Community Brag Posts

I modified the plans slightly, reducing the overall seating depth by 1.5" so I could use 8' lumber with minimal waste, and make 2 cushions out of one 54" width of fabric. I also tweaked the design to make a chaise lounge on one side. I used bargain priced sunbrella fabric (has a few imperfections) and recycled soda bottle fill for the cushions to keep cost lower. Building the wooden part was quick and easy (took an afternoon including two trips to the store), but this was my first sewing project so the total project time reflects my learning curve making and stuffing cushions.

This was my first project building something from this site. I absolutely love it! We didnt add the X's because the miter saw was at my dad's house, which I was kind of sad about, but I think it still looks good. Not too bad for mine and my husbands first build! 

I started this Table and bench because, we have a one year old and we had a bar height table. Something a little shorter was needed, so I picked the Benchwright plans since they were most like our style. I used all white wood from Lowes and some pine 2x4's. Since the original plans made the table a little too large for our house I shortened the length on the table and bench by 15". This was the largest project I have done so far, but the plans are so easy to use, that the major time spent for me was getting the wood, and sanding and staining. I submitted the last picture here, because I originally picked out a Rust-oleum Sunbleached stain, or so it said. As you can see from the photo it just made everything grey, and was not the look I or my wife were looking for. I recommend very carefully picking a stain color out and testing it on similar wood before using it on your finished project. I spent two hours after this mistake sanding off the stain, and since it was grey it still shows through a lighter color. In the end we are both happy with the final product, and you don't learn until you try and mess-up a few times. I really had a lot of fun with this project, and can't wait for the next thing to build.

This is my very first project. I have no other tools yet besides the drill, so I had to make all the cuts with the hand saw, but it worked out well :) As I am in Europe, the imperial metrics mean nothing to me. The wood they sell here is of different sizes. That is overall not an issue, although I had a tough time calculating the holes for the legs. Luckily, only one error hole, and all came out level on the first try. No waste of wood! I also had a good helper.
Thank you, Ana

Ventsi

We loved the Sweet Pea plans so much but we didn't need bunk beds. We turned it into a loft bed with a playhouse underneath. We also inverted the shelves on the stairs to be inside the playhouse due to her room size. Added a second roof and window boxes. This project was fun and took us 10 days to complete. Thank You so very much for sharing these AWESOME plans!!

We completed this project over several weekends, but that was mostly because we only worked on it for an hour or two. I was THIS close to purchasing a $499 coffee table from Crate and Barrel, when I saw these plans. I wasn't sure how the drawers would work, since we couldn't find short enough drawer slides, so we kind of had to improvise by making our own. This way, we avoided the extra weight from a third piece of plywood on the bottom-most level. We had the sanded plywood cut at Home Depot, and amazingly it fit perfectly! We used the Kregg Jig on almost everything, except for the plywood, because our screws were just a touch too long for 1/2". We definitely had to measure each drawer individually, because they were not the same! (Can you tell? I hope not). It's a good thing I was going for the rustic look, because every time I had a bad spot, I could just hammer it around a bit and make it look worn. We finished this project with a stain and sanded off the edges to keep it from looking too perfect.

We had a great time with this project, and are trying to refrain from starting on the console table!!

I wanted to build a piece for my living room that I could add onto later with other matching pieces. This was perfect since it has the matching coffee table, side table, and console table. It was my first time making angle cuts, and not tricky like I thought it would be. This is a very solid piece and fits in nicely with my decor.

First project from Ana White plans. Thanks Ana, looks great in my coffee bar.

Thanks for the plans! The beds turned out great. I just made everything about 6 inches higher for more storage space.

This was my second project from Ana White, and overall it was successful. I used a miter saw for the cuts (struggled with the bevel because my 12 inch saw isn't a slider, a kreg jig to attach everything (struggled to attach the 1x3s to the legs due to the angle of the dril and tight space), but everything eventually was held solidly together and it's really very sturdy. My husband is about 160 and he was able to jump on it with absolutely no give. 

The paint is just small samples we had on hand from home depot to coordinate with other projects in the kids' rooms, and I handpainted the letters. I finished it with a double coat of polycrylic. 

When we first moved into our new home one of the first things that I built for it was this custom gate that resides at the top of our stairs. We needed this to keep the baby from falling down and keep the dogs out when need be. Overall it was a great way to separate the two areas. It is also inexpensive and easy to build. I used a pneumatic nailer for all of the joinery on this one so it was quick to build as well.

I used leftover plywood (1/4 inch) instead, but would only recommend it, if you plan to paint the cradle (due to splintering when you make your cuts). I also used my nail gun instead of screws, which worked fine since the wood is a lot thinner and lighter. The cradle is very sturdy and my 4-year-old loves it. Thanks for the awesome plans!!

Took the plans from Ana white and made my own twist to it! Came out awesome and the person loved it that I made it for! Kona stain on table top and Navajo white on the bottom. Did the same for benches and chairs to match! Thanks for the great instructions!