Community Brag Posts

We just moved to a farm and luckily the house has a wood shop! So we chose to do this farm house table as our first build at our new house. It was so much fun....and it was a great project for my husband and I to work on together! Total working time was about 10 hours, that did not include the time it took for the stain to dry and the poly to set. I am incredibly impatient and probably applied the poly over the stain too early, but with a project like a "rustic farmhouse table", the imperfections from my haste go unnoticed. Next build: barn doors.

Yes we are RENTERS, and yes, we sneakily “REMODELED” a tropical island style outdoor room, with pallets!

Modified Grandy Console

This is a base loft bed which was my first project. I used raw pine for everything, and then stained. I added the flip top desk, and cubbys on the back wall as well for more storage. But then one of friends had an old play ground set, which he was selling at a ridiculously low price! Due to the pool and BBQ island however, it did not make sense to put these in the back yard. SO, I decided to take down the ladder and give him a rock wall! Both my son and daughter absolutely love it! I am now going to build the platform on the foot of the bed for the slide. More to come!!!! ;)

This was my first ever build, I had a blast! I have always wanted to work with wood but never knew where to start. We have 7 children and we have gone threw so many beds and wasted so much money over the years on cheap beds. I wanted to build something that was sturdy and something that would last. Thanks to Ana White I found these plans. My husband showed me how to use the tools and I got to work. We're a military family so we move every 1 to 3 years, so I had to make some adjustments so it could be taken apart and moved over and over again. Thank you Ana White for these plans and so much more. You have been such an inspiration, if it wasn't for you and your site I would've never have found the motivation and courage to start building.

X Farm house table - distressed grey.

My husband and I built this together over the course of three months. We would grab an hour here and there when we had the time.

I am notorious for my numerous "projects", but my husband is so patient and he usually indulges my curiosity. We both learned so much building this, and even though he feigns indifference, I can tell that my husband is just as proud as I am of the end result. We are absolute beginners and my critical eyes can find many imperfections, but I can't help but be amazed that we actually built this thing - this is huge for us!!

We plan to build the rest of the wall system eventually (piece by piece), but I couldn't wait to share.

Thanks Ana for giving us so much of yourself!!

P.S: Lumber wise you get what you pay for - even if you are painting, go for the higher quality plywood and craftboard. The price premium is well worth the frustration it will save you - especially if you are a beginner like us.

I know this is a pretty basic build but I still wanted to share it.  I used pine for the entire piece.  It took longer to finish this piece than to build it haha.  The finishing process consided of a pre-stain condiitoner, antique walnut gel stain, and several coats of toner.  

I needed an outdoor table and thought this design would look lovely on my patio. I used 2x8's for the table and bench tops, which meant I couldn't run them through my 6" jointer; so I had to plane them as they came from the store. This resulted in a fair amount of sanding once I assembled the tops with a kreg jig and glue. Plugged the pocketholes  and used an outdoor deck stain for protection. The stain over the plugged pocketholes looked interesting enough that I almost used those sides for the exposed tops, but ultimately decided on the cleaner finish. The 4x4 legs and apron are in a black matte exterior paint, and I used a 1 5/8" forstner bit for the umbrella holes. It's a fun project, and assembly doesn't take too long at all. My patio is now a great place for a morning cup of coffee while reading the paper and has already become the spot for neighborhood gatherings.

For Mother's Day this year, I decided to completely redo what we call our "front room" for my wife. Before the weekend, it was unorganized, colorless, and boring. We decided to start the project with new paint, which my wife picked out. I got some old windows from a thrift store, and we decided the ledges would flank one of those windows and we'd basically transform the entire wall.

The ledges were a blast to build (my wife even helped a bit!) and we're super happy with the way they came out!

My husband and I built the 10 dollar ledges to use for book storage in our nursery. I love how they allow you to display the books as well as store them. This is the second time we have used this plan for wall decor in our house, and our fifth build overall from one of Ana's plans. I love all the fun options! 

For the small size, we only needed three boards so it was inexpensive and they came out great. 

I took the original plan and tweaked it to have the X's on the sides to go along with the Weatherly Outdoor Sectional I made. Also, added the top ledge to finish it off.

Cost was less than $20 just as the plan said. Use fence pickets and furring strips to save money!

This was my first wood working project. I made this bunny Easter basket for my son's first Easter. Everyone loved it. I can't wait to try other projects!

Industrial chandelier for our dining room made from black iron pipe pieces from Lowes and some leftover black walnut scraps. It was a sometimes frustrating design-as-you go project that required loads of help from my electrical engineer husband. Love how it finally turned out!