Community Brag Posts

Built these window box planters with cedar fence pickets, for the trim I just ripped down some pickets to keep costs down. These look great on the local coffee shop! The brackets were found on Amazon. 

Thank you soo much for the apron plans. I've used a sewing machine about 5 times in my life, and I didn't know what "stitch in the ditch" or bias tape or trim was, but with the plans and some web searching, I was actually able to sew this apron. It took me considerably longer than others, especially because I don't have an iron, pins, or a seam ripper (ripping a seam took me over an hour). Again, thank you sooo much! I hope to never lose my pen and tape measure at the lumber yard again with this handy creation :)

My son needed more room in his bedroom...and to be rid of the very girly furniture he inherited when he moved into his "big boy-ish" bedroom. At 10 yrs old, it was high time he got a bed that wasn't pink-tinged, white washed pine with 4 posters and enough curlicues to choke a forest. He also needed a desk which I couldn't really fit in his room with the armoire and chest of drawers that came with the Queen sized bed.

So off to Ikea we went and I saw a black loft bed for $300, but it was really, really high which meant I would have to cut it down and it was not sturdy at all. I looked at PB and saw the $1800 bed. Um, no - that wasn't happening. So, off to Ana-White I went and I'm so happy I did!

I built the full sized version of these plans and, to keep costs down, used wood I had on hand. This meant I had to work a bit at the cuts, but it all worked out.

Mods:
1) I modified the railings to have the ladder at the end of the bed to keep away from the ceiling fan.

2) Because I put the ladder at the end of the bed, I got very nervous about having a soon-to-be teen climbing on to a ladder secured to a 1x10 that was only connected to the side railings with glue and screws. So I sandwiched extra 1x3s over the bottom rails and attached them to the top railing.

3) I was very nervous about making sure that the bed was adequately supported so I put a 2x4 down the center instead of the 1x2.

4) I went a wee-bit overboard screwing things together to the point where it's a bit embarrassing and now I have to paint over the screw heads.

5) I made the ladder treads with 2x4's, modifying the inside spacer board cut lengths.

Because I had quite a bit of lumber on hand, the bed only ended up costing me about $90.

For the bookcase, I did end up buying the 1x12s and the adjustable shelf railings. I made the book shelf the entire width of of the bed and split the two sections based on width of the 1x24 board I bought for the desk. I only put the backer board up half way so that the daylight could get underneath the bed and make it not so cave-like.

The book case cost me about $70.

The desk was the easiest...but most costly item. A 1x6x24, 4 table legs and the table leg mounts ran me about $80. The plexiglass top that I had cut for the top cost me about $80.

Time wise, this would have taken me a lot less time than the 4 months it took - but I worked on it as I could and when I could, by myself. I got some friends to help me bring it upstairs and put it back together, but it was mostly done when I could fit in some time.

My son LOVES this and it really does give him so much room!!! Thanks Ana - I really appreciate it!

I loved the look of the Rustic X Bench but wanted to modify to be an entry table. I took the exact plans, but made it longer and taller. The X bracing didn't match up exactly, but I like it with the separation. The stain is a Minwax Espresso finish. I added adjustable glides to the bottom so I could adjust if needed. It was an excellent first project and it fits in our home PERFECT! Thanks Ana for the inspiration to create, build and be a mommy at the same time :)

Tablesaw, router, fliptop mitersaw, and dust collection workbench. 

Garage shelving using costco 27 gallon bin.

Tanni

I made this outdoor chair by looking at a variety of plans and designs from Restoration Hardware and other stores. Check out more info on the project on my blog link. Thanks for looking!

We've been wanting to tackle some outdoor furniture for a while and finally took advantage of a coupon to get a bunch of outdoor cushions. With a big mound of cushions taking up space, we had to force ourselves to get to it. We spent more time talking about cushion and stain colors then it actually took to cut and screw it together. This is a great solid project to start with. Don't be intimidated by it. We can't wait to start on some chairs to go with it.