Community Brag Posts

Toddler Sized Cabin Bed (Crib Mattress)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/26/2017 - 19:35

Loved the twin sized cabin bed but my grandson is a few years away from needing a big boy bed.  Husband scaled down the plans and this  is what we came up with. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Farmhouse Workbench with Tool Storage

Submitted by vendo on Thu, 01/28/2021 - 10:47

I took Ana's Farmhouse potting bench plan and made it a workbench with some mods. I added the tool storage and adjusted it for different widths depending on the tools. I added some support under the tabletop to attach the tool storage piece. On the ends, instead of the X detail I built shelves for each end for added storage for screws and paint. Finally the pegboard back allows for more storage! The height is consistent with the height of my chop saw on my other workbench for when I need to chop longer boards. I am very happy with how this project turned out and it is now full and in use!

Built from Plan(s)
Finish Used
Briarsmoke by varathane
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

susan_c95

Mon, 02/01/2021 - 09:26

I agree totally with ladybug’13! What great modifications to this bench for tool storage and organization! I also love that it’s on casters to easily move it where needed. Great job!!!

Cooler Patio Table August 2014

Submitted by Kimbers46 on Mon, 01/05/2015 - 12:52

We built a slightly sturdier version of this patio table with 4x4 legs instead of 2x4 legs.

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Deck swing

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/05/2017 - 03:24

Used left over deck boards

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
20.00
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Backyard Bliss!

Submitted by kdins31 on Mon, 01/12/2015 - 09:26

I built this outdoor play area for my kids this past summer.  The area under that portion of the deck was always messy and muddy and so I wanted to make use of it.  I built the deck and anchored it with lag bolts to the deck supports.  On the one side I used rubber mulch and on the other there is play sand.  I dug holes in various locations and filled with gravel to allow for drainage under the sand and mulch.  For the awning I used plain cedar shingles.  I added a shower that is just regular 1/2" metal pipe with a hose adaptor.  The shower wall and fence are just old pallets that I had for a while, cut to size, which was pretty much random but they came out great.  I added a misting system under the awning that works great, the kids love the cool mist on the hot days. Overall, a heavy job ripping up the grass, moving the wood, gravel, stones, sand and mulch, but a fun deck build and even better experience doing this with my kids by my side!  

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Einman10

Tue, 12/29/2015 - 17:10

I'm extremely interested in the plans for the bathroom vanity with the step stool that pulls out for kids to be able to reach the sink.  Is there a way I can get those plans?

Outdoor sofa

Submitted by Julisib on Sun, 06/06/2021 - 06:39

Thanks a lot for the free plans. We enjoy out new deck !

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Kid’s Adirondack Chair Project

Submitted by David_1962 on Tue, 07/20/2021 - 07:54

This little chair turned out really well. The only significant changes I made to the plans were to cut the back slats in an arch, round the corners on the arm pieces, and round-over all of the exposed edges.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
None, built from scrap deck boards
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Ipe is an extremely heavy, dense tropical hardwood. It’s primarily used for making decks but is also excellent for outdoor furniture. I just sanded lightly, and applied a penetrating oil branded “Ipe Oil.”
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Outdoor sofa

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 08/23/2021 - 17:05

Shortened the width for 22 inch wide cushions. Stained with golden oak minwax and finished with tung oil.

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax golden oak, and tung oil finish
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Outdoor Recording Studio Shed Build

Submitted by brittanyj on Wed, 09/01/2021 - 10:48

As an on camera actor, I found myself with zero work during the pandemic. All productions were shut down and my day job no longer existed. It was time to get creative.
Voice over work started booming, particularly for actors who could record from home, because recording studios were shut down. I've dabbled a bit in voice over and had been interested in diving in and took my first step by buying a sound reducing booth called a whisper room.

The problem? There was nowhere in our house to to put the 6'x8' booth. So it sat on the back porch for months, covered by a tarp.
For a woodworker, this just wouldn't do! It was time to build an out building to house the booth and have my own outdoor recording studio. I read endless books and watched videos on building recording studios and made my plans over a few months.

Finally, in March, I excavated the land and prepped it for a pour. We had a concrete guy come in and pour the slab.

As soon as that set, I began work from the ground up in building this fancy shed. It took me 3 months, but I learned so much about the basics of building a house, and now I am auditioning for professional projects in my beautiful studio. I couldn't be prouder.

I ran electric, ethernet, I put in flooring, I roofed, drywalled, made a custom door threshold, inserted a window and framed every last bit of this building. There were bumps along the way- to be expected in a one person build- but she's done and ready for work.

I documented the build from start to finish here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPcEW6cqhcQ

Comments

Evie's Garden

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/20/2017 - 21:20

   This was a great weekend project with help from my two nephews. My 4 year old daughter had been asking to grow a garden and has really enjoyed watering and watching everything grow!! She makes sure to check on everything daily!! Fun project!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
None
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Kitchen Island Trolley

Submitted by naomi on Fri, 06/23/2017 - 08:29

Base was made from recycled timber and the top was made with new pine.

The rails were made from curtain rails. 

One end has wheels for easy moving.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Enamel Paint and Brown Japan Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

sis2795

Wed, 07/31/2019 - 16:58

I don’t understand the cost for this. The wood is going to cost significantly more than $20. Am I an idiot and don’t know where to get the wood from??? How does that equal out to $20?

In reply to by sis2795

naomi

Sun, 08/11/2019 - 22:41

Hi,

All of the base was made from free pallet Wood and the timber top was one line length of new timber which cost about $8 and the wheels I had in the shed and the curtain rail was a couple of dollars from Bunnings. The paint and stain I already had.

I hope this helps. 😀

Shoes? What Shoes? (Ana's shoe cabinet)

We have two young kids who don't want to take their shoes and put them away (as well as two adults who are the same way) so I asked my hubby to make Ana's shoe dresser. He did a great job and we were so excited with how it turned out!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
75.00
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
We primed it and then painted it gray.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Built It!

Submitted by Sherice on Tue, 03/31/2015 - 19:06

I followed the plans exactly and made this sand box for my friend and her children. Simple! Thank you so much!!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Using all treated pine, I paid $65 for the lumber and the four handles. I already had the hinges and finishing materials on hand. I spent approximately 10 hours on this project.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used Thompson water sealer for the inside of the sandbox where the sand will go and Behr deck protector for the rest.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Day bed

Submitted by Christinna on Thu, 09/07/2017 - 17:05

My sister needed a day bed for her guest room.  I modified the Modern Outdoor Chair plans to fit her needs.  We used an old door she found, even using the hinges as a means to attach the door to the bed frame.  This was my first real project.

 

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Simple Plant Stand

Submitted by mtairymd on Fri, 05/01/2015 - 12:32

Build Instructions:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Garden-Plant-Stand/

The plant stand allows you to grow edibles in a compact vertical space. We use the planter to grow herbs and edibles on the deck close at hand to the kitchen and the grill. In the containers we have mint, pineapple sage, marjoram, oregano and two other types of sage. The plants that like the most sun are placed on top. The lower levels of the plant stand are used for more shade tolerant plants; however, they still get plenty of light. For growing the plants, self-watering planters were chosen. Other planting options are a rain gutter system, individual pots, wood boxes, etc. The stand can be easily constructed from excess lumber or pallets

Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Look What I Made!

This was my first project to build although I cut wood for another project a year ago. The plans were simple and easy to follow. Now I want to build more! Thank you Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Red Mahogany Minwax stain for the base cabinets,
Black satin latex paint for desktop, Polyurethane. I didn't want a uniform color on the entire desk so I stained the cabinets with my favorite stain color and painted the desk top black.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Twin captain bed

Submitted by meckylang on Sun, 05/17/2015 - 09:02

This bed was built custom for the girl who ordered it. She wanted both a bookcase headboard on the long side and a traditional headboard. The bookcase headboard could not block the window and needed to have access to the outlet behind the bed. The bed was designed to match a dresser that had already been purchased. The drawers below give additional storage.

