Community Brag Posts

This was my first project. I am pretty excited how it turned out. If I did it again, I would recommend sanding and painting prior to building.

My son needed more room in his bedroom...and to be rid of the very girly furniture he inherited when he moved into his "big boy-ish" bedroom. At 10 yrs old, it was high time he got a bed that wasn't pink-tinged, white washed pine with 4 posters and enough curlicues to choke a forest. He also needed a desk which I couldn't really fit in his room with the armoire and chest of drawers that came with the Queen sized bed.

So off to Ikea we went and I saw a black loft bed for $300, but it was really, really high which meant I would have to cut it down and it was not sturdy at all. I looked at PB and saw the $1800 bed. Um, no - that wasn't happening. So, off to Ana-White I went and I'm so happy I did!

I built the full sized version of these plans and, to keep costs down, used wood I had on hand. This meant I had to work a bit at the cuts, but it all worked out.

Mods:
1) I modified the railings to have the ladder at the end of the bed to keep away from the ceiling fan.

2) Because I put the ladder at the end of the bed, I got very nervous about having a soon-to-be teen climbing on to a ladder secured to a 1x10 that was only connected to the side railings with glue and screws. So I sandwiched extra 1x3s over the bottom rails and attached them to the top railing.

3) I was very nervous about making sure that the bed was adequately supported so I put a 2x4 down the center instead of the 1x2.

4) I went a wee-bit overboard screwing things together to the point where it's a bit embarrassing and now I have to paint over the screw heads.

5) I made the ladder treads with 2x4's, modifying the inside spacer board cut lengths.

Because I had quite a bit of lumber on hand, the bed only ended up costing me about $90.

For the bookcase, I did end up buying the 1x12s and the adjustable shelf railings. I made the book shelf the entire width of of the bed and split the two sections based on width of the 1x24 board I bought for the desk. I only put the backer board up half way so that the daylight could get underneath the bed and make it not so cave-like.

The book case cost me about $70.

The desk was the easiest...but most costly item. A 1x6x24, 4 table legs and the table leg mounts ran me about $80. The plexiglass top that I had cut for the top cost me about $80.

Time wise, this would have taken me a lot less time than the 4 months it took - but I worked on it as I could and when I could, by myself. I got some friends to help me bring it upstairs and put it back together, but it was mostly done when I could fit in some time.

My son LOVES this and it really does give him so much room!!! Thanks Ana - I really appreciate it!

I had a big empty wall in my den/man cave, so I decided to build a dartboard cabinet instead of just hanging a dartboard on the wall. No plans for this, I just made it up as I went. Measured twice, sketched it out and cut as I went.

I use pine 1x4's for the frame and back. 1x3's for the accessory box, 1x2's for the door frame, and poplar strips for the doors and door braces. The darts are held by 6" long 2x2's with holes drilled.

Wood screws, finish nails, and small brads were used to hold everything together.

The chalkboards are simple MDF's cut and sprayed with chalkboard paint. Overlay hinges are used for the doors, and the dartbord is held on with screws from the back so it can be replaced when needed.

The Alabama A is hand-painted.

Made this one with shelf edges/trim just on the sides. Somehow my top shelf didn't span the width so had to add a little shim on each side but it all worked out! We had all the pallets and used 1x3s for the frame because some of my pallet wood was heavy hardwood. It was not without frustration because I was working with uneven/warped pallet wood but it hits the rustic look.  I am happy with how it turned out. 

I did your same couch but made the back lean in the middle parts 15 degrees. Love your website. I'm 3 years sober and to try to sell this on facebook marketplace.

I combined Ana's plans for Daybed with Storage Trundle Drawers and a Storage Headboard with a Small Hutch.

This is my 3rd daybed with storage drawers. It's such an easy build and gives so much extra space. The entire project took about 40 hours. I used Minwax stain in Classic Grey and three coats of polyurethane. For the drawers, I used 1.5" casters. I drilled a hole through the back of the headboard to feed cords through. Then I put the whole thing in the back of my truck and drove 500 miles for the final assembly. :)  In the provided photos, some of the pieces are flush because I hadn't permanently attached them. 

Modern Farmhouse Dining Room Table (with pocket hole) and 2x4 chairs with plans reposted from morelikehome.net.

Surfed the site for the right plans and dove right in. Thank you for the inspiration all!

easy

I built this easel for my wife who teaches 2nd grade using the plan on this site. I used a jigsaw to make all the cuts which is why some of them are not perfect. All holes were countersunk and covered with wood filler as I have not yet purchased a Kreg Jig. One sample jar of paint was just enough to cover the whole project with 2 coats. Home Depot sells the whiteboard in 2' x 4' pieces for about $10 in my area. The toughest part was getting the holes to line up just right for the bolts that fix the four main pieces together. Some of them I had to use a little bit of force to make fit. The plan was easy to follow and worked well. I added a curtain rod to the top to hang a paper pad from which I bought for about $5. The big whiteboard behind the easel was hung over the existing chalkboard using industrial strength velcro strips. I bought the whiteboard material from Home Depot for $13 for a 4' x 8' sheet (it is actually called a "hardboard panel board". It works very well with dry erase markers and was an easy, cheap way to install a whiteboard over the current chalkboard.

This was my first project building something from this site. I absolutely love it! We didnt add the X's because the miter saw was at my dad's house, which I was kind of sad about, but I think it still looks good. Not too bad for mine and my husbands first build!