We modified Ana White’s excellent Mud Kitchen plans, adding a third section and scaling the whole thing slightly larger to be a better size for our 4 and 6 year old grand daughters. It was so much fun to make and accessorize!
We made this a bit taller then the plan. But everything worked out well. It was our first project. I would NOT recommend this as a first project. Also, wipe the stain off quickly. We let it sit way too long and it came out very dark. It took us a long time to build because we both work. And, Home Depot didn't cut miters so we had to get a neighbor to do it.... fyi
I love it though.
These nightstands span the entire wall of our master bedroom. My husband's side features a mini-fridge, whereas mine has a space for an ottoman that I have yet to buy (or make?). It is a combination of the "Modern Nightstand" and the "Parsons Desk".
I saw the plans for this nightstand and loved it! It was exactly the piece of furniture I was looking for to use as an end table. I decided to stain the top and paint the bottom. The outside is a greenish-teal color and the inside is a light, fun yellow. I also submitted this project to Canvas Corp Brands' Blog and they published it! See the blog post here: http://blog.canvascorpbrands.com/diy-end-table-painted-with-tattered-angels-paints/
Doing the whole set of rustic coffee/end tables 1st one done! Thanks for the plan!
I altered the plans to fit a twin mattress. It’s a bonus sleeping area on the porch. My second project. I’m a 69 year old female and enjoying the building.
Lou Ann
This was my first project! WIth some guidance from my husband, we were able to complete this during naptime (minus paint, of course). It was a fun project and I can't wait to try a different one! (Not sure why it looks so crooked in this picture! It looks nice and even in person.)
My wife saw something like this on Pinterest and desperately wanted one. The one she saw was hexagonal in shape. We didn't need as many swings so we went with just a plain square shape. We used 6x6s for the legs and posts across the top and used 4x4s for the angled support pieces. We built the swings using the plan from this website. All the materials can be picked up at the blue and orange stores. However when it came to the springs for the swings, the blue store was 1/3 of the price of HD. The legs are 12' long and buried 4' under the ground and cemented in for strength. Luckily I am retired military and was able to rent an auger for 1/2 the price of HD or the blue store. You could do it by hand but it saved us hours and lots of back pain. We found our dimensions for the size we wanted and spray painted dots on the ground where the posts were going to go. We dug the holes and stuffed the 6x6s in them. Using a post level we made sure they were plum. We braced them and added the quickrete and left them to setup over night. The next day we had to make sure all the tops were level with each other. This is where having some knowledge of physics paid off. I took clear tubing and screwed it above the height that I wanted on one post and then screwed the other end to another post. Fill it with water until the water level on the first post is where I wanted it (8 feet high) and it will automatically fill it level on the other end. There is a picture of this above. Water will always level itself out. I had to do this because my yard is at a slight down hill grade. We marked it and cut the tops off to make it level. After attaching the 6x6s on the top with 8" lag bolts it was time to paint. After painting was done we built 3 swings from Ana's plans. We shortened them by 6" to give room to walk between the legs and the swings. All in all it was a great project that only took two dedicated weekends. My wife still has to paint the swings though.
Wed, 05/27/2015 - 07:42
How did you attach the 6x6's to the top? Is it a miter cut at 45 degrees and then put together with the lag bolts. I'm kinda confused. Thanks.
Wed, 05/27/2015 - 22:38
It sounds and looks like the top 6x6s are mitered and sit on top of the end of the vertical posts. I'd say at least one lag bolt each way to hold the mitered corner together and then at least one in each piece down into the vertical to hold it in place.
Sun, 07/19/2015 - 16:26
I have looked at several versions including the hexagon pergola's, but this is exactly what we want. Do you have plans that you can email me? [email protected]
Sun, 04/19/2020 - 12:33
If you recurved plans can you please send to me?
[email protected]
Sun, 04/19/2020 - 12:33
If you recurved plans can you please send to me?
[email protected]
Wed, 04/29/2020 - 16:18
I was looking for material list and plans if you have any please send to [email protected] thanks
Mon, 04/27/2020 - 10:24
WOW, LOVE!!! This is simply gorgeous! What a warm and welcoming addition to your yard. And thanks for sharing your method of finding level for your posts on your sloped yard. I absolutely love it!
Thu, 10/22/2020 - 06:53
Love this, can you please email me the plans @ [email protected]
Fri, 03/26/2021 - 05:58
This is beautiful. Would love to see the plans for this. How small can it be made?
Hello! I used the plans for the Farmhouse Potting Bench and modified them to make a standup desk. This has been awesome for making a simple but effective desk during the quarantine.
Tue, 07/14/2020 - 07:10
This is great! I was thinking of modifying the potting bench plans as well, to build a kitchen unit. My stove recently bit the dust, and seeing as I never use the oven anyway, I'm hoping to build a convection plate cooking unit to put in the old stove's place. I'll probably pop some doors onto it and have closed storage underneath.
