Community Brag Posts

After seeing benches like these on a wedding blog, I really wanted to build my own. It was a super easy project, and really cheap! Here's what you need:

• 2 – 2x6x8′ boards. They cost about $3 each at Home Depot.
• Screws, sandpaper and stain.

Cut List:
3 – 2×6 @ 47″
4 – 2×6 @ 16″

That’s it! I decided how long I wanted my bench to be (which was 47" long by 16" tall). Then, I cut out my pieces. I decided to do 45 degree angle joints on the ends, as opposed to having a flat edge exposed on the sides. I had to use my table saw to get the 45′s on the legs and two flat boards. This was very effin’ scary. Using my Kreg jig, I drilled holes in both of the flat boards that sandwich the tall center one. I offset my holes so that the screws wouldn’t hit each other. You can see in the picture that I accidentally drilled holes in my center piece too. Builder fail. That side will just have to face the back ;)

Attach your 3 top boards together. Then screw in your legs. I decided not to countersink and fill, kind of because I like the industrial look, but mostly because I’m lazy. Then you just sand that sucker up and voila! You’ve got a gorgeous bench perfect for any home. I decided to get a little fancy with my finishing and do a two-tone stain. It took about an hour to do the two colors and not drip on everything, as opposed to the 15 minutes one color would take. I think the extra time was definitely worth it!

This piece was inspired by Ana’s plans and built as a collaborative project with my son.  The stock was all salvaged from a century+ old railroad depot on the University of Idaho campus that was marked for demolition.  The green and cream boards were the ceiling of the depot, and the unfinished stock came from the flooring, which was 1” tongue and groove red fir.  The first agricultural crops, forest products, and settlers of the region (North Idaho, Eastern Washington) flowed through that terminal.  This piece, therefore, is iconic of the regikn’s rough-hewn beginnings and stands as a reminder of its important past.

Now that we've got two kids in school, the previous system of storing school papers just wasn't going to work (see pic below). I used the plans on Ana's site as a guideline and made the letter bin to fit my space. I decided to also make it a holder for the mail and all our keys.

This was made used all leftover wood hanging out in the garage. Luan was used for the letter bin, and strapping (1/2" pine) was used for the mail holder. I spray painted black and then painted it a creamy white, the color of our house trim. I distressed a little bit and then added the hooks. I hope it can stand the test of time.

I also created a build video here: https://youtu.be/h_oEu908-iI

built from Ana White plans for my son and daughter in law

I first saw this workbench and hutch on Ana's website, but didn't commit to the project until I saw them in person, as part of a model home that had been decorated by local Pottery Barn design services. I was sold. I built this for roughly $1900.00 less than PB charges. It was an easy weekend build for a guy with less than one years' experience in this arena.

We built this bed way back in April for my birthday, but hadn't gotten the bedding quite right until now. We love this thing and it is sooo sturdy. I wish I would have taken more time on finish work to get the paint just right. I will probably repaint it in the future but for now it is a beautiful and necessary addition to our bedroom.

Thanks so much for the plans Ana, this was our first furniture project besides shelves and boxes. It definitely gave us the confidence to continue building and even to start creating our own plans and furniture designs.

** updated photos on 11/21

I essentially followed the Rogue Engineer plans exactly with the exception of making the table on 50 inches long to help it fit better in my living space. I also opted to not add the lower support struts that would be perpendicular to the table top. I felt like that were bulky and were necessary for support. I may choose to go back and add them though. A miter saw and Kreg Jig are essential to get this project done with ease. I gave it a rough sanding to help keep the rugged texture of the original woodand maintain the reclaimed look. Feel free to post any questions.

• Hand built Husky Farmhouse Table, plans from Ana White adding a hideaway butterfly leaf

My most *favoritest* project ever. I modified the Braden plans like crazy to fit my family's needs for the sunroom/mudroom. I kept the bottom open so the it woould allow for baskets to slide it easily (which makes sweeping inside a snap). Also, I added some braces about midway down to hold the coat hooks for my 3 and 5 year-old. I had them show me how high they could reach and I just placed the braces there.

I literally used up whatever I could find in my garage for this project. We had a TON of scrap wood in varying thicknesses and lengths so I just used that. The only thing that I had to buy for this project was some 1x2 to finish off the trim.

Can't wait to get hardware on and style her up pretty! Will post final pics as soon as I do. :) I've been DYING to get something up on Ana's brag board and I can't wait to keep 'em coming.

We needed TV and game system storage for our vacation cabin and didn't want to spend a lot. This is perfect!

This is a square farmhouse table I built for my dining room.  It is just under 5ftx5ft size.  The top is 6 planks that I cut down from 2x12 down to 10inch sized planks.  Then routered each plank with a 1/8 roundover router bit.  I made the bench big and wide since I wanted it safe and stable so my toddlers don't fall off.  Lots of sanding since this is all kiln dried construction lumber.  I sprayed varathane poly, water based, and loved it.  I put 4 coats on of semi gloss, came out perfect.

This was a fun little project. I made the bench to be placed in our foyer to sit down and put your shoes on and off. 3” foam and fabric makes for a comfy bench.

For this project, we combined plans from the Farmhouse table and also the Tryde coffee table. We have a smaller dining room so we had to modify the plans to fit our ideal size (44"wide x 62"long). I did not want the stretcher underneath as it would take up leg room and it is very sturdy without it. We used 2x12s for the tabletop & 2x8s for the breadboards. We used 4x4 posts for the legs and 2x4 for all the other support pieces. We constructed the table in 2 pieces: the frame and then the table top so it would easier to move into place then do the final assembly. This was our first time building furniture and first time using the Kreg Jig. I think the Kreg was easy to use and worth the investment. Overall, we were surprised at how well it turned out and will look to Ana for more plans in the future!

We love our farmhouse king bed, but that meant that our old side tables didn't fit anymore! (our old bed was a queen)

I really like the mini farmhouse bedside table, but the open storage would be problematic with the dog, so I added full length sides and a door.

The top of the tables is a board we found at my husband's grandparents farm, and the pulls are from some old tack. The metal loops were on some old horse harness, and the leather was cleaned up from the same piece. I was able to drill a hole in the leather and then pre-dill the doors to accept post screws from home depot.

I love these tables!

I used Anna's plans, but I wanted to reduce the weight of the bed so I replaced the 2 x 10's with 1 x 8's and I made the cross slats 1 x 4's face up. The 1 x 4's also create a platform to put your bed on so no need for ply wood or box springs. This is still very sturdy, but about half the weight as the original plan.

Thanks Anna for the great ideas and plans! Now I am on to the farm table, wish me luck!