Community Brag Posts

Stratton Daybeds times Two

Submitted by karahart on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 08:25

I built my first daybed in May of 2010, and my second one in August of 2010. I've since moved one of the daybeds to my new nursery I'm creating. These beds are so versitle, so sturdy, and can be moved anywhere and 'go' with whatever decor. I love both of them!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$450 for BOTH beds
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
I primed the beds with Kilz oil based primer, then added a bunch of ultra white paint by Behr. I finished with sanding down the edges and staining them, before applying a top coat of polycrylic. Only use polycrilic, not polyurethane for white painted furniture!
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Allen/ Ana White Island

Submitted by tfj1283 on Sun, 07/07/2013 - 17:16

This was my husband and my first DIY project and we were thrilled at the outcome! It took us a day to build and then a couple days to stain and paint.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
It is stained with min wax Jacobean and painted with Martha Stewart's Barn red. This was a super fun project; thanks Ana White!
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Side Table

Built this without plans for my bathroom

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Stain, paint & polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Greenhouse

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/02/2022 - 12:30

Built the greenhouse from Ana Whites plan
She did the plan really well..

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Spa Bench

My first project! A friend of my husband's came to visit for a weekend and was nice enough to show me how to use my handy dandy new air nailer. We had the bench put together in 15 minutes! And so began a beautiful friendship with furniture building...

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$30
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
dark oak polystain - distressed with hammer, nails, screwdriver, chains
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Leftovers and Reclaimed Wood Media Console

Last winter, our friend's boss built our kitchen cabinets. We've had cuts of plywood leftover, sitting in our garage since then.

Our home needed a media console, so I thought to give building one a shot now that I own a circular saw and am only slightly afraid of it. I didn't follow a plan, honestly, but I did look at Ana's Classic Storage Wall, Extra Wide Media Unit as inspiration.

The console is actually a slate-indigo-black, called Napoleon. The top is made of reclaimed 1x6s that I mixed and matched with scrap 1x6s and gave one coat of Dark Walnut. We ordered handles for the doors and it needs another coat of paint (we ran out of the quart we had on hand), but we love it!

Estimated Cost
$30 using leftover plywood, otherwise, $100
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Olympic Flat in Napoleon
Watco Danish Oil in Dark Walnut, Watco Wipe-On Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

JoanneS

Tue, 07/09/2013 - 16:30

Love this! The reclaimed wood top is fab, and the color looks perfect. I checked out your blog - your apartment is looking awesome!

yurra-bazain

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 02:18

Thank you for your kind words. :) Our apartment wouldn't be furnished today if not for ana-white.com. The motivation I've gained by learning and sharing back here has been key to keep me building the things we need, the way we want them. =D You've built so many things; I'm so impressed!

farmhouse table and bench

Submitted by Don123 on Fri, 01/19/2018 - 09:28

I built this table and two simple benches, inspired by the farmhouse table plans. I modified the plan slightly, in that I didn't add the center 2x4 on the bottom, or the two 2x4's between the legs. I also added a second "bread end board," and customized the corners with some "L" bracket accessories. It took me a week to build everything, then add the finish. It would have gone quicker, had I had time to do it all at the same time, but I had to make time after work to do everything. All, in all, this is probably a weekend job, at most. 

Estimated Cost
approximately $100.00 for everything
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
For the table, I stained with a dark stain, then sanded with a fine grit sand paper, then lightly painted with a light colored paint to give the wood that weathered and worn appearance.

For the bench, I whitewashed with a white paint, then rough sanded, to expose the wood in places, then where the wood is exposed, I added dark stain, then wiped clean to give that worn, paint flaking appearance.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Our Closet (and first build!)

Submitted by Alaskagirl on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 14:10

Our master bedroom unfortunately had no closet, so for almost 2 years we had been using 4 store bought (cheap) racks that would break under the weight of the clothes and keep having to be replaced. There was however, a big nook in one wall of the room that could definitely be some kind of closet. I sat down and drew up a plan of what I thought would fit, but then had no idea how to go about building it. The plan sat in a drawer for months until after asking a friend about a shelf her husband built she sent me a link to this site and told me that's where she got the plans. I found the closet system plans and they were so close to what I had drawn up I was blown away! IT was no problem modifying the measurements to fit our space. I am SO happy with the results, all I need to do now is wait for some dry weather so we can paint!