I wanted to get my nasty pot scrubbers out from behind the kitchen faucet, so I thought this was an ideal solution. I substituted the paper towel rack for a length of vinyl rain gutter. I cut a piece of a baking cooling rack for the bottom of the rain gutter, so the wet pot scrubbers would not sit in dampness. I also made the rain gutter removable, because I knew it would get nasty and need to be washed occasionally.
kuyaLars
A few years ago our family vacationed in Watercolor, on the northwest Florida coast. We loved the house we stayed in so much when we returned home we put our house up for sale so we could build a home similar to the one we stayed in. One of the features we loved so much was the large covered front porch and most of all the swing bed it showcased. My wife spent every morning and night that week relaxing in that swing. I promised my wife then that I would make sure got her own swing. Thanks to Ana White, she was back in her (new) swing last night.
I began with the "Large Modern Porch Swing" plan and made some changes. I wanted to use a twin size mattress so I increased the size of the swing's base. Also, because the mattress was 6" I lifted the arms and back. The arms are the biggest and best change I think. I had seen someone else do similar arms, but I they used an 1x12 I think. I wanted a heavier look, so I used a 2x10.
Wed, 07/17/2013 - 13:56
Do you use a regular twin mattress? What do you do when it rains?
A few weekends ago, I went into our tool house to get my bike out so I could ride to work, and I had to remove so many obstacles, that I was too late to ride to work, and as a result, boiling mad. Several of the objects I had to move out of my way were my kids bikes that don't have kick stands, which my kids just haphazardly dump on their sides on the floor of the shed.
I had had the idea to build a bike rack out of spare 2x4s for the kids' bikes for a while, but this incident cemented my resolve to finish it quickly.
I had some scrap 2x4s and 2x6 wood left over from another project, which I used to compose my bike rack. It has 4 slots for 4 bikes.
I did some light sanding to prevent splinters, but I did not apply any finish because of the way it was going to be used and it would not be exposed to the elements.
It took very little time to put together. If I had more claps, I could have done it more quickly.
If you are interested in making something that looks just like mine, stop by my blog to get the details.
This was a fun and relatively easy weekend project. Shaping the legs and getting the rounded header and footer were the only challenging parts. A good stretch project for the novice DIYer.
We built this fireplace where nothing existed before. The instructional video was very helpful. We are so proud of how it turned out.
Jim and Susie Jacob
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 19:20
Hello! I’m wondering if you think this could be built as a temporary piece that could be moved? I live in apartment and wouldn’t want to leave something like this behind after spending time and money to build it. Maybe if I built in some removable access panels (a few of the slats?) to be able to attach it to studs (and later remove it) after building the entire piece. Thoughts? TIA!
I'm just starting out. I built this from scrap wood I had laying around. I followed the plan except for the table top. Here I used a 2x6 that I cut on the miter saw, and used bowties to help give the middle more strength.
My daughter needed a step stool to reach the sink in our bathroom. I simplified the jigsaw cuts for this design to accommodate my learning curve. :) I used leftover plywood for the sides and 1x6s for both steps because it was what I had on hand in my garage. It was fun to make and is something we use every day!
built by Instagram: @sawdustandperfume
built to be used in an buisness office that a former cattle rancher conducts buisness.
My first Ana White project. My friend Shelley and I are RN's, and she got me hooked on woodworking. I started with cushions from Lowes ( in the sizes that you recommended)to see if I loved the sectional for a few years. I loved it so much I decided to have custom Sunbrella fabric ones made. Even though the custom ones were more expensive, it has been worth it. They go perfect with my California Mission style home. Now I want to add the armless one and make it a U-shape. I did add a piece at the bottom back of each sofa to hold the cushions in. The seat cushions would slide out the back when sitting on the sofa. I made the coffee table to match. Our family loves it!
We have been looking for a TV console for the last couple of years, but couldn't find anything we liked. My husband said, "Why don't we build it ourselves?" We found the Simplified 8' Barn Door Console plans! The rest is history! We LOVE this console. And we loved making it together!
Janet Pulleyn
These built-in bookshelves were my first project, and were loosely based on the Willy bookshelf plans, although I changed the dimensions, set them on a 2x4 base, and added trim to the sides and molding on top.
Sat, 08/11/2012 - 05:58
hello,
Just wondering how the sides and middle part are built. They look like thicker than 1/2 in.Is it a trim or a 1x2? or did you use some 2x4 too?
I am looking at building a bookcase too but i wanted something more massive than 1/2 in. like yours.
Thanks
Great job!! looks awesome
Tue, 08/21/2012 - 05:31
I made the two bookshelves separately so I could move them in my house easier. Each has 1x12 sides (so 3/4" thick), and and that's 1x2 trim over the side and middle.
Thanks!
I was wanting long, skinny end tables for my couch and when I came upon the spa bench plan I knew it was perfect length and size for what I wanted. I only altered the plans by making it taller to fit my couch. This was my second build and I learned a lot through the process so these are not perfect but I love the imperfections. I also didn't like the first stain that I put on the tables and when I tried taking it off my sander made weird marks but it gave it a more rustic look which I ended up loving. (Which I could never recreate on purpose)
