Community Brag Posts

This site introduced the Kreg Jig which was a game changer as far as allowing me to give this a go. Thanks to the various posts for inspiration particularly Suzie_R. I added an off the shelf guard on the bed - photo to follow. I built the dimensions to fit a day mattress that I bought.

I recently discovered your blog and got really inspired. After building a couple of beginner projects following your plans, i started to think about making something that can be used as medicine cabinet and does not take much space. Came up with the idea for this over the toilet storage rack.

My goal was to recycle/reuse some of the stuff that was sitting in my garage.
Started with building a frame using 1x6s (24 inch for shelves and 72 inch height). Used plastic table mats were used as sliding windows. Found a PVC trim (8 ft) for $2 at lowes that has been used as the rails/track for the windows. The back is piece of cardbord that was scrap from an old broken ikea bookshelf.

I am pretty happy that i recycled some stuff and made this in less than $15.

We used the plans from this site to build this for our daughter. We did however make the bed part a bit more sturdy to ensure that no one would get hurt and to make sure it could support any weight. We added 4 2x4s across the bed like rafters and screwed the slats on top of them.

"Cellar? What cellar? We don't have a cellar... Oh, you mean the new sand box! Here, let me get some shade too."

I'm not sure why, but I can never seem to follow plans exactly. I guess that's not entirely true. I CAN follow plans exactly, but I almost never do. Maybe it's some sort of passive rebellion or something, but I usually have to put my own spin on the things that I build. Sometimes it works out in my favor. Sometimes not. This build was a little of both.

I decided to only build one bench in our sand box. This cut down on a lot of supplies. By making it longer a single bench and making it longer, it covers about the same amount of square feet, just in a rectangle instead of a square. When pricing lumber, I noticed that 2x8's were cheaper than 1x8's. So I went with those instead. It can't hurt to beef up the sides a little, right? This required some easy calculations on the cut list. I also decided to use 1x6 fence planks instead of 1x4 whitewood or pine. The fence planks were cheap, and I figured they would look nice in the back yard. They are also naturally pest and rot resistant. They required extra sanding to take the rough off. However, this is one place that I'm thinking the modification didn't work in my favor. The fence planks are not as thick as the whitewood. This combined with the increased length makes the the top pieces feel pretty weak. I put a little support piece under the bench. I'm quite sure the bench would not have held up well without the support.

Because this is an outdoor piece, I dry fit everything, and then stained everything before assembling it, to make sure all of the edges were well protected.

Cost breakdown (not including canopy)
Fence planks $14
2x8x8 $11
hinges $9
handle $2
stain $10

I used the plans for the simple outdoor lounge chair and just made the arms wider, the cushions came from Target.............the dog loves it !

This is the sequel to my first kitchen cabinet build, the awesome base unit to the right of the stove. It's another custom design to fit the space (and replace some horribly inefficient metal cabinets that, while cute, really looked like they belonged in a different kitchen). And my first time working with maple and edge banding! Thank you, thank you, no applause please. I'm calling this project "intermediate" skill only because I chose to router the doors and install cup hinges. Otherwise, they're just big boxes on the wall, for real.

The carcasses, shelves, and door panels are all Purebond plywood. The face and door frames are 1x2 and 1x3 maple. The french cleat used to hang the two pieces is also plywood (more on my blog about that). Unfortunately, I don't know enough about wiring to add/move that outlet so that the microwave cord could be hidden...but at least the microwave itself is off the counter! It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

The wineglass storage is a sort-of take-off on a few other plans on here and some pieces I saw down in Amish country. It's a little rough-looking outside of the cabinet into which it is installed because I didn't design that element very elegantly. Plus I kept changing things on myself mid-stream.

The concealed cup hinges...were totally intimidating. And at first I bought into all the hype about "you HAVE to use a drill press or you'll RUIN your doors", but in the end I just eyeballed it with a plain old forstner bit, and all 6 doors turned out fine! Plus, I got to use Blumotion hinges...you physically cannot slam these doors!!

I'm super proud of this project, and my mother-in-law (in whose kitchen they reside) is thrilled. Btw, the crown moulding is not yet installed, which is why the trim pieces up top look so funny.

I built this arbor using the plans you provided (http://www.ana-white.com/2014/06/plans/outdoor-bench-arbor). Finish it just in time for my wifes birthday. She absolutely loved it. Thank you!

I changed the dimensions to make it a little smaller to fit the front of my house. My husband and I now spend our evenings sitting there drinking tea and enjoying the nice weather.

I spent close to $60 and ordered 3 cushions from target for $8.99 each.

This was my wife and I's first Ana White project. We are now hooked, and loved spending time together building something we will enjoy for years, and our dog mindy of course was the first to test our beautiful bench out!

Thanks Ana,

Steve & Courtney

This was my first wood working project in a very long time. I was a little nervous about doing it because it would be on display in the main entry way of our house and I didnt want to make any mistakes. It took a little longer than I had hoped, but I think going slower helped make it perfect.

Grill station

I started with the potting bench by Between Naps. I made it longer and taller (for my dad). There is a tool holder along one side and I added a sink, for washing the veggies newly harvested from our garden. We ran the water from our house faucet and will blow out water for winter. All that's left is running a pipe from the drain to leach out across the perimeter of the garden. Most of the lumber was given to me (pressure treated even). And I bought the sink from a junk guy for $50. My dad was so impressed and I think it may be my best present project ever. I can't believe I made that! Oh yeah, the end caps have solar lights, nighttime gardening! Ya never know!

Thank you Ana for the excellent plans. We have been talking about this for months and are excited finally have a greenhouse. We live in the mountains and this will help extend our growing season. Please tell Ram thank you from the Wranglerlerstar family.