Community Brag Posts

Homemade Home Office with Peninsula Desk

Thank you Ana for so many amazing plans and shelf help that helped me get this monster built! Now my husband has a nice office where he can work from home. I was so impressed with how easy it was to make the plans in shelf help and how quickly it all arrived. (I can’t link the drawer slide trick plans, but they were key and I based the middle table off of the foldable farmhouse idea)

Comments

Leaning Wall Shelf - My First Build

Submitted by dhrider33 on Sun, 05/22/2011 - 17:23

Finally I drummed up enough courage to try a project ... the leaning wall shelf. My husband and I had a great time working on it together.

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Primer / Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Headboard Benches

Submitted by LARMO on Sun, 07/14/2013 - 13:11

Both footboards were cut in half attached with Kreg jig frames built for the seats out of leftover 1x2 and the seats were from leftover 1x6 fence boards cut to fit. Both headboards were oak the first was stained using 3 coats of pittsburgh exterior stain . The second was originally painted white so I left as is and added the seat as the other and left it rustic looking.

Estimated Cost
under $30 for both stain and phs
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Pittsburgh barn red
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Weathered Gray Triple Truss

Submitted by SunDay35 on Tue, 07/14/2015 - 09:01

The most difficult part of this design are the beveled pieces that creae the truss. The angles have to be exact

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Weathered gray, wood conditioner, matte polyeurathane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Rustic X End Table

Made two of these and I made them a bit thinner as I wanted these to be on the end of the sofa where there was not a lot of space. Matched the hardware with my rustic X console table I made a few years back.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$25 each.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Weathered Oak with a a wipe on poly and an additional layers of polyurethane on top surface.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Beefy step stool

Submitted by wudrite on Sun, 02/13/2022 - 12:12

Legs made of 2x10 southern yellow pine scrap for strength & stability. Rails made of radiata pine scrap. Top made out of hickory panel reclaimed from $0.50 restore cabinet door for strength & weight while looking sharp. Legs & rails have 2 coats, top as 3-4 coats of platina shellac. Was fun to do a scrapwood project that provides something both nice & practical. Result extremely stable, no amount of weight seems to phase it.

Comments

Guest Room update

Submitted by nlaupp on Wed, 05/25/2011 - 15:18

Our guest room had to be ready for some friends coming in town for the week. Before this room had no shelves and worse yet; no head board. Turned this boring room into...well a less boring room. In the picture are my first two projects; the Ten Dollar Ledges and the Reclaimed-wood headboard.

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
The ledges were just painted with a glossy white and the head board was painted with a flat charcoal, distressed, and finished with a mahogany gel stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Sweet Pea Bunkbed - Modified

I took the basic plans for the Sweet Pea Bunk Bed and modified them to make a loft bed for my daughter. She dreams of opening her own restaurant when she gets older. The bed is on top and her restaurant is below. I made a chalkboard on the back wall of the bottom section. Curtains will be added sometime in the near future in her restaurant as well. Now she wants a cafe table and chairs as well.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Olympic One Gloss and Valspar Chalkboard paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Loft bed for our girls

Submitted by RenayW on Sat, 07/18/2015 - 05:33

The first picture is of our oldest daughters bed (purple/black). We took the original design and increased measurements to fit a full size mattress and adjusted platform to fit room size. The remaining pictures are of our youngest daughters be (purple/white), which is only a twin. 

Some of the tweaks we made were:

* building for a full size bed

* adjusting platform and stair width so the entire bed went from wall to wall

*adding brackets in all 4 corners for extra support (not shown in purple/black bed - weren't added at time picture was taken, just used triangle pieces of extra wood for brackets)

* Used plywood as bunkie board for both beds. Twin - 1 sheet just layed on top of cleats, fit perfect; Full - 1 1/2 sheets, used 'H' clips to hold the two pieces together when on frame and screwed down onto the cleats.

* shortened platform on purple/white bed  bringing the stairs back a little to go under window

* added design element at end of purple/white bed to ensure entry on and off the bed would be safe and always on platform since it was shortned

One thing we did that wasn't mentioned in original plans, unless I either overlooked them or is a standard procedure when working with wood (seeing as I am a complete novice) all the wood we purchased need to be checked for quality - needed straight boards with minimal cracks and all the wood needed to be sanded down. Overall the project wasn't difficult, but I was guided by an expert. It took us about 20hrs over a period of three weekends to finish both beds from purchasing material to setting up in room. But that was due to emergencies, work schedules and traveling to the workshop we were using.

