Community Brag Posts

Counter height table/ island

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/04/2021 - 12:56

This table was built using wooden counter height legs purchased from Home Depot. The top was 3x6 natural pine cut from Stinking Creek Tennessee. The boards were rough cut lumber from a saw mill. I ran the boards thru a plainer. We left the saw marks on the edge, but sanded the rough part off. The apron is 2x4 wall studs purchased from Lowe’s. I screwed it all together with pocket hole screws and wood glue. The corner decorative metal pieces are from Hobby Lobby. The metal bar stools were ordered from amazon.

Comments

Outdoor Canopy Daybed

This is made from cedar, but I painted it anyway. Used a standard single mattress. I highly recommend painting everything first before you put the project together. Full plans are here.

Estimated Cost
$225 for lumber
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Primed the entire piece with Kilz and then used Rustoleum Spray Paint (Espresso).

The canopy is made from Ikea curtains (19.95/2). I purchased 2 packages, each containing 2 panels. I then sewed the 2 panels together from each package, now having 2 extra long panels. To secure to the bed, I hand-stitched velcro fasteners to the curtains and wrapped around the top part of the canopy.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
Seasonal And Holiday

Cabin Bunk System

Submitted by tracylee on Tue, 03/31/2015 - 12:23

I made this bed for my son. I was a beginner with little to no experience before I started this project. I learned a LOT along the way and now I'm addicted to building things. It wouldn't have taken me so long if  I had a little more experience. Staining was difficult, especially when you have two kids wanting to help. My drawers slides were absolutely impossible! Next time I will use a different method for the drawers. I still need to make the ladder. I haven't come across any plans for that so I'm going to wing it. The bed is not perfect by any means but my son doesn't care. 

Estimated Cost
$300-400
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
I used one coat of Safecoat DuroStain, water based, Walnut color, low odor. For the poly, I used two coats of Vermont Natural Coatings, PolyWhey, water-based, clear satin. I should have used three coats of the poly but I ran out of energy. It took me 8 hours to sand the entire bunk system and apply the second coat. I like these products because they are not toxic and green.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Magnetic White Board Organizer Wall

Submitted by Christian on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 10:24

Easy project that has helped us stay more organized. We use Cozi to maintain the calendar, but this allows us to highlight things that the kiddos need to know during the week. We keep the chore schedule, laundry schedule, meal plan, and out of routine activities on the week calendar so the kids can tell what is going on at a glance. The allowance is also hanging up at the top as an incentive to get their respective jobs done for the week. I used galvanized sheet metal glued onto a 1/4 inch plywood base and coated it with whiteboard paint. This allows it to be magnetic and easily written on. Love the letter holder for homework and important paperwork.

Things we have used it for so far:
Activity schedule (swimming lessons, soccer practice, etc.)
Meal plan
Unusual activities (parties, movie night, etc.)
School stuff (project due, spirit week, etc.)
Chore schedule
Laundry Schedule
Room of the week: what part of the house gets a deep clean this week.
Servant of the week: which kid is the designated helper for non-chore activities when an extra hand is needed.

We are still figuring out all the ways to use this to good effect, but the kids really like being able to see what is coming up in the schedule for the week.

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Whiteboard paint
Minwax Walnut Stain
Spray Acrylic to whiteboard marker proof the wooden parts.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

farmhouse table

Submitted by cnlynch on Thu, 04/02/2015 - 19:25

I made this table in a weekend, the plans made it so easy to do, thanks Ana for giving me the courage to take this on! I love building stuff!

Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Adirondack chairs and bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/04/2021 - 13:57

A year and a half long Covid at home and eating and entertaining outdoors encouraged us to transform our back yard into an outdoors living and dining room.
It was also the perfect excuse to finally use all the scrap wood we had lying around and turn it into these super comfy chairs. Add pillows and blankets and we have a cozy back yard that we love to spend time in.
We used this occasion to finish ends of paint cans to paint the chairs in different colors and scraped the paint down for a weathered look, then finished it all with a couple of coats of varnish. Each chair’s back is slightly different depending on scraps we had on hand. We love Anna’s simple and practical plans and instructions!!!

Comments

No Train Needed

We needed a table to compliment our Apothecary cabinet we built prior to this project. We needed a big table b/c our furniture is so bulky. We have a 6 month old, and an 8 year old, so toy storage is a must. We built the table in one evening. We swapped the top trim 1x3s w/ 1×2. The bottom shelf only sits 1 inch from the floor, so I can fill it with itso bins for additional baby storage! The top board is not cut in half, rather we drilled 1 inch holes on both ends. You can’t see them in the pics, b/c I hid them, with the cutest thing ever, bear coasters. The coasters are too protect the table b/c we cant use poly here in the winter.
I wanted a David Bromstad cow rug & hubs said no. Bear Skin Rug style coasters for $20 from Urban Outfitters are our compromise. I love this table. It’s super heavy & I hope it lasts forever.

Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Miniwax Autumn Harvest from Lowe's
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Corner Shelf for Nursery

Submitted by wojo1 on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 07:21

Super Easy.. I like it better without the doors. Recommend getting a KREG Jig. I have the Jr and it was perfect for this project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$130
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Corner x console

Submitted by AndWhatnot on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 18:17

Adapted to fit in a corner

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Asiago paint with Kona stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Kentwood bookshelf

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 07/14/2017 - 00:14

Together with my wife, we decided to start making our own furniture and it was our first project. It took us a week to complete it (it took us longer than most people as we had to learn from scratch how to use the tools for each of the steps such as the circular saw, sander, pocket holes, etc.). We also learned the hard way how critical it is to use straight boards and how difficult it is to find straight 2x2. Overall we loved the process and are very excited by the final result!

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Danish oil - natural
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Danielle's Wall Unit Shelves

Submitted by zigmommy on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 14:19

I designed these to specifically work for my homeschool storage needs. My husband built two of them for me and they are exactly what I hoped they would be! They're strong and heavy and sturdy and still manage to be stylish, I'm proud to look at them and have them in my home!!

Estimated Cost
About $100 (for one)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr - Antique White High Gloss and Rustoleum latex clear top coat. We bought a paint spray gun and this was the first project we used it on. DEFINITELY saved us a ton of time, this time we sprayed it after it was built, next time the individual pieces will get at least a coat or two before it's built!
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

2 dish pet feeder

Submitted by kwayman on Sun, 05/19/2013 - 09:02

This feeder worked out great for Sammy, who is about 95#. He seems a lot more comfortable now (and has started using his water dish instead of the toilet! ;) I wanted a more rustic look but wanted the easy clean up of tile on top.

Estimated Cost
$15- mostly due to the tile/ grout
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint and tile
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Truss beam table

Submitted by Kheaton on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 13:56

Went together fairly easy. Although instead of kreg jigging the top together I decided to use a plywood base and use thin re-sawed maple, Cedar, white oak, and tigerwood as to not experience movement issues.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Semi gloss polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Book Nook Bed

Submitted by chart2006 on Sun, 07/23/2017 - 10:40

The bookshelf, of which I made last year, was made from crates. I used Ana's Clubhouse Bed idea as the basis for mine but I deviated from it quite a bit. Instead of a front entrance I made a side entrance and added two windows. Additionally I attached it to the wall instead of making it two sided.

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

Double Seat Outdoor Chair

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/04/2021 - 16:29

Very easy and quick to build. It is amazingly comfortable. There are no cushions needed. My wife loves it. I took parts of Ana’s Simple Outdoor Lounge Chair and Modern Outdoor Chair with a twist patterns and modified them to be a double seat instead of a single seat.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Ana White Admin

Tue, 10/05/2021 - 09:29

That is so cool how you combined the plans and came up with that! It looks amazing, thanks for sharing!

Medium / Large dog crate

I took the plans for the large dog crate and adjusted them to fit my needs.

I made the "light entry" sections taller so that the inside would not be so dark, I used plywood with a routed edge for the top and stained it a red mahogany color and used polyurethane to seal it.

Estimated Cost
$70
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Min-wax Red Mahogany
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

TV Table...first biggish project

Submitted by nickx1985 on Sat, 04/11/2015 - 10:54

So, after seeing a project my brother in law made I got the inspiration to try my hand at woodworking. Low and behold I stumbled upon Ana's WONDERFUL site! After spending the winter, rigorously studying plans and picking different projects I could use, I was able to afford gathering up some basic woodworking tools and get to work. First project was the 2x4 workbench off of kregtool.com (on a side note I <3 my new kreg jig). That went together easypeasy and came out great. Now i wanted to try my hand at something that took finish work and went inside my house, not out in the garage. We had just purchased a new TV and needed something other than the 2 side tables from our living room that where serving as it's temporary home atm. Needless to say that is how this project was decided on. I didn't make it from any specific plans from the site, but without this site I wouldn't have even known where to begin. I took some measurements and drew up a rough (and I mean ROUGH) plans. Then started chopping away at wood and drilling pocket holes. This is the end result.

Estimated Cost
around $50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Frame is minwax's oil based ebony
Shelves and top are minwax's oil based red chestnut
Top and frame got 2 coats of poly and though I would try 50/50 poly/mineral spirits on the shelves(found I liked rubbing with a rag rather than brushing on)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Kiddies table and chairs

Submitted by pADDY1957 on Thu, 08/03/2017 - 23:28

I made this table and chairs for when the grandchildren come over. The chair design was from a larger chair I had made and just downsized them

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
White French paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate