Community Brag Posts

Looking for rustic outdoor table ideas, I came across Ana's website and the Providence Table and benches. When I saw it, I knew this was what we were after. After some more browsing I came across the 4x4 truss beam table and decided to rather go with the chunkier table. Although I’ve done a few woodwork projects, this was the most ambitious to date, especially considering that I only have a few hand held tools.

We live in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa - we work in metric, so all dimensions needed to be converted. Also, our locally available wood sizes are different to timber sizing in the States, i.e. we don't have 4x4 (100mm x 100mm) or 2x4 (50mm x 100mm) available, so it was a bit of a challenge to decide what to go for. In the end I decided to use 75mm x 50mm rough cut treated construction pine. It was cheaper, and I could end up with a REALLY Chunky table if I glued 4 pieces together! In order to do this, I need to amend the plans as if it was made from 6x4 beams.

So I started the process of cutting the 75mm x 50mm timber to rough sizes, gluing the pieces together, sanding the joints, filling the gaps with glue/ sawdust mixture and re- sanding for each member of the table! I took my time with this and did a bit each day after work. It was interesting watching YouTube vids on this build - the guy starts with perfect 4x4 timber pieces, cut them and assemble. For me just to get to the starting point took quite some effort, but I knew I would be very happy with the more chunky look.

Other challenges I did not fully appreciate when deciding on the REALLY Chunky size, was the cutting of these thick pieces of timber using hand held tools and how to join them!! You don’t get very long small drill bits for pilot holes, so ended up using self-drilling screws. Unfortunately the longest length I could find was 120mm (8.66inch) - so I had to counter sink them really deep into the timber - this was quite tricky!

Other things I did were to lower the original design table height as recommended by other builders on this site so I made the table height 750mm (29.5inch). It worked out very well for small children as well for adults (I'm 6ft2). Table length I made 2.4m (approx 8ft). For the table top I used 220mm x 50mm (8.66 x 2 inch) timber, once again due to the restrictions of locally available sizes. I also change the spacing between the legs in order to fit the benches under the table (1600mm opening to fit the 1550mm benches).

For the benches, I once again had to decide what timber sizing to use. I wasn't keen to go through the process of forming 6x4's for each bench member for 2 benches and also felt that it would look just too chunky for the short bench legs. So the design ended up being a hybrid between the providence bench- and the chunkier 4x4 bench design, using 2 pieces of 75mm x 50mm to create 100mm x 75mm (4 x 3.5inch) legs.

Other changes made to the bench design was to make the bench height 450mm (17.7inch), amend the overhangs of the seat, and change the overall length to be able to slide the bench in under the table.

The altered height of the table and benches really worked out well and we sit very comfortably at that table.

We used chalk paint for the finish, but as you can see, we're still deciding on colour choices and final look of the top.

I took a different direction on the doors instead of using the barn doors I used old wooden windows in place of them. 

I built this for a friend as a surprise for his wife.  I used hardwoods and took my time.  I recommend using pre-stain conditioner.  The stain used  is Minwax Red Oak.

I built the children's farmhouse table and 4 storage chairs for my 2-year-old twins.  I followed the plans exactly, except the addition of some minor details using my router:  I gave the table top a nice edge using my Roman Ogee bit, rounded the front and side edges of the seats for comfort using a 1.5" roundover bit, and rounded the inner corners of the back on both sides and the top and bottom of the back rests with a 1/2" roundover bit.  I bought a roll of drawing paper from Ikea in the children's section, and it will be attached underneath using a removable dowel so we can pull a sheet of paper out from under the table for coloring or to use as an easy-cleanup paper cloth if they eat at this table with their cousins!

As stated in my table post, I just wasn't happy with what I was finding in the stores as nothing seamed sturdy nor made out of solid material. So I built a pub table and these stools to match.

I combined the stools from multiple projects and eventually just made my own measurements and mimicked the table construction that I made.

Although more expensive, I used Oak so it is sturdy and will take more than normal wear and tear (as I have three young boys under 10)

I made this coffee table almost a year ago. It has withstood the use and abuse of my five year old and still looks great!! Thanks Ana for the awesome design!

First "big" woodworking project.  A lot of fun and my daughter couldn't be happier 

This was my husband and I's first furniture building exercise. We've been looking at farm tables but the prices were astronomical ($500 to 1,000+)! So, we came across this plan and thought maybe we could do it. And we did!

It took us about a weekend...we have two kids - ages 3 and 6...so we have frequent interruptions...including my daughter spilling my brand new quart of paint...so another trip to Home Depot.

We made some alterations to the plans...to fit our needs.

List of Alterations:
- Moved apron back (and would move it back more if I built again) 1" further.
- Added another stretcher on the bottom so that we could put a shelf there. We will probably add wood to the shelf in the future. Another blogger used a free pallet that he took apart. Seems like a good idea. Also moved the stretchers toward the back so that stools can sit under the table and be out of the way. Our table (as seen in the pictures) is up against a wall...so it made sense.
- Didn't add breadboard - the look was too finished for us.
- Used 1", 2x6 pine boards for two reasons - 1) liked the thinner material. 2) needed a smaller table than then 2x8's would let me do.

Tools:
We did have to buy tools to accomplish this project. My husband has a lot but obviously not enough.
- Purchased a table top miter saw - Harbor Freight - $89 on sale. Our circular saw just wasn't powerful enough (battery operated) and too hard to use.
- Purchased the full Kreg Jit (because it has the clamp mechanism) - $99

Thanks for looking!

Built out of love for my 3 year old and 1 year old daughters. Christmas morning was awesome! We also bought play kitchen pots and pans from IKEA and a couple of play food sets off of Amazon. Had an old push button led light for closets that is inside the oven. It is on a timer set for 30 seconds so the batteries will not drain too fast.

Great plan & project for the kids.

Have always liked sliding door style furniture and once I saw this, I was inspired.  

I built this Kid's Country Bench for my son's play corner in my living room. It was so easy! The hardest part about it was waiting for the finish to dry lol. My 3 year old was able to help with a few things and he absolutely loves it! Thank you so much Ana!

Perfect for our 5 year old! He's too scared to climb Big brother's scary bunk bed ladder. This one is much more to his liking!

My husband is going to be busy now that we've discovered you Ana White! 

I took down a gate for my parents that had been up for over 20 years. I couldn't bear to get rid of the wood. I found these plans http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/rustic-industrial-narrow-bookshelf/, and modified them. I wanted wider shelves with more space in between shelves, and I wanted a steel bar in the back. It took a lot of planing and sanding to get the wood ready and there are challenges to working with wood that has been outside for over 20 years, but nothing beats the look of truly vintage wood. I love the color variations caused by weathering and the rusted screw holes throughout the wood. I got steel bars at home depot, sprayed painted them with rustoleum bronze spray paint, and drilled holes in them with a cobalt drill bit. I used steel wool dissolved in vinegar for the stain and finished off with three coats of polyurethane.

This was my first real build. I used the Kreg pocket hole system and it worked great! With Ana's instructions and the Kreg Jig it went together in a couple of hours! Thanks, Ana for your great site and plans!

My husband and I spent an afternoon making this beautiful headboard. It turned out great and I am so happy about the upgrade to our bedroom.