Community Brag Posts

Barn Door Console with mango wood top.

Built off the Ana White plans with a few bespoke adjustments.

I liked the lines of the Extra Tall Bar Stools and I changed the plan to fit my needs. I made them 24" to the top of the seat and both stools are constructed entirely out of 2x4s (except the seat, of course!).

Ana's greenhouse plans modified to fit two vintage windows in the front.

My Kid loved his new bed, I made an extra storage for his toys in the space under the bed so he can play.

A great simple & useful project requiring 2 - count 'em - 2 different materials - screws & 2X4's. I would NOT go cheap on the 2X4's. Be careful picking over them and make sure they're as straight as possible. If some are bowed, that's OK. Just use them for the actual shelves, making sure the bow is up. I used bar clamps to hold any warped ones in place before screwing them down.

Kitchen cabinets and shelves in our breakfast nook. Our new kitchen does not have enough storage, so I’m creating my own! A matching set is in the works on the other side of the window.

What's better than an Ana White play kitchen? 2 Ana White play kitchens back-to-back!

Slightly modified, we made 2 play kitchens, turning one into a garage workbench and laundry. We managed to just get the kitchen & garage done for Christmas morning (minus a latch & plexi for the microwave). We later added a window view above the sink, and a table and 3 storage stools to join the two units on one end. In a long mixed-use playroom with little wall-space available, they jut out from the wall, dividing the TV side of the room from the toy storage side.

Dad was excited to help put the garage-side together and bought his little girl some peg-board to hang her tools on, and installed garage lighting. As pull-out drawers cut into the storage space, her "tool cabinet" doors just fold-down. Grandpa sent her a full tool-set with power drill for her new workbench. Big brother helped piece the gas burners together and chose paint colors.

Little miss finger-painted in the garage next to me while I worked on this first woodworking venture, but she was not a bit interested in the contraption until we added the stickers! A local sign vendor we use was so tickled to be involved, he had the stickers printed in under an hour and for just $25 (which saved hours and hours of detail painting)!

Next up: the ana white dream dollhouse (which perhaps we should've started with).

Tilt Out Wooden Trash Bin

After 7 years of our trash can sitting out in the open, my wife decided we needed to do something about it. I saw the plans for this tilt out wooden trash bin, and slightly modified it using tongue and groove for the face panel.

Outdoor collection is the best. Used 2x4's instead of 1x4's for all of the legs and backs. 1x4's for all of the seating areas. 

I used the Hailey Storage Bed (twin) as my inspiration for this window seat.  Built just one of the benches fitted to match the exact width of my window.   I also added trim to the cubbies to make it look more finished.   I bought the foam from Home Depot and covered it with a table cloth I loved but never really used on my table.  I had the baskets and boxes laying around and they give it a nice touch.  I was going to put doors in the center when I started, but liked the look of the open storage, so just trimmed out the cubbies.  

This is my fourth build from Ana's plans and I'm so pleased with how it came out.

A note on finishing - to me the hardest part of any project!  I stained it with minwax Early American and used 2 coats of Spar Varnish over that.   I was very nervous after I put the first coat of stain on as it wasn't the color I thought it would turn out to be.  I toyed with the idea of adding another color over the top, but decided just to leave it overnight and relook at it in the morning.  I'm so glad I did.  It had mellowed significantly overnight and was just the right color.  I added a second coat to try and cover up any of the streakiness, then added the spar varnish (satin finish) and it made it gleam.