 

Estimated Cost
We purchased material for both beds at the same time, total cost was about $300-$330....so roughly $150-$160 each *(note full size material cost a little more)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Used a primer on wood and then paint color of choosing
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse head and footboard

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/06/2022 - 18:33

Still need to paint it. Perfect weekend project. Such an easy build! Thank you!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Corner Cabinet--Perfect for practicing corners

This was my second project. I wanted to get practice working with corners so I could do a media cabinet eventually and this was a great starting point. This cabinet is a great addition to our dining area too! My little helpers were never far away :)

Estimated Cost
$150 (higher costs thanks to island living)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Randomly mixed (flat interior based) paints in a shade of green (left over from another project).
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Perfect Trestle Table/Desk

Submitted by c-e-fogus on Thu, 07/18/2013 - 11:16

My husband asked me to make a small and inexpensive table for our new TV. I decided to make a desk so it would be able to be used later when we move the TV. Very easy plans. Easy assembly. Great beginner project. I used 1X6 for the top instead of 2X6. It was less expensive and seems to work just fine. I also threw together a small TV stand so the DVD player can go under the TV and not clutter up the table. It's 3 1X4's @ 20 inches. And I made the sides by ripping the leftover 1X4 in half the same width as the top. I spent $30 in wood and have some scraps left over for another project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax stain in Early American. Minwax fast drying polyurethane in clear satin.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

FIRST BUILD!! West Elm Early American Inspired Sideboard

After unsuccessfully searching for the perfect sideboard for my office space, I got up enough courage to make one myself.  I am so thrilled with the finished project!! 

Estimated Cost
$140 all in (wood, screws, stains, polyurethane)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Early American on the body, trim and some door panels. Minwax Dark Walnut for the rest of the door panels.

In order to create the rustic look of the doors, I left the stains on for various amounts of time. I also taped off some sections for the initial stain, then lightly brushed over those spots to create a more weathered look
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Grandy Sliding Door Console

Submitted by Justjoshin on Sun, 02/18/2018 - 05:59

Used this plan and tried to Gary a rustic look. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax dark walnut, white pickling stain, and clean poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

corner shelf for spring organizing

I built this corner shelf as part of my spring organizing effort. I have to say, that the shelf looks too good to be left in the basement's corner.

Comments

Modified & Far from Perfect Corner Unit

We were in desperate need of a corner media unit. I just know that Ana will post something incredible for this soon, but we just couldn't wait any longer. SO...I 'TRIED' to modify her lovely Cabin Collection Media Console & Hutch. Her plans were great, and I pretty much followed them step-by-step and just modified corners and things to fit my need. I'll emphasize...it is NOT perfect by any means and is probably not 'done-by-the-book', but it hides all of my hubbies gamer items (rockband guitars and keyboard, wires, controllers, games, etc). AND, I built it with growing room for his biggest wish, a new t.v. :)

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$300 (higher prices of lumber on an island)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Nuwood poly stain-Walnut. 2 fulls coats of stain, lightly sanded between coats.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Teddy Bear Bunk Beds

I made these bunk beds for my daughter and her best friend for her best friends birthday. My 4 year old daughter helped putting them together and painting so she got one too:) We used the paint sparkle add-ins from lowes with sample paint colors in each girls' favorite color. I haven't finished the bedding for my daughter's yet, but as you can see, it is working just fine without bedding:)

Estimated Cost
$25 for both with bedding
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar sparkle add-in and Valspar yellow and purple samples (don't remember exact color, actually I don't think I ever looked, my child selected them:) I just sanded with a sanding sponge and then painted when done.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

XL Twin Storage Bed

I took plans from two makers and changed them to fit my needs.

I took the base from the Fix This Build That DIY Daybed with Storage Drawers plans. And I used the headboard/footboard concept from the Shanty-2-Chic DIY Modern Farmhouse Platform Bed plans and made this extra tall, extra long twin size bed.

I made it for a client (friend). It is for her daughter. White washed instead of paint of stain. 

Estimated Cost
$170
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
White wash (watered down white paint) and triple thick top coat in satin finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate