Community Brag Posts

I made my first dining table using pocket holes. About a week after I sold it, I ended up having to go to the lady's house and put one of the legs back on it. I quickly realized pocket holes were great for most things, but dining table legs might not be the best. Ever since then, I've been using dowels to reinforce pocket hole joints on table legs. So far it's been a great solution. Here is a video explaining how it works. Hope you like it. Patrick

It took about 2 hours to build it. We have a large family, so we put 2 extra legs on each, just in case. We had problems with the hinges. I think we bought 3 or 4 different hinges before we found something that worked for us. But the end result was wonderful!

Shiplap fireplace and distressed mantle.

Tina

Almost done :)

My husband and I built this together. Well, I helped! It was my first time using power tools. I'm the one who designs and picks out themes/colors and he does the manual labor but I wanted to learn a few things this time.
We modified the Shirley Console table and combined a few features from some of the other console tables. As you can see we modified the front of the drawers. We wanted the table to match our decor but also wanted some of the wood to show. I said, "I wish they made gray stain!" Miniwax does! This was our first experience. It was challenging because it dries so quickly and you are threatened with an uneven look but we love the way it turned out. We also bought pine instead of plywood so i cost a bit more but it was worth it! It also took us a bit longer because this was our first project and we modified the measurements to fit our entryway.
I chose these drawer pulls to match my gray and white damask curtains that hang nearby. I purchased them in brushed nickel from Home Depot for ~$3 each and spray painted them white. When I told people what I was doing I got negative feedback but I think they turned out great! Now to decorate it and make a matching entertainment center!
Also the Kreg Jig was a HUGE help...it really makes the piece look professionally made!! Thanks ana-white.com!!

I based my bed off of the Fillman Platform Bed plans. Just bumped the dimensions up to fit my mattress and added the mid supports. The frame was built using 2x6 boards taken from a fallen barn. I ripped 2 2x6 boards down the center to make the the supports for the slats. My feet are 3 2x6's screwed together and then attached to the frame. Next time I will cut a notch out of the feet so that I can rest the bed on them and then try to find some old lag bolts to attach them to the bed. The frame was put together using a Kreg Jig. I put the Cedar boards on to dress the front and sides up some and to help keep the slats from showing when the sheets were tucked in. My finish is 1 coat of Linseed Oil and 2 coats of Teak Oil.

Let me know if you have any further questions on this build. As soon as I find some doors I will be building a head board for this bed.

When we moved into our new house, we quickly realized the boxsprings for our queen-sized bed were not going to fit up the stairs. So while hubby was busy with his own projects, I made a 2x4 bed frame at 16-1/2" off the ground and built the farmhouse headboard. We like to use the end of the bed for sitting and putting on socks and shoes, so I did not build the coordinating footboard.

I absolutely love the way it turned out and have received so many wonderful compliments. Take about an ego boost!

Cutting took about 1 hour (first use of a radial saw) and assembly took another hour. I applied 1 coat of Minwax Red Oak stain and 2 coats of Minwax semi-gloss polyeurethane sealer.

Being a newby to woodworking, I wasn't sure if I could tackle this build. I saw pictures on your website and decided to give it a try. However, my wife wanted drawers so I made the doors a little shorter in order to add the 4 drawers but keep the height at 36". Thanks for your inspiration. I'm getting more comfortable everyday.
 

After searching the town high and low for a 10" high wooden stool, I decided to make one. Ana had the perfect stool pattern to modify for our needs - A little shorter, a little wider.....et Voila!

It's the perfect height for little ones to reach the taps in the bathroom, as well as helping out in the kitchen from time to time. And, the cedar smells wonderful.

Finished height: 10"
Top measures: 11.25" x 16.5" (2 boards, cut 16.5" long + a space in the middle)
Footprint: 12.375" x 17.375"

I also lined up the rails (instead of staggering them), similar to the Harriet Higher Chair plans. The joint will be weaker, but I prefer the cleaner lines on such a short step stool.

Thanks Ana for the great plans!

This was one of the first projects I've ever built, so I would put it at a beginner level. It's a great, sturdy bed, very simple. The drawers are huge, which is surprising, since you don't realize how much space you gain when you add the drawers until you see how much they store. Thought I'd fill in details that worked for me that I had to figure out. As the plan says, the drawers are on caster wheels and slide directly on the floor, so make sure you have an area rug down if it's going to be on bare wood (especially pine, like this one is on). As another reviewer said, use 2" caster wheels, 12 total. This gives it the right height on a wood floor. You can get those in bulk at a home improvement store. I would recommend a slat system and not just a piece of plywood for under the mattress, as I was warned bacteria and mold can grow when the mattress is not given a way to vent. You can see in the picture, I had a bunch of 2x4 scraps and simply made a slat system out of that. I pocket holed the slats into the front of the bed, so no screws would be showing. I only finished the sides that would ever show, so the entire back of the drawers and bed itself are unfinished. I like the look of the drawers without handles, and they are just as easy to pull out without them. The drawers can get off track easily when being pulled in and out, so be careful when you use them. Otherwise, no problems with the drawers. I used wood glue and cheap drywall screws to attach the drawer bottoms (plywood) to the drawers. If you want to put anything of any serious weight in these drawers, really consider supporting the middle of the drawers on the bottom with some 1x2s or 1x3s, as it is a bit weak in the middle of the drawers. One more thing: I noticed standard dimensions vary slightly between finishing wood (1x12s, 1x2s, etc) and structural wood (2x4 studs), so keep that into account. Things were not flush because the finish wood was scaled larger than the structural wood. This bed is all about the storage underneath, which is great.

I'm a beginner at this, so for the most part I followed Ana's plans to building the Camp Loft Bed with Stairs. I made a few tweaks, including adding a slide to the front, putting the stairs on the other side, raising it by 7" (since there is a toddler bed underneath), and using hemmed shower curtain to create a fort underneath.
I made all the cuts with a miter saw and sanded all the wood down. I then glued and screwed the stairs, platform, and end pieces together. All the wood then got 1 coat of primer and paint. Then on Christmas Eve the bed was assembled in the kids' room. The sanding, priming, and painting took the longest. Cutting it and putting it together didn't take long.
For the railings, I did all screws from the outside to give a stronger hold than the pocket holes, and used 3 3/4" screws for the weigh bearing pieces. I counter sunk all the screws and added buttons to cover them (not yet painted in the photos). I also mounted the 45 degree 2x6 cuts in the 4 weight bearing corners to add extra bracing (not pictured). To brace the slide, I glued and bolted a 4x4 on the front of the bed. The curtains are just 2 off the shelf shower curtains that got hemmed to the correct height, and then were mounted using small teacup hooks. I plan to add an eyehole to each side, so they can be pulled back and hooked open.

I am not a carpenter, I do not even have a tape measure. I got tasked by my leadership dothan class to build a farmhouse table for the academic dream room which is part of the Bright Key Program. Which is being renovated at Honeysuckle Middle School. Found your plans and got inspired. One glitch they wanted this table to be able to sit fourteen chairs. So I had to make a few adjustments like increasing the main boards to twelve foot. Because of your plans, many urban middle schoolers will have a place to get tutored considering cafeteria tables are so expensive. I am a believer of your plans. The positive feedback I received was well worth my time and would not of been a sucess without your plans. I did mine with pocket holes as well. 

We have a 2′x4′ metal furnace cover that takes up a big portion of our dining room wall. To say it is an eye sore would be an understatement! We both love chalkboards, so I decided to make a cover out of chalkboard. Since it still needs to function as a furnace I made a cutout where the vent is. I covered that portion with a tin sheet. It looks so much better!

Learn how to make your own chalkboard paint in any color!