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

modified kids Adirondack

Submitted by jrh413 on Wed, 07/10/2013 - 09:27

Modified back to match my adult chairs. Armrests are also cut out like adult chairs you just cant tell in picture. Also put an arc on faceplate. Then i couldn't resist routing her name into it. Enjoy!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Just some exterior pink paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse table

This table was inspired by the pocket screw table. only I did not use pocket screws. it is constructed using loose tenon construction and dowels. Notice the middle stretcher  and the wooden nut and bolt that holds it together

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
minwax jacobean stain and Minwax clear satin finish
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

small bed large bed project

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/17/2022 - 08:03

After seeing your knee wall project I decided I could modify it to work for me. first I insulated the angular wall to provide a conditioned environment. (wife wanted to store Christmas decorations. Then removed existing sheetrock, removed every other vertical 2x4 and had the opening size I wanted . Currently working on sheet rocking the interior and will then begin to work on the doors. Waiting on hinges. I think my wife likes it so far. I'll upgrade with photos when done. thanks

the small bed was from one of your plans (american girl bed) and then we just changed dimensions and made our master bed (Queen). That was a fun project.

Thanks for sending plans, we look forward to them.
George, Mechanicsville, Virginia

Comments

Playhouse loft bed with stairs and slide

Submitted by alminter on Wed, 07/08/2015 - 21:29

This is by far the biggest project I've completed yet. It actually surprised me how easy it was to complete. It did take me about 4 days to build the project and an additional week to sand and paint the project.

I followed the playhouse loft plans and the storage stairs plans, adjusting only the back to allow for the additional length of the slide. I didn't add the windows to the sides (I didn't see any point in having them there). I also used the castle loft plans for the slide. When I first started this project I was planning on making the slide completely separate. I changed my mind mid project after I had the side wall cut to length at Lowe's, so I just added that small piece to the left of the slide to make up for the gap. I also made this project in 4 separate pieces (stairs, slide, front wall, back) so I could put it together in her room in one evening and not have to kick her out. Once we moved it to her room all I had to do was screw the four corners in and attach the back wall and bed slats.

I definitely recommend not using particle board. I had no idea what the difference was between particle board, mdf and plywood when I started this project. Particle board was less then half the cost of plywood, but looking back I would pay the extra for the plywood. I don't feel like the screws hold well in the particle board and it also chipped on the bottom some. I actually had a chunk come off in the corner where I must of screwed to closely to the edge. I'm sure this is basic knowledge for most, but for those newbies (like me) just a little tip.

I had a lot of fun building this bed (not so much sanding and painting) and learned a lot. Now off to browse for my next project :)

Estimated Cost
400-500
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Distressed Bed Side Tables

Submitted by Ryan in NH on Mon, 01/29/2018 - 07:38

This was a really fun project. I altered the dimensions slighly to fit my space. I also used a piece of 1/4" ply for the bottom shelf instead of thicker common board. You can keep the cost way down if you rip 2x6's into 2x2's. A single 2x2 is about $10 whereas a 2x6 is $6. You get three 2x2's out of the 2x6, so you're basically getting triple for half the cost. Pick REALLY straight 2x6's though! 

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Ipswitch pine on distressed top
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Sturdy Work Bench - First project completed!

Submitted by kmatt55 on Sun, 05/22/2011 - 16:04

My first project from Ana's website! I figured in order to make more furniture I'm going to need a sturdy work bench to help me along the way. I cut my legs at 36" instead of 33". The 3 added inches brings it to a standard kitchen countertop height (I think, at least mine is). Thanks for the inspiration and plan pericles49!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$65
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Water based clear semi-gloss polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Clip strip art

This was a great way to keep my five year old daughter busy on a rainy afternoon. I had a scrap piece of 1x4 and bought some clothes pins and 10 cents clearance wooden figures at Joann. We also used some left over acrylic paint and some glitter nail polish. Thanks for a other great idea Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$5
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Tall Corner Media Console

Submitted by sully777 on Mon, 07/13/2015 - 10:17

Easy excellent project for That odd room you may have that needs a corner tv stand.

I use pre made 16" wide 3/4" MDF shelving from Home Depot for the Shelves, Used 1" x 3" for the top, and sprayed it all with Rustoleum Industrial flat black which dries in 15min, was the large size cans for $5.40 and and only useds 3.25 cans to paint the whole thing. 

 

TV is a 55" Class so it actually works perfect, because the tv stand is two legs and not the typical center mounted ones. so  put the tv toward the front of the console and the console is as far as you can go into the corner.

I have two power strips screwed to the back of the console, along with a cable amplifier, my wireless router for the house sits right behind the TV and you can see the blue status lights under the bottom of the TV.

Have  my speaker bar in the added shelf #1 below the tv, comcast cable modem in the right side square, TIVO in the center top, DVD Player in the center bottom, and loads of extra shelf space for whatever else I can think of....

Built from Plan(s)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Barn door cabinet

7.5' long cabinet, made with pine boards. Hardware purchased on Amazon.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
This was made to sit under our new wall mounted 75" tv!
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Slightly modified corner cupboard

My wife worked with a lady that wanted an extra tall corner hutch. She couldn't find one that would fit her requirements that was also within her budget. Naturally I got volunteered to make it since I'm pretty handy. It stands 7 feet tall. The shelving is made from birch plywood. She wanted a drawer in the middle and glass doors on top with lighting. Personally I would have chosen a lighter color but she wanted all black.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments