Community Brag Posts

Originally, we were going to build the 2x4 outdoor sofa and the one arm version, but we didn’t like how far away the corner seat was from the fire pit, so we switched gears and built a second two arm sofa, and using skills we learned building from some of your other plans, we custom designed the corner table to attach the sofas and hold an umbrella.

I have been eyeing up plans to build a table for awhile, but wasn't sure exactly what I wanted. I like this plan because it's a beginner plan and is pretty simple to follow. I have built a few smaller projects, but this was the first big piece. I love the way it turned out.

Things I changed:  I made it a little shorter (table top is 68 inches) to accomodate the size of our kitchen.  I used 4x4 legs - I like the chunkiness of thicker sturdier legs.  Used 2x8 for the bench. Again, I like the thickness over a 1x.  I did use 1x10s for the table top, but I added trim (1x2) to make it look chunky. I would have just used the 2x10, but b/c they have rounded edges, and I didn't want gaps for crumbs to have to clean out. I wouldn't have minded this for a dining room table, but we're using in kitchen with 3 small children. The 1x10s are squared off so they fit together better. And adding the 1x2 trim gives it the chunky look I added the corner brackets and lag bolts, mainly for decorative style I used kona stain and white paint. 

Used 4 coats of satin poly. I built both piece in a weekend, but I would say it's more of a week project on a realistic timeframe.

I love love love this table. I got the inspiration from here, but it is totally original. I made several design change, but I also added handmade iron-forged bolts and washers.Don't forget the floating top!!!!!

Hello Ana

Just a quick e mail to say how pleased I am with your chair plans , I did add a few extras hope you don't mind.

I built these planter boxes to hold my raspberry and blueberry plants. Also by connecting them with 2x2s, it keeps my dogs out of the garden

This is a Twin over Full Simple Bunk Bed for my girls who share a room. The bottom bunk leaves plenty of room for even adults to sit down without hitting their heads. We mounted Large decorative flowers on the railing to match the room just in case my daughter woke up in the middle of the night and decided to look over the edge. We were nervous she'd hit the ceiling fan and it's too hot in South Texas not to have ceiling fans. The flowers work perfectly in that area and she loves it. We pretty much followed the plans found here: http://ana-white.com/2011/01/plans/twin-over-full-simple-bunk-bed-plans. We have not added a ladder yet, but are thinking about it. On a side note, the girls like to mount blankets and cover the bottom bunk to create their "own" personal space/fort and it's pretty cool. Special note: Untreated wood for this project was hard to find. Only one of the local home improvement stores had it and it wasn't from a large chain.

This was my second Ana build. I picked the cooler out of someone trash. (the wheels had broke off) Thank you brick house!!! I been wanting to do this plan for a while now, I'm just too cheap to buy the cooler.
The cooler stand plans were nice to have. I had lots of scrap from my hubby but I did have to buy two 1x3x8 to finish the lid. I had trouble with the lid lining up with the cooler. With the hinged attached to the lid, I lined up the cooler, mark it out and re-screwed it to the cooler . Easy. Next time I'll go to Habitat for Humanity or the like for the hardware. I will also remember to finish the wood before assembly. I didn't put the drain in the stand. After inspection of the cooler if won't drain completely if I did, so let it off.
It took me almost a week to finish between mom duties, volunteer work, and church but she's done.
Thanks Ana for the plans. I couldn't have done it without them.

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.

I downloaded th minimalist modern nightstand plans nearly a year ago and just got around to building them last week. Actually I modified them quite a bit because I had a small space to work with and because I wanted them to follow the design theme of some of the other furnishings and features I had made for my basement renovation. In particular I changed the top and made it out of oak stair treads. I also added pop-up electrical/USB sockets as well. I really appreciate the sequencing in the plans. Though I made some dimensional and design plans, I followed the sequencing steps. It made the project much easier to complete-particularly the drawer construction and fitting. If I had done it on my own, I would probably have permanently installed the middle shelf before fitting the drawer which would have made fitting the drawer and drawer front much harder. Thanks for teaching me that.

Princess Cottage Loft Bed

Fancy Farmhouse King Bed

We took the rustic x console table plan and made it half the length and a bit narrower for the unity table at my daughters wedding. It is made of white pine 2x4's, white pine 2x10's for the top and the shelves are 3/4 pine plywood.It is stained minwax red mahogany and finished with 3 coats of ace brand gloss polyurethane. Lydia is using it for the TV in their apartment.Total cost was less than $25 so this was a bargain console.It only took a few hours to build and stain it. Due to the heat in Arkansas the finish was a chore . It dried too fast and had runs so I had to sand alot. It looked kinda rustic after I sanded so I just put 2 more coats on and eveyone loves it.

DIY Home Closet Upgrade

X Bookshelf. Followed Ana's great plan, only change was to spare 1x4s that I planked for shelves. Finished with antique white milk paint. Very happy with result.