY Closet Tower

My daughter's room needed more storage and the closet was the perfect place to add some! Visit the blog link for more pictures.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr Primer and Paint in one, semi-gloss, matched to a piece of baseboard from my home.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

x-table and benches

Submitted by kcaldes on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 11:32

Good plans and easy construction. Thanks!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
None yet.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

yogijenn

Thu, 08/08/2013 - 08:54

Planning to build a set like this for my new patio. The angles on the bench legs don't appear to be 45s. Could you share a few detail about them? Thanks!

Small raised planter stand

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/10/2022 - 17:04

Plan to use as a cooler :) adjusted dimensions to fit a bigger planter box and added some decorative details. It came out great!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Charlie's Big Kid Bed

We needed to transition our son out of his crib-turned-toddler-bed to free up the crib for the next spawn, arriving in November. We wanted something we could sit or lie on with him for the reading of bedtime stories, which ruled out most toddler beds and the inexpensive twin size beds. The choice was clear between spending $1000 on some out-of-the-box bed from a furniture store, using a mattress-and-springs-on-metal-frame from the mattress store (which lacks any sort of organized storage potential) or building our own awesome storage-friendly bed that will hopefully last until the kiddo graduates high school and gets his own place.  I love this plan because of the ample storage it provides between the under-the-bed cubbies, the cubbies on the "walled-in" side of the bed that can be used for off-season clothes and less-frequently-used items, even the space between the cubbies only accessible by sliding the mattress off and popping out the slats.  Also, my child is doomed to need glasses at some point in his life, so the headboard with space to stow the glasses, an alarm clock, a glass of water, a couple books ... this plan was perfect for what we needed and what we wanted. And custom-made by dad? Painted Elmo-red (the current obsession) by 7-months-pregnant mom? What could be better?  We are thrilled by the bed and are already planning the expansion we'll do (create a bunk? Just build a matching bed?) in a few years when the new little brother has outgrown the crib.  

We opted to skip pretty much all the hardware on this bed and, with the help of a few nails inserted via nail gun, put the bed together with copious amounts of wood glue and clamps. This bed is NEVER wiggling apart, no matter how much the kid jumps on it.  The exception is the binding of the headboard and footboard to the base itself -- this is done with cleverly placed screws so that the bed can be disassembled if it ever needs to be moved.  The project would've been a weekend project from shopping through painting except that we had to wait hours for glue to dry in between steps. As a result, it monopolized our garage for about a week.  

Estimated Cost
We had to buy quite a few tools, so our Home Depot trip for this project was pretty pricy! I believe we spent about $200 on lumber. We bought two quarts of BIN shellac primer but used brushes/rollers we had on hand and a half gallon of Elmo-red paint left from another project.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Shellac primer + satin-finish interior paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Custom Sandbox with built-in seats

Submitted by Ljmommy on Sat, 09/28/2013 - 10:13

On this project we modified a few things like the arm rests which we cut at an angle to keep kids from pinching fingers in there if someone decided to move the bench back on them. We also modified the size which we made 6'x4' to maximize play sand space and kid space. Therefore this made our benches bigger so that big kids (my husband) could sit on the benches and play in the sandbox. Yes there was talk about putting cup holders but I won the conversation by mentioning sand in his drink and we would have to do a sippy cup. We notched out the handles instead of installing handles which made it look sleek. We used the template from the hinge so it matched the shape....clever huh? We decided to primer and paint this one sandstone in the brick and mortar sample book by Behr and had them put it in an exterior paint color for us. We used a wagner paint sprayer which made the project fast at the end. Overall still an easy project for anyone. I do suggest pre drilling all holes first before screwing in screws so the wood doesn't split when doing the slats on the top.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50-$75
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Primer/Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

DIY farmhouse table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 12/28/2022 - 16:05

A farmhouse table I built based on one of your inspiration projects! All by hand and chiseled myself 😍

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Turquoise Chaise Lounger

Using this plan I built my lounger with some changes, mainly adding lawn mower wheels to one end. The cushions I made have a mesh bottom to let the cushions dry faster, and zippers so they can be removed and machine washed. More details on what I used and many more photos on my blog.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
oil based primer, 2 coats exterior latex paint: Glidden Swan White in semi-gloss, Minwax Outdoor polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Guest (not verified)

Tue, 09/20/2011 - 12:49

I love the idea of the mesh! It would work as a great bench when you need more seating too. I think it'd be nice with huge wooden wheels also.

Entryway Hall Tree

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/11/2023 - 04:01

I modified the plans for the farmhouse hall tree to build this for our entryway. The farmhouse hall tree was a perfect base plan for this project! We went from a mess of jammed in jackets and piles of shoes to a clean and organized entrance! Thank you so much for providing the original plans! We love this!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Cornhole Boards

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/08/2023 - 18:09

I made one set for my son, the one with the stained top. His friends liked it so much and kept borrowing his set, that he wanted to surprise them with their own and asked me to build them one with the LSU colors. Thought they turned out great! Thank you for the plans!

Comments

Bread Box

I started baking my own bread a few months ago, and storage was an issue. My husband decided to build me an old fashioned bread box and set out designing one on his own to fit in our small galley kitchen. I love it. It is a double decker, so I can fit two loaves in it just fine. The inside is coated with a food-grade sealer.

Estimated Cost
$20: $16 for the food-grade sealer and $4 for the handle, scrap wood used from other projects.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
White spray paint, food-grade sealer inside.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

JoanneS

Wed, 12/07/2011 - 03:49

This is an awesome idea, can't wait to make one for my kitchen. Beautiful job! Thanks for sharing this!

Outdoor day bed

Submitted by TamTamW on Wed, 07/03/2019 - 09:28

Loved making this. Used old sun curtains and a sheet for extra splendor. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
None.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Exotic Wood Farmhouse Style Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/30/2023 - 11:09

I loved your farmhouse bed , so decided to make my own , but with wood wat is available here(Philippines) the post and the frame is made of Mango wood , the tree fell down during the typhoon, so I made boards and beams out of it , for the headboard and also the footboard used Moldave/Mahogany/Ipalipal/and a few kinds I don't know the name

Built from Plan(s)

Twin Loft Beds for Twins

Submitted by annierey on Thu, 10/31/2019 - 16:33

My twins just turned four and were still sleeping in their toddler beds, so it was time for an upgrade.  They still want to share a room so we knew we needed to maximize space and open up some room for them to play.  We chose the Camp Loft Bed but raised the height to 72" (with 53" of headspace) so we might be able to add a desk underneath when they get older. 

Essentially, we made two loft beds with the platforms but omitted the stairs.  Then we built a slightly lower platform to put between the two beds, which acts as a step down.  Then instead of making stairs that jut out into the room, we added two 2x4s as ladder rungs to the lower platform.  This also acts as a tunnel for the twins to crawl under to go between each other's play spaces.   This also makes it so the beds can be easily separated if we ever need to put them in separate rooms. 

When it was complete we noticed one of the beds was a little wobbly, so we added diagonal braces in the corners and another 2x4 across the length of the bottom to help stabilize it.  We also chose to use 1x4 pieces of pine as the slats for the mattress to lay across, but they didn't feel like they would support our weight if we wanted to read to them in bed.  So we added two more 2x4s underneath the slats the entire length of the bed, which has added a ton of support. 

We stopped keeping track of exactly how much it cost, but it was close to $400 for both beds combined.  And it took most of my husband's free time for two weeks, but most of that was painting two coats of paint on every piece before assembling.  First he cut all the pieces to size, drilled the holes with a Kreg Jig, and then painted.  To make the painting more efficient, he put a bunch of screws into boards so he could paint all the exposed sides of the lumber, flip, and leave them to dry.  Then we assembled the beds in their room. 

The twins love their new beds, and we love how much more space they have to play in their room!  We were worried the room would feel too crowded but with the openness of the plan and the space that was opened up underneath, we think it turned out great!  Now we can move in a bunch of their toys and reclaim some of our house!  Thanks for the great plans!

Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Two coats of white paint/primer
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Bunkbed a with trundle

This was a on the fly build no plans  just wanted to post it for ideas for everyone

Estimated Cost
200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax American walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate