Community Brag Posts

This is a narrow farmhouse table that I was asked to build for my neighbors. The plan was very easy to follow and didn't take long to do at all. I used 1x12x8' shelving board from the local home improvement center for most of the application. When mating the top together, I used a biscuit joiner, (aside to what the plans called for), for added strength. Also, I remember from years back that you should alternate the "rings" in the lumber to prevent bowing. This gave me a smooth, level table top without using a planer. Using the shelving board made this table very light, I love this table!!

This is my version of the clubhouse bed that i made for my 4yr old son.

Built this garden bench all from recycled fencing materials. I didn't want the wood to go to waste, so I've been reusing all of it on garden and outdoor yard projects.

Thx for the plan Ana. I modified it slightly to make it a bit different but realy loved you plans.

After yet another move (this time to Monterey, CA) and with a baby on the way, it was time to build the girls some big-girl beds of their very own. I was going to need to re-convert their double bed back into its original crib form by September, so in June, I started looking for plans. When I stumbled on Jenny's "Sweet Pea" bunk beds, I knew I'd found a winner! She also made it sound so easy, and I'd only assisted my dad on remodeling projects, never built anything from scratch. But I was familiar with the tools and terminology, so six months pregnant and in a serious nesting phase, I got to work. My hubs helped with the heavy lifting and I had some friends assist with sanding and priming -- many hands do indeed make light work! It took just under a month working four to six hours a day (on average), five to six days a week. I used screws for EVERYTHING, as this baby has to come apart easily for future moves (and does it ever -- Jenny's not kidding when she says you can have it up and down in ten minutes!). I'm most proud of the roof -- I had originally planned on finding real cedar shingles, but those babies are expensive! So I came up with idea of using door shims. A pack of 12-15 is only a couple bucks, and it took about 24 packs to cover the entire roof. I found some light wood trim and glued/screwed it to the edges, slathered on some pink paint, and voila! A wood shingle roof! The whole project ended up costing nearly double what I'd originally budgeted, but I'm so happy with it and my girls love it so much that I don't really care. Plus, if I'd had this baby custom made, it would probably have cost quadruple (at least!) what I paid in building materials. Let me know if you have any questions -- I'm happy to share what (little) I know :)!

Rocket Bookcase

Built by Boatman

I love Ana's farmhouse doll bed. But I've made a couple beds/cribs, and I know how tedious it can be to make the slats, so I cheated and used a 1x6 across the headboard instead of the slats and a 1x3 (turned lengthwise) for the footboard. :) It was a gift for my daughter's friend who is using it for a stuffed animal, so we made it more narrow as well. Details on the changed dimensions can be found on my blog.

This was my first project ever and I'm so excited how well it turned out!! However, I did modify the length and height for my space. The table is 40" long and 33" tall. The finish is Benjamin Moore Tawny Day Lily (awful name) with their high gloss wood finish. Thank you Ana!! You made this project seem easy and now I'm excited to build more!

I similarly was looking for something to store laundry baskets underneath and didn't want to shell out $500+ for pedestals that were less functional. Without being particularly handy, this was a relatively easy DIY project that turned out great. Adding the baseboard trim made a big different in the overall look and the dark paint to match our cabinets helped in pulling it all together. We made the height 12" (instead of 11") for the storage component and cut the width by 2 inches to allow room for the baseboard trim to wrap around the side. Otherwise it was built the same as the original design without the extra trim.

Rustic farmhouse using lap-siding on 3/4” plywood for the top.

Finished our tidy up table! A couple of tweaks: I didn't want to kreg jig the boards together because I have a tendency to split 1x's when using a lot of joins. I tried drilling from below, but the 2x2 furring strips were so soft that I couldn't get my warped 1x6's to suck down without the screws popping through, even when changing to 1 1/4" ones. So, I countersunk two holes on each end of each board, and used 3/8" buttons to fill them to provide a decorative element. I LOVE THEM! Not only are all my boards flush, but the top is now so pretty. I secured the middle by screwing in from below with 2" screws, but since I didn't need to make them so tight to get my boards flush they no longer popped out. I hope that makes sense.

Also, the sides are pretty wobbly without the trundle in there, so my husband suggested adding L brackets to each corner. Success! It's now solid as a rock. We screwed in from the outside and filled with more buttons. For those of you who don't like the raised look, they also have flat button hole plugs. They take stain so much better than wood putty.

Lastly, I chose 1 5/8" casters that move in all directions. Bad idea. It gives the proper 2" height, but makes the trundle difficult to maneuver. Going to try and find some fixed-side one-way casters to replace them. Other than that, it's fantastic!

Started off as the rustic farmhouse bed, but I couldn't help adding bits to it - dentil moulding, panels on the headboard and footboard.

I saw the plans for this project and decided I wanted to do something of the sort. I tweaked the plans a bit and made it longer and took out the drawer. My favorite part about it is Annie sloans chalk paint. Look into it, it's great stuff. 

I had some left over pallets from another project I was doing and decided to make some recycled wood planter boxes to liven up our decking area. The whole project only took a few hours to make both boxes and used entirely reclaimed pallet wood aside from the two end pieces.

I got tired of the aluminum framed bunk beds in my kids room, and wanted to build something they can enjoy for years to come.

My 7 year old didn't have the luxury of one of our dogs jumping up on his bed, as he was on the top bunk, and my wife and I didn't interact with him as much as we would have liked during his reading time prior to bed.

Only one thing to do....build the boys some beds. Although they have a little less room in their bedroom, they have their own individual beds and storage nooks.

In an effort to reduce wasted space, I took a similar page out of birdsandsoap's book by hinging the footboard to create easy access to the void under the slats.

The head and footboards were 'tiled' by simply cutting 1x2 and 1x3 pieces and attaching them with wood glue.

Between the sanding, staining, and poly coats, it took about a week (on and off) to complete the set, but overall am very happy with the finished project.

Only 1 bed is included in the pics, as the other one is identical.

Handcrafted amish side table. Easy to do