Community Brag Posts

Idaho History Halltree

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/27/2018 - 15:48

A piece of Palouse/Moscow/North Idaho History!

 

Hand-crafted by father and son from reclaimed materials native to the region, this is a one-of-kind piece of furniture of both substance and significance.  The stock was sourced from the railroad depot that stood on the University of Idaho campus in Moscow for well over 100 years.  The crops, forest products, and people of the Palouse passed through its doors and across its floors from the early days of westward expansion and settlement.  Marked for demolition in 2017, the depot yielded lumber that had been harvested from old growth forests native to our region since time immemorial.  The trees that produced the lumber-turned-dept-turned-halltree stood tall, proud, and mature at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

 

The halltree’s back panel and trim are crafted from the depot’s tongue and groove flooring, and still bear the marks of their original milling.  The remainder of the piece is constructed from the ceiling planks.  Twice painted during the course of the depot’s sentinel watch over the commerce and culture of our region, the cream surface coat is yielding to the forest green base layer, giving the finish a depth and patina that testify to its age.  The history of the Palouse literally passed over, under, and between every square inch of wood in this halltree!  It now stands ready to serve a family for generations to come while reminding them of our pioneer past.

 

Dimensions:  39” x 15-1/2” x 78-1/2”

Estimated Cost
$40 for screws, finish nails, glue, hinges, and coat hooks. I sourced the lumber for free.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
The back panel and trim were red fir tongue and groove flooring that was heavily scarred from a century of foot traffic in a railroad depot. It had to be surface planed to allow the color of the wood beneath to show through, but not so deep as to completely remove the milling marks and oxidation. The rest of the boards were pulled from the ceiling and show layers of white and green paint in varying states of disrepair. I applied Danish oil to fresh cut bare edges, then sprayed satin finish water-based polyurethane over the entire piece.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Twin Farmhouse Bed - A Beachy-ish Version

I decided to start on the project of converting my daybed to a twin farmhouse bed five days before I had a house full of company - genius! The hardest part was finding the 4x4 posts at the Blue store and deciding what length of screws to use. It's hard to say how much time I spent on it, as I was finishing up 46 other projects during the same time, but I would guess the build took about ten hours, and the finishing maybe three? This finish really is one of the easiest I've done to date. A quick coat of white/cream semigloss, another quick coat of turquoise semigloss, an hour of light sanding and wa-lah! I apologize for the poor photo quality - I borrowed a friend's camera lens to get wide-angle shots in my teeny guest room and the lens apparently wasn't made for my camera - whoops!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I believe the white was Mascarpone by Benjamin Moore and Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore. A single light coat of each, then distressed lightly with a sanding block. I didn't use a sealer, but that may change if I decide the raw finish isn't good enough. It seems to be great right now!
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

dananryan

Sun, 08/14/2011 - 08:57

I absolutely LOVE the finish! Once I figure out which of Anna's beds I want to build, I will try to copy your fabulous finishing job. Thanks for sharing.

Spring

Sun, 08/14/2011 - 16:30

I love the beachy look. You did an amazing job. I have a day bed that I hate and I'm thinking this is a perfect solution. Thanks fir the inspiration.

Miasmom (not verified)

Mon, 08/15/2011 - 08:41

I love the finish! I'm making one of Ana's beds for my daughter and may copy your finish technique, but use a pink (her favorite color) instead of blue.

I also noticed that you used the bedframe for the siderails instead of making them. Did you just screw them in to the posts?

designdoctor

Mon, 08/15/2011 - 15:53

This is beautiful! I have a non-building related question. Wherever did you find the bedding? I love the red and turquoise floral. I've been looking for fabric like that and haven't found anything. Thanks

Guest (not verified)

Mon, 11/21/2011 - 15:03

I was curious to know what your mattress is on for the trundle? I will be attempting the same thing, but was going to put the mattress in a wooden box on castors. Yours looks more friendly! Thanks for your time. Excellent job.

Trish

exuma_momma

Fri, 02/10/2012 - 09:01

Hey Amanda... this is beautiful. I'm hoping to try this type of finish on a bed I am working on now. How does it seem to be holding up without a sealer? You didn't use any primer, correct?? Thanks. Really beautiful work.

Linda Selfridge (not verified)

Sat, 02/18/2012 - 07:29

I love the color so I went to the paint store bought palladian blue) by Benjamin Moore but it sure didn't look your color. It was more of a weathered gray look. Which was nice too but definitely not the same. Are you sure that you used palladian blue?

winter_baby26

Mon, 04/23/2012 - 11:50

Absolutely beautiful, and such an inspiration. I think the color is stunning, and the weathered look you created is just perfect. It goes so well with the bedding too. I would love to have the exact same thing in my own house!

X Console Table

Submitted by raybotelho on Sat, 09/07/2013 - 07:14

I have built this console quite a few times. Always trying different finishes. Love all of them. Have to say I always skip the X on the sides, I just get lazy towards the end :) Im in the process of building a couple more, will try to add the X to it this time...we will see :)

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Just layering lots of different colors.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Benchwright Console Table

This was the first attempt at using the vaseline method to distress furniture and my wife loves it.  I made the table top out of scrap 2x4's.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Heavy Cream in eggshell and Minwax Paste Wax.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

2x4 outdoor table

Submitted by AJofTX on Wed, 09/14/2022 - 06:51

Built the 2x4 outdoor out of scrap and discount Home Depot wood. The stain was $.50 from the oops paint rack at Home Depot.

Comments

Michael's Bug Bakery

Submitted by lorishad on Tue, 08/16/2011 - 18:12

We let my son choose whether he wanted a modern store bought play market or whether he wanted help Mommy and Padre (my dad) build one for his 3rd birthday present. We used magnetic primer so he can change the name whenever he wants and added some trim and some tea towel curtains! He loves it!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Rustic Table

Submitted by mr.robert on Mon, 09/09/2013 - 18:20

My spin on the rustic table. Used staircase spindles for legs, cut the side boards to accommodate. Rest of plan was pretty much the same. Wife wanted a big table, thats what she got.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Vintage Simple Bench Nightstand

I loved the country gray paint, so stayed with that. But my bed is one of the farmhouse beds and needed it to be a little taller. It turned out beautiful and have already made a second to match! 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$25
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum's country gray and water based sealer
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Tilt out garbage cabinet

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/01/2019 - 16:06

Pine box with walnut top and drawer faces. Behr paint on the box and tung oil finish on the walnut. 

Estimated Cost
$70
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr paint and Fromers Tung Oil
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Loft Bed for Teenager

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/27/2022 - 19:58

Designed a loft bed for teenage son. We used iKea shelving cubes for stairs/storage. The boards(flooring) are pine boards stained a dark brown. The other wood is painted black. The "headboard" is actually the bookcase shelf from his desk.

Comments

my IKEA knock-off Expedit 4-cube bookcase

Submitted by cbrowan on Sun, 08/21/2011 - 11:40

I had been eying the IKEA Expedit 4-cube bookcase and figured I could build it for cheaper and have lots of leftover plywood for some other projects. I was right!

Estimated Cost
$40 (but left enough wood to build a console table and flat bookcases)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
2 coats of Valspar chocolate brown, eggshell
1 coat of Minwax Polyurethane, satin
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Storage Shelf with hooks

Submitted by REASMOM on Thu, 09/12/2013 - 12:16

I built this shelf for my mudroom. I modified this plan to fit my space, it is 36 inches wide. I also used 3 - 1x3" pine boards for the top. Love this plan so much that I've made two more to give away as gifts!

Estimated Cost
$50 (not including stain and polyurethane)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax stain in Early American and 3 coats of Minwax Water Based, Oil-Modified Polyurethane (Satin).
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Beauty Storage Cabinet with Sliding Mirror Door

Submitted by charms on Wed, 11/18/2015 - 08:39

I built the beauty storage cabinet with sliding mirror door from Ana White's website.

Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Queen shim bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 01/05/2019 - 17:44

Queen bed with shim head and foot boards

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$80-100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Lounger Sofa by Mark

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/07/2022 - 09:11

Just wanted to share the results of the sectional I built with your plans. 

I’m new to woodwork, newly retired, built these for my daughters, with a twist, she wanted a lounger sofa, hope you like. 

lounge sofa

outdoor lounge sofa

Comments

Farmhouse Bench - fox.and.hammer

Submitted by tfox on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 11:27

I made a few changes to the Farmhouse Bench plans as I wanted to match the design of the table. Most notably, I lengthened the seat boards to replace the breadboard end caps. This made my total length 67″, the perfect size to fit under the table if needed. The width was changed to 15″ and the height remained 18″.

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Special Walnut stain with Minwax Wipe-On Poly finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

suze (not verified)

Sun, 08/28/2011 - 11:05

loving your finish! Did you not use a pre-stain conditioner?

Bed Frame

We haven't had bed frame since we moved from Florida and as we now have our own home, it was time to get one. My friend gave me headboard they had no use, so I just had to build rest of a frame.
Notice that we are middle of the hole house renovation so we have no trims, walls are lacking paint etc :) I still need to make night stands and closet for us :) Let see how they come out.

Follow our projects and life middle of the mountains in my blog :)

http://ourleaningtree.wordpress.com/diy/bed-frame/

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
40$
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used dark walnut stain, but only one layer.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Snowflake

Submitted by Kyjo5 on Sat, 11/21/2015 - 21:13

Followed the plans for the Easy monogram snowflake, painted it with pewter gray, and added a set of battery powered led lights to the back.  Thanks for the plans Ana fun build and now everyone wants one. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$30
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Oil based paint. Pewter gray
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Rustic farmhouse table - 30"

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/09/2019 - 07:57

Great project for my first attempt at building a farmhouse table.  I adjusted the base to allow a chair to slide in at both ends.  Braced breadboards on each end with (3) 2x4.  Very strong and sturdy.  Decided not to use the lower base support to see how it held up and has been extremely stable.  My wife liked the open look so that's all I needed to hear.  Excellent plans, had fun and came out better than I anticipated!

Estimated Cost
$250 ish
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Stained, 3 layers of oil based semigloss polyurethane (sanded between coats, then 2 layers of water based matte finish. (Looked too shiny with semigloss for our taste)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Step Stool

Submitted by stcarroll on Fri, 08/26/2011 - 10:25

I fell in love with Ana's plan for this vintage step stool. I made three, but one has already gone to a new home (my sister's house). I used all scraps, I didn't have 1x8 for the treads, so I slatted two 1x4s. Then behind my husbands pile of scrap wood in the shop I found two planks of 1x8 oak!!!! I made the second two stools with the oak for the tread, but didn't want to cover it with paint, so I stained the top treads. This also was my first build using a kreg jig, I borrowed my sister's 'kreg jig jr.' It made the assembly so simple and quick! These have been so nice to have around the house for the kids washing and brushing and helping in the kitchen!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Free!!!!
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax polyshades 'antique chestnut' on the all doug-fir-slatted stool. And minwax 'ebony' on the oak-tread with a mix of left over paint on the bottom. Then I sanded the paint to distress and used the ebony stain over the paint. I put several coats of poly on both of them because they will be used in the bathrooms during potty training and I wanted them to be sealed well so they don't soak-in any spills or mishaps!
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments