Community Brag Posts

Chick Brood Box Enclosure & Steps

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 04/30/2023 - 11:28

We have our new chicks in a 2’x4’ stock tank as a brooder. Since it’s outside on a covered porch, I wanted something to keep predators out, but also to allow our kids to reach in and hold the chicks—they love holding them! I built the 32”x54”x32” enclosure with 2x4s and hardware cloth. The bottom and sides are sealed with wire and the top has a lid that closes securely with a latch on either side. The steps are perfect for our kids to stand on so they can reach in to refill the food and water and pet or hold the chicks.

Comments

Entryway Closet Drawers - Done

Submitted by cdswhite on Sun, 01/01/2012 - 20:28

We're still working on these but I wanted to show an in progress picture. Getting organized is fun! I've got lots more details on my blog if you're interested.

Update: We're all done with the drawers and they are the perfect way to organize and create storage in the entryway. It was a lot work getting them to fit into the closet but well worth it.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$110
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
We'll be painting these white when they're all done.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

sdevost (not verified)

Tue, 09/04/2012 - 11:21

Do you have a detailed how-to for these closet drawers.
I love the cut out portion at the top - and I have been trying to find an affordable alternative to the Ikea Stolmen drawers ($120 for 2 drawers)
If you could perhaps send me some details on materials, sizes, how you did the cut out at the top - that would be great.
Thank you
Stephanie

Farmhouse Storage Bed = Amazing

Submitted by hechoenwi on Tue, 11/19/2013 - 15:18

We bought our first home this year and I wanted a new bed frame for my new home. This plan was perfect for our narrow bedroom in our small 100+ year old home. It fits right in with the character of the home and provides a lot of needed extra storage. I did try to make the drawers but as the instructions state drawers are tricky for beginners! So for now I will leave the drawers off. This bed is very sturdy. No one can believe I made it all by myself!

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Behr Ultra Swiss Coffee with antiqued edges
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Farmhouse Table

Submitted by upsidedown on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 07:21

This version of the Farmhouse Table was made with fir and finished with Varathane Early American stain. It is by far my favorite item in the house! Love it!

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I stained the table with Varathane Early American, and then finished it up with 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic (gloss).
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Shaunnyp

Sat, 02/06/2016 - 08:25

I absolutely love this table.  I have a small kitchen and would like to build it counter height (36 inches...including the casters) measuring 30x54 inches. This will allow me to move the table as needed to get it out of the way or move closer to my stove and use as additional prep space as needed. Any recommendations or suggestions to make a safe, sturdy, movable table would be greatly appreciated.  Also any warnings if you see any potential pitfalls I should be concerned with. Thanks in advance.

Hanging bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 08/14/2019 - 18:32

I used the hanging bed plans to do a hanging bed that's attached on one side to the wall. Then created a ladder and side rail.

Built from Plan(s)

Beginner Farm coffee table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 05/05/2023 - 05:27

I haven't done much wood working but I found Ana White's plan and followed along with her video. Was able to easily assemble this beautiful table in one afternoon. Next step, sanding and finishing. I'm definitely going to try more projects.

Comments

Numbered Cubbie Modified

Submitted by jlandr on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 09:36

This is my first woodworking project ever. I didn't like the numbers in Ana's plan so I changed it up a little for my taste. I also made this to sit on my desk and added felt to the bottom so that it wouldn't scratch the surface when my kids moved it around. It probably should have only taken me an hour but I was having issues with the brad nailer and not nailing straight.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$5 for the furring strips, I had the nails.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
1 coat white spray paint, 1 coat blue spray paint, I used acrylic paint for the letters and then sanded the edges and over the letters when they were dry.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Jordan's Sandbox

Submitted by TeeCeeTx on Thu, 11/21/2013 - 12:48

This is the first project of any kind I have built from the Ana White website. It is for my grand daughter (her 1 year birthday present)I built this project from the large covered sandbox plan. I followed it pretty close to the original plan. Cut the wood at my home and then packed it in my SUV to be assembled at the grand daughter's home 30 miles away. It turned out great. Mom and Dad just need to get the sand out there now and we are set to go...

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100-$125
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
A walnut stain from Home Depot.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Greenhouse, Ontario

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/01/2019 - 14:54

Hi Ana,

I got your plans online as I always wanted to build a small, simple greenhouse - these plans were excellent, easy to follow and the job went way quicker than I thought. I did the work myself, so, even though 2 people would have really helped, some judicious use of clamps did the job.

I used deck blocks and standard deck flooring. This raised the structure up, as the low lying ground has a tendency to flood in the spring melt and I used old metal baseboards and leftover flashing to fasten a metal skirt to the structure to keep animals out. A bit of spaypaint to match the metal to the gravel. The wire shelving was inexpensive and I managed to get all of it from a local Habitat for Humanity store. The door I made from leftover wood from another project and some leftover cuts from the metal siding. I didn't need any special tools, but did use the project as an excuse to buy a Kreg Jig, which turned out to be really useful.

Estimated Cost
$3000
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Some flashing to finish off the edges and leftover hardware for handles.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Ana White

Mon, 09/02/2019 - 10:51

Wow, this is an amazing greenhouse!  Everything about it, from the gravel pad with retaining wall blocks, to the finished door, is just spectacular.  Thank you so much for sharing a brag post!

Brian Famous

Mon, 09/02/2019 - 18:43

This is amazing, which plans did you use?  I'm getting ready to build a greenhouse early next year, and was thinking of doing a pvc pipe structure with the panels like you have, but your post is inspiring me to go with the wood frame.

All cedar bunk bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/11/2023 - 12:26

Loved this plan from Ana. Easy to follow and looks great. 100% reclaimed cedar.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Tryde Media Hutch

Submitted by Anstar on Fri, 01/06/2012 - 13:28

My husband and I worked together to build this project. We built the bottom in November 2010, then built the top hutch in January 2012. The project itself was easy to understand, but holding everything together and getting it square took a bit of work. We do not have a Kreg Jig or clamps, either of which would have been very helpful. However, we were able to complete it using our own best efforts, and we are very pleased with the results.

Estimated Cost
$125
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner
Minwax Polyshades in Antique Walnut
3 coats with old brushes, lightly sanded with steel wool between applications. Next time, I'll use foam brushes. The conditioner was a great choice, I think it really improved coverage.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Anstar

Sun, 01/08/2012 - 10:27

I regularly sit on the front of it when our living room gets too crowded. I'm sure I wouldn't do that with a store bought flat pack tv stand!

Simple Faux Fireplace

Submitted by ksmith311 on Sun, 11/24/2013 - 11:43

I was drooling over Ana's Faux Fireplace plan and it was perfect! Low profile, beautiful, and I knew I had to have it. We had a bunch of leftover 3/4" MDF and didn't want to spend any money on this project so we constructed the Faux Fireplace out of ripped MDF, a leftover 1x6, 1x2 and some quarter round! We made the faux beam top out of 1x4s as a slip cover that mounts to the wall.

We painted it with the off the shelf antique white paint by valspar that I had leftover and some "American Walnut" stain for the top. I painted the wall behind it in black chalkboard paint. This is the first piece of furniture we've made that pretty much serves NO function but I love it sooo much.

I put a basket in the opening with some christmas lights, burlap and chunks of 2x2s (I want some birch logs in there!) and they look pretty lovely when plugged in.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
American walnut for top, Antique white and black chalkboard paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Gray Grandy Console Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/09/2016 - 11:43

The plan was cut down to 6ft.  This took a few weekends, in order for all the parts to come together (waiting for the hardware, waiting for someone to cut track, etc).  

 

Bought a double door hardware set on eBay for $120 (including spacers and bolts), without the track included.  If buying the hardware, consider the size of the hardware you are buying in the overall design! 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Intellectual - Behr Paint (Home Depot)
Walnut Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Codding58

Tue, 02/09/2016 - 14:33

Very nice work!! I was eyeballing this project myself a week ago, yours came out very clean!

Three story American Girl Dollhouse

Submitted by MattS78 on Thu, 09/19/2019 - 12:12

I built this using the plans from here as a base and then made some alterations and added things i saw from different builds and added my taste to a few things. 

Shou sugi ban burning of the pine roof and then a cherry stain.   I added much more trim than the original plans called for. I put baseboard and trim in each sections of every room. This added about 30 hours to the build.  Then the difficulty trying to use painters tape on such small trim. Took about another 5 hours.      I used birch plywood with the intention of staining but only decided to stain the outside and the floors and then polyurethaned the floors to look like hardwood floors.  Touch lights added to each room.    Each room was primed white and then painted a different color per the kids request.   We spent about 700$ on the nicer plywood and all supplies when all was said and done. Another $300 to furnish the rooms.  I would estimate over a hundred hours spent over four months of work on this project.   

Estimated Cost
$700 unfurnished and $1000 furnished
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Cherry stain, shou sugi ban burning of the roof pieces and polyurethaned floors and then primer and paint for interior and exterior trim.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Mothers Day

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 05/17/2023 - 20:20

I made this tall planter for my Mom for Mothers Day. She loves it!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

queen bed frame

Submitted by CoreyS on Sun, 01/08/2012 - 20:39

This was my first build! I do enjoy this bed unfortunatly i found ana's blog just after i had built it. next time i build a bed i am totally building the farmhouse bed to match the farmhouse nightstand i also just built and will post. hopefully ana in her busy life will find time to post a plan for a farmhouse tallboy dresser to match!

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
two coats of minwax mission oak polyshades followed by a coat of minwax semi gloss poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Scrap Lap Desk

Submitted by Marcie89 on Fri, 02/12/2016 - 14:46

 

This lap desk was easy to build, it took me less than 2 hrs.  The painting and finishing...um, a bit longer.  I really hate painting, and filling nail holes is not my favorite thing to do, either.  But overall I am glad I built this little desk, as it will keep all of my beads and jewelry-making stuff handy for when I am sitting in front of the tv at night.  The side storage compartments were omitted to keep it on the lighter side, and the front handle serves no purpose whatsoever, it is purely decorative.  I added my initials on the top, they are just fancy gold stickers I found at the craft store.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$25.00
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Black gloss enamel paint
General Finishes Gel Stain in Prairie Wheat
Semi-gloss polyurethane clear finish
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Rustic Farm House Table

Submitted by Scotto on Mon, 09/30/2019 - 22:00

First Crack at any wood work since high school. All timber used was reclaimed hard wood, hours of

planing,sanding and clamping (its heavy). A few mistakes but that's learning.

Estimated Cost
$300 Australian
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Estapol - Tung oil
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate