Community Brag Posts
Easy Garage Shelving
I used Ana's Freestanding Shelf plan and customized it to fit my needs. I incorporated laundry and recycle storage, a rolling bench and built in for our chest freezer. If you want to see it being built with some added tips, that video is available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8w7XGiVMbs&t=258s
Kids Picnic Table
Fun and easy project!
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Raised Wood Planters by Urban Wood Solutions
Planters build by Urban Wood Solutions
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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 04:23
These are incredible. They…
These are incredible. They look a little deeper, and would be good for vegetables. How deep are they?
Floating Shelves and Coffee Table Living Room Upgrade
Farmhouse table with matching floating shelves.
Judd H
Daughters blue Playhouse
I used the basic framing plan for the project, but extended roof overhangs, added engineered siding / trim and cedar shake roofing. I put 2x4 bracing on for the platform.
Reclined Back Outdoor Sofa and Chair DIY
OK, I think this build may be my biggest project yet! It is definitely the heaviest. With the strong winds we can get here in Florida we needed substantial outdoor furniture.
I did make some modifications along the way measurement-wise so the sofa would fit my front porch better. All in all, this took 2 full days. I built the sofa first, stained it the next day and then decided (due to trying to get stain in all the nooks and crannies) to stain the chair pieces first before putting it together.
I am so happy with the results and so far, almost a year later, this furniture looks great and hasn't moved an inch in any of the thunderstorms we've had! Thank you Ana!!
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Chicken Coop
Great for a small flock of 5 or less.
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IKEA Hack 6" Tray Cabinet
I'm happy to share with everyone my IKEA hack 6" tray cabinet.
I found a 24" cabinet box in IKEA's As-Is section and took it home for half price ($23)! I would have preferred plywood, but my table saw is a little small and cutting large sheets of plywood is a little scary. When I deconstructed the cabinet, it sustained some damage (as its particleboard), so if you try this at home, be careful! I ended up changing the depth to 22" in order to cut off the damaged piece, but that shouldnt be noticeable with average trays and cutting boards.
I used Ana's 6" tray cabinet plan and modified the dimensions a little for my planned space. It still needs the back, face frame and door (which will be a replacement drawer front from the cabinet manufacturer). I plan on building the face frame at the time the cabinets are installed, since this will go in between the 36" corner easy-reach and the 36" sink base. Once its done, I'll post updated pics!
Cluckingham Cottage
Cluckingham Cottage wasn’t built in a day, but it WAS built by a DAME!
A-frame instructions were pretty helpful considering the builder knows nothing about construction. I made a few modifications to accommodate my 5 chooks + 2 bantams . Sturdy and tight structure.
Firewood Shed using Round Posts and 2x4s
I used the basic design principles from Ana's site but decided to use 3.5x6.5 round fence posts (purchased at my local Tractor Supply Company) for a different look plus they are a little cheaper than 4x4 posts. I also used pressure treated 2x4s for some added strength and perhaps longer durability. I used Ana's cedar fence pickets idea for my roof (these pickets are used as walls on one of the other shed plans on this site). I didn't need a very robust roof as my firewood shed sits underneath the deck which provides a lot of protection from the rain. I attached the structure using 3 inch deck screws and the roof with 1.5 inch deck screws (nails would have been more than adequate for the roof but I had the screws on hand).
I did run into some problems due to my design changes. Most of my issues involved attempting to square up the round posts which are much closer in shape to a jagged stick than dimension lumber such as a 4x4 post. If I had to do it over again I would not have used the round posts. Constant tweaks and adjustments to the posts significantly delayed my build time and frustrated me at times. I was just barely able to wedge my woodshed in between the 2 deck posts which actually came in handy as I was able to secure the shed to the deck posts with 3 inch screws...making the shed very solid! The final issue I discovered after loading up my wood shed. The 2x4s at the bottom of the structure began to sag. I fixed this by using my floor jack to raise them up and placed 8 inch tall 4x4s underneath (2 in the front and 2 in the back).
Overall I'm happy with the way it turned out and I really love all the plans on this site...GREAT ideas!!
Outdoor Sectional
I scaled back the length of the sofa by a few inches and I made the sectional only one seat to fit my space on the deck. This was my first woodworking project that I did by myself. I got the cushions for more than 1/2 off at Ikea so the whole project cost about $150 ($80 for the cushions). It took me about a week to complete but the total time was less than 10 hours to build and stain. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
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Folding Workbench
We chose this project because we have a small garage and space is at a premium. The dimensions of this build fit well in our limited space and allowed us to organize items such as paint, stain, screws and nails into one central location. I chose 2x4's on the sides to give it a more stable feel. Our garage and parking lot are all sloped and with the 2x4's this prevented the twisting. It feels solid and the wheels are smooth. We picked everything up at Home Depot. The screws that came with the hinges are to long and my husband used the Dremel to grind them down. You could just buy shorter screws. This is one of my firsts builds and I've definitely learned a lot of lessons along the way. Measure, measure, then measure again before you cut a piece and use a level surface to make level pieces. Overall, everyone in my family played a part in helping me build this piece and so I love it and will cherish this piece and the memories always. Thanks Ana for all your fun videos, sharing your life with your family, and providing resources like this plan to us for free. I'm thankful for my son who bought me a compound miter saw for Mother's Day and other family for buying me a Ryobi circular saw. I'm truly blessed and loved. Thanks
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Mon, 08/31/2020 - 11:19
I love how you used the 2x4…
I love how you used the 2x4 on the sides. great idea
Chunky leg bedframe
I got tired of sleeping on the floor like college kids, but I didn’t want to buy a junky particle board bedframe. My husband and I are novice woodworkers. Even still, we bought the lumber around noon and managed to finish the whole project in about 5-6 hours! We used a Kreg jig for the first time and it was pretty simple. I am really pleased with how this turned out, and I can’t wait to try more of Ana’s plans in the future.
Great Plan for Garage Shelf!
This was an easy project to complete in an afternoon that does not require any advance woodworking skills
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Wed, 11/26/2014 - 12:19
This project looks even
This project looks even better than mine! I love look with paint! Well done!
Wed, 12/10/2014 - 09:41
Thanks Ana!
This is my second completed project with plans and ideas from your website. Thanks for your good work!
Modern Outdoor Chair - High Back Adirondack
Modified with a high back and modern adirondack arms.
The base of the chair is built exactly to the plan except that the arms are done in a modern adirondack style.
The back was made independently to fit inside the base and then attached to the plan base.
Very comfortable but very heavy chair even without the modified back.
Not stained yet obviously.
Cushions are hard to find I think I would make it slightly smaller next time and maybe even find the cushions first and alter the plan to fit.
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Tue, 06/09/2020 - 09:11
Stained with Saman: Urban…
Stained with Saman: Urban Grey mixed with some left over brown 4:1 and now has a companion side table
Wed, 06/24/2020 - 07:33
Do you have the plans for…
Do you have the plans for the table you built? Im a brand ne beginner. I am trying the modern outdoor chairs and live this table with them.
Weathered Fancy Farmhouse Bed
What a great project. This was a lot of fun to build, I built it on our patio in our apartment. I made some mistakes, but it was fun. Thank you for the plans. I hope you like the pics. Comments or questions welcomed!
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Fri, 10/21/2016 - 14:30
LED Lights
By the way the lights are actually LED bulbs and they give off little to no heat what so ever. I love that the lights are a warm light and not a white light. They are connected to the socket that is controlled by our light switch. My wife is very pleased.
As stated, this is my 3rd project ever and all 3 are from Anna's plans. Thank you so much for posting these. Come end of next year, all of our furniture will be hand made with my son and I and all are from Anna White. We are having a great time and putting our own spin on all of the items. This is so cool. Thanks for making this easy and doable. I never thought we would have this skill.
Thank you, again.
Fri, 10/21/2016 - 14:33
Sorry for the duplicate comment. Oops...
Sorry for the duplicate comment. I thought it didn't go through... :(
Larger A Frame Chicken Coop
A frame chicken coop with a few modifications- metal roof, insulation and slightly larger second floor.
By Chrystal
Lean-To Shed
I’m a first year teacher of construction class at Waterloo High School in Illinois. We recently used your Small Cedar shed instructions with some modifications for a class project. It’s a bear getting cedar right now, so we used T1-11 for the outside and 2x4 for the frame.
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Sat, 03/25/2023 - 09:14
Great project for your class!
Very fun and job well done! Thank you for sharing.
Cedar herb stand
Awesome project
Colorful Custom Bedford Corner Desk with Live Edge Desktop
I followed the plans pretty closely. I added dividers to make 3 drawer units but I didn't find it necessary to have the top shelf go all the way to the back since it would never function as a shelf. I used scrap pieces for that and they weren't big enough to be full shelves.
I used 1/2" MDF for the bottom, sides, and backs of the drawers to cut down on weight, cost, and general bulkiness. I used this free app called Cut List to figure out the easiest way to have the guys at Home Depot cut all the drawer panels after I learned I'm not that good with a circular saw. I used a hack saw to cut aluminum bars for hanging files and used scrap wood to make the little brackets to hold the bars upright in the drawer. The full extension drawer slides are functionally and asthetically better but it would have been so much easier to put in basic bottom mount slides.
I wanted a wood grain top and ended up with common pine boards over more expensive poplar or oak and I would use pine again without hesitation. I used Google SketchUp to figure out the widths of boards I needed to make the top with minimal cuts. Then joined them with glue and mending plates and sanded the hell out of them. I altered the dimensions slightly to make it the same size desktop as the Bedford desk. My two wing sections are 23" x 23" but I should have made them 23" deep by more like 24" or 25" long. I had to hack the bottom bracing to make a spot for the drawer units to slide into. If you alter the dimensions make sure you can secure a brace between the main body and the wing of the desktop and still have room for the brace at the edge of the wing.
My cost includes things like a Kreg jig, saw blade, clamps, paint brushes etc. so you may be able to do this for less. I could have gone with a middle of the line paint I think. This project was a beast for me because a) I'm not a furniture maker b) I don't own a table saw which would have been amazing c) I picked the hardest way to make the desktop and d) I modified some of the dimensions from the basic plans. I worked on this thing for weeks (granted sometimes I didn't touch it for several days or a week). But it was a fun and rewarding project.
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Tue, 08/27/2019 - 19:28
This is AMAZING!!! I'm so…
This is AMAZING!!! I'm so sad I did not see this earlier. Thank you so much for sending in pics!