Estimated Cost
$550
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Primed and painted with 2 coats of flat latex paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Comments

kevin2117

Mon, 02/13/2017 - 10:23

Hi there - you don't happen to have plans you can share for this bed, do you?

Thanks! ~ Kevin

Resized modern chairs with table

Submitted by CarolinaL on Thu, 12/28/2017 - 16:27

I needed chairs that would fit on my narrow front porch. This plan was great because I was able to resize it to 20x20. I used 1x4s that I already had and some wood glue. They turned out solid. I made the tryde table with left over wood. That one is 17.5x17.5. Super happy with the results. We are doing the garage shelves right now. I have a list of other things I want to make thanks to Ana's wonderful website. 

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Exterior Valspar with a paint sprayer
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Floating Bench (Walnut bench Board and Batten Wall)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/30/2021 - 06:25

Followed the instructions in the original blog. I would like to thank Ana for the blog. It was the inspiration I needed. This project was challenging for a rookie like myself. The plan is basically the same as the original post from Ana.

Materials:
4" Vertical MDF primed boards
3" Horizontal MDF primed boards
Our wall has texture so we had to use tempered board to make it nice and smooth.
Half inch plywood for under the bench seat.
2x4 for the bench frame
I ordered furniture quality Black American Walnut from a sawmill for the floating bench (not cheap but worth it). I stained it with one coat of Watco Black Walnut just for protection (took 10 minutes to do super easy) let it dry for 24 hours at least.

Challenges:
1. The wall on the right side of the bench did not have a stud just a corner stud, I was not going to risk this bench support so I put the bench support on the one corner stud and installed a hidden strong tie: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-Strong-Tie-CF-4-15-16-in-x-6-in-Con…
This provided the support that the missing stud would've. Now the bench is structurally sound.
2. Walnut uneven cuts from the sawmill, I had to use a plane to bring the planks closer together didn't want huge gaps.
3. Outlet in the way. City code mandates to remove outlet leaving access to it. We decided to build above the outlet making the bench a bit higher than we wanted it but still worked out, now we still have an accessible outlet under the bench.

Comments

Leaning Ladder Wall Bookshelf

Submitted by Liz Miller on Thu, 01/25/2018 - 07:02

My dining room has no storage and I've been trying to find a place to store all of my bowls, serving dishes, etc; for some time now. I saw a leaning ladder shelf system at Crate and Barrel that I fell in love with but it was $500 which was out of the question. Last summer I built Ana's outdoor couches with absolutely zero experience and they came out great, so I decided to take a chance and try something else. This was my first time using a circular saw, and also my first time using a Kreg Jig! Honestly, halfway through this project I was concerned I bit of more than I could chew but I stayed calm and just kept following the plans. I'm so thrilled with how they came out! I ened up using a scrap piece of the 1 X 12 board for the "desk" piece to make the center a little bigger since I wanted it to serve as a serving board of sorts. I reenforced it with a support board since it was a little longer than the original plan called for.  I am beyond thrilled with how this came out, I honestly like it better than the one I saw at C&B since it's custom to my space! This was so easy if I could do it, anyone can. My total cost came to about $130. Not too shabby for a knock off! I'm already on to my next project. I don't think I can buy "factory" furniture again now how much better cost and quality I can get doing it myself! Thanks Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$130
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used Minewax Charcoal, at first I thought it was too dark but I've come to like the dark color with the grain showing through. I only did one coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Homemade Home Office with Peninsula Desk

Thank you Ana for so many amazing plans and shelf help that helped me get this monster built! Now my husband has a nice office where he can work from home. I was so impressed with how easy it was to make the plans in shelf help and how quickly it all arrived. (I can’t link the drawer slide trick plans, but they were key and I based the middle table off of the foldable farmhouse idea)

Comments