Community Brag Posts

I have added a  detergent drawer to orignal project

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My father gave us a whole mess of reclaimed barnwood that a neighbor had given to him, and I knew just what to do with it! My husband had an old cooler that would be the perfect size to create a rustic cooler case from. We built a frame out of 2x2's, faced it with the old wood (which looked like old cedar fence pickets) and popped the cooler inside. I've got a whole step-by-step on my blog. Love the way this turned out! We used an antler shed to make the lid handle, and bought some great rustic looking handles for the sides, as well as an old rustic bottle opener. Can't wait to see it in action!

I made this for my 2 young daughters. They love it.

X coffee table

I liked the apothecary plans and loved the look. My wife really liked it and needed somewhere for our daughter to keep her toys. For our anniversary I told her I would redesign it and make it as she liked. This is what we came up with and I think it turned out great. We used full overlay door to prevent the visible lines on the original and are really happy with the results.

We were replacing the floors in our house so we decided to build a closet mud room. We used the plans for the smiling mudroom and altered them slightly. We didn't end up building the partitions because the left and right seats would have been too closed in. We installed bead board on the back wall and used moulding on the shelf and bench. The only hard part was that we had to actually assemble the shelves and bench in the closet because they wouldn't have fit in once built! The Kreg Jig was extremely helpful and well worth the purchase.

I built this cabinet as a Christmas present for my mom, but life got in the way and I just got around to finishing it this week. It didn't helo that I was just learning my way around a Kreg Jig when I started this project. I used 1x12 dimensional lumber from lowes, and went with the cheap stuff. Looking back I would have just splurged on purebond 3/4" plywood because the boarda would have been smoother but at the time I didn't have my rip cut saw attachment. Instead of the euro secretary hinges I used short pieces of chain attached with eye screws for the drop down door, and I like the look and ease of the rustic black hinges versus the euro style for the doors. 

This was my first ever attempt at making something real out of wood. I've only made some really basic floating coat hangars and docorative rustic pieces to set around peoples houses and a spice rack. I really wanted more of a challenge and this was a perfect place to start. I had to purchase the Kreg Jig and a couple of large clamps but once I got the hang of drilling and filling pocket holes it was smooth sailing. 

The Mrs then finished it off with some lovely rustic baskets and a serving tray with all the latest Southern Living magazines.

I built the farmhouse table and needed a farmhouse bench to match. The building plan helped make it so simple and I couldn't have done it without the inspiration of Ana White. I used leftover 4x4"s for the legs and then pretty much followed everything else that the building plan said.

I've tried to document better at: http://www.tommyandellie.com/Site/Home/Entries/2011/6/14_Farmhouse_Benc…

Modern Farmhouse Dining Room Table (with pocket hole) and 2x4 chairs with plans reposted from morelikehome.net.

Surfed the site for the right plans and dove right in. Thank you for the inspiration all!

I worked with a local charity group in my area as well as Home Depot, who donated the wood to make a set of bunk beds for a family in need who all shared a room.  It was great to help them out and the kiddos were super stoaked to have bunk beds and something special they could call their own!

I love this table and bench set! Very easy to build and didn't take too much time. We made it a family build. My kids helped put together the benches and table. My wife and kids did all the staining.

Inspiration for this project came from the original Restoration Hardware table's price, which was way out of our budget. We found the plans on this site, and then the brag post from http://tommyandellie.com/?p=2582, which convinced me to give it a try when we moved to our new house.
I pulled some ideas and techniques from a couple of different areas - one was the idea from American Woodworker to use a straight-edge and a router to joint the edges of adjacent boards so they match perfectly, or as close to perfect as possible (see one of the pictures). After a few false starts it worked out very well.
One other big change was to use 4x4 pieces for the legs and cross-braces - especially on the long cross-brace. With two kids (6 and 3) and a third on the way, I knew they would want to crawl under the table to play, and sit on the beams - and I was afraid a 2x4 wouldn't hold up to their weights. I've VERY happy with the result - that base is not moving or flexing at all.
Finally, I learned a TON about what NOT to do! Apparently after doing the dry fit and having everything fit well, you should not sand the parts of the boards that fit together or suddenly they will be loose! Also, wiping off the stain after the suggested amount of time IS a good idea, after all! Finally, we ended up using pine boards with fir 4x4's, and I wish we had used all fir as I think the grain pattern was nicer.
All in all, though, it was a great experience and I can't wait to tackle another project!

Cushions are from Pier 1; Seat 25" by 25" by 4"; Back cushions 25" by 18". You can't make your own for less than end-of-season sale prices. Trust me, I tried. Foam is expensive. 

About the plans: I did add a second back support because I turned the slat flat for a more comfortable back seat.  

I made this buffet, serving table to go with a large gathering farmhouse table I made. I loosely used the farmhouse table plans but did some designing of my own based on a picture my friends had of what she wanted.