Community Brag Posts

Red Hen Home's Triple Printers Console

This Printers Console functions as our entertainment center! I omitted the center drawer in favor of a shelf to hold the Wii console and DVD player. I added three DVD storage racks behind the cupboard doors. More details available here: http://redhenhome.blogspot.com/2014/01/triple-printers-console-cabinet…

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Rustoleum American Walnut Stain, DIY chalk paint with Valspar Perfect Storm paint. MMS waxes.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

bullitt453

Tue, 01/28/2014 - 05:56

Love the finish that you used on this. I've been wanting to give chalk paint a try. May have to do that on my next project.

Pam the Goatherd

Tue, 01/28/2014 - 08:03

Gorgeous! This project is on my to-do list but I've got a couple other things that must be done first. And I can't do anything until our weather warms up into positive numbers since my workshop isn't heated or insulated. I hope mine turns out looking as good as yours does.

Camp Loft Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/22/2016 - 12:21

I used the Camp loft bed with stair plan. I raised the height by 4 inches to accommodate taller items being pushed under it. I also added the "railing" due to not being pushed up against the wall on the stair side.

Estimated Cost
About $75 dollars in lumber and $30 in stain and screws.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Drift-wood stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/14/2020 - 05:02

This was my first furniture build, and I'm very much an amateur at woodworking. That being said, this was very easy to build and we're thrilled with the result. The only things I changed were making the bed 6 inches taller so we could store more under it and using 4x4s for the center leg supports. Also, I used joist hangers to hang the center supports instead of screwing through the footboard and headboard support.

I can't wait to build the matching nightstands!

Estimated Cost
200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax polyshades in pecan.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Under Cabinet Spice Rack

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 09/11/2023 - 13:06

I needed to clear out a shelf in my cabinet and add a spice rack so I could actually see everything. This came out perfect! Made of Oak and stained with classic oak. Very simple to build and hung with pocket screws

James Breadbox

Built from Plan(s)

Queen Farmhouse bed

Submitted by mediccac on Mon, 04/16/2012 - 21:19

This is a modified Farmhouse queen bed. This was the first thing I have ever made from wood by myself for my wife and I.

Built from Plan(s)
Finish Used
Milk white paint sanded to distress.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Black Channing Desk w/ Stained Top

Submitted by brewatts on Wed, 01/29/2014 - 18:26

Channing Desk built with select pine boards and maple plywood top/sides. Fairly easy project. The sanding/painting/staining took much longer than the actual building. We used 2 coats of Special Walnut followed by 2 coats of Weathered Oak. Then to finish, 3 layers of polyurethane. Very pleased with the plan and finished desk. Thanks Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Special Walnut
Minwax Weathered Oak
Rustoleum Semi-gloss Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

TV Stand

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/27/2016 - 07:33

This was an easy project. It took longer to paint and stain than the construction.
Thanks for the plans, this web site is awesome.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Under $200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

LEGO Play and Storage Table

Submitted by Bradnag on Sun, 01/19/2020 - 14:13

Used the plans for the Arts & Crafts Play Table, but ditched the angled legs (the squared off legs have no stability issues at all), and used a regular piece of 1/4" fiberboard instead of acrylic for the lid. On the lid I glued a 15x15 LEGO baseplate, and compartments underneath are for LEGO storage. The local REStore had an 8ft length of 3" laminated MDF trim for $2, which worked perfectly as the trim for the top of the table with no sanding or painting required.

I know the paint in the photo looks super-streaky, but I used some leftover Rust-Oleum cobalt blue metallic floor paint, so it's shimmery and glossy. Unfortunately the visual effect photographs poorly.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$15
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Rust-Oleum metallic floor paint, cobalt blue
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Scaled down Planked Wood Sideboard

Submitted by hcharnock on Thu, 04/19/2012 - 06:02

I wanted two sideboards flanking the doorway in my dining room. I took these awesome plans and just scaled them down, building the middle portion of the sideboard only and ignoring the two sides. I used the exact measurements of the middle portion of the plan. Other changes were that I used 1x12's on the ends of the sideboard, instead of planks, and luan in the doors, instead of beadboard. My biggest advice to someone else building this would be to make sure that the unit is square as you build, if it is not, you will have some serious shim work to do with the drawer slides! (of course, I know nothing about this, haha!) It was a great plan and a lot of fun to build. Oh, and I also used my router to rout out a 1/2 inch deep groove all the way around the back side of the unit, that way I could inset my back into the piece and it would not be visible from the side.

Estimated Cost
$85 for both of the sideboards, but I already had the paint and some of the wood
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I caulked seams, woodfilled holes, sanded with 120 grit, primed with Cover Stain, sanded with 220 grit, painted with Olympic Low-VOC white semi-gloss paint, sanded with 220 and painted again!
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

spiceylg

Thu, 04/19/2012 - 08:04

You did an amazing job! Great idea and looks fab! I'm trying to get up the nerve to build it full size. I've just done simple projects so the thought of doing doors and especially drawers makes me nervous as I'm real particular and get frustrated when things don't go as planned!

hcharnock

Thu, 04/19/2012 - 17:04

Hi! Thanks for the compliment. I have a Bosch Colt, handheld router that I used for all of the routing, on the back of the unit and also on the doors to inset the panels. Hope that helps!

Hillary (not verified)

Mon, 05/14/2012 - 23:02

Great work! I love that you routed the back. It's so nice not to see the back tacked on. In some applications it is no big deal, but for a piece like this, when you're walking by the side of it every day, I think it is much more polished not to see the back. And...I totally know what you mean about building square for that drawer!!

crooked dog house

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/01/2016 - 15:31

A few years ago I was looking for plans for a dog house to be used as a prop for a seasonal photo promotion. I found these plans and made the house, it was perfect! The promotion was to get a holiday photo of your dog in exchange for a donation of dog food, which was donated to a local food bank. The project brought in over 500 pounds of food!

The plans were super easy to follow and the structure was very soild.

Thanks for all you do!

Ken from Canada

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
Seasonal And Holiday

Farmhouse X Coffee Table

Submitted by Loaded918 on Fri, 01/24/2020 - 17:09

This was my first woodworking project, and it turned out really well. I am going to have to make all of the matching furniture to go with it as well now. My wife has been pushing me to find a hobby (probably to get me out of her hair), and it looks like I have found the one. Did this one with just a circular saw and a drill, now it's time to get a Kreg Jig. Also need to find a way to make my cuts a tad bit straighter as well, but I hope this soon leads to me getting a miter saw.

Estimated Cost
$36
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Mission Oak by Miniwax
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Laundry basket dresser with a drop-down ironing board

Submitted by getcz on Sun, 04/22/2012 - 18:35

I used Ana's Laundry Basket Dresser plans but I added a drop-down ironing board and and made the entire top surface ready to iron on. A swing-out leg under the ironing board helps to stabilize while ironing.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Laundry
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Teen's Study Space

Submitted by Stacie on Wed, 02/05/2014 - 06:25

I created a comfortable study space for my teen's room with plans from Ana. This was fun to build and everyone enjoyed working on it as a family project. I love that I can customize the furniture to fit my home and lifestyle by diy-ing it all! Thank you Ana for sharing your plans.

Estimated Cost
$120
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used Minwax Early American stain, Valspar Indigo paint, and polyurethane, then distressed some of the pieces with a sanding block.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Barn door tv stand

Submitted by BojackH on Mon, 05/02/2016 - 20:44

We had a cheapo tv stand made out of pressed board which I felt was one nudge short of collapsing.  So decided to build an upgrade.  There were a few electronic components I wanted to be in the middle so designed a 3 bay instead of the 4 bay originally posted here. I used the picture from the sliding door hardware tutorial site - but instead of joining the plywood box with kreg screws I instead used Spax MDF screws on the end grain + wood glue (they work great and don't split the plywood at all - no need to predrill either!).

For the shelves, I drilled a buncha pin holes in case I wanted to adjust the height.  For the top I used 3 2x6's instead of the 1by used here.

With the backing, I used scrap planks from a couple pallets - I spaced them at about 2 inches to allow airflow for the components (HTPC/ PS4/ modem) as well as the ability to run cords through.

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minewax Special walnut for base & doors. Minewax Dark Walnut for top. 3 coats of Minewax Satin Polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Scrap Wood Barn

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/22/2023 - 08:11

My daughter watched me do another build project and wanted something for herself. We built the Toy Barn from Ana White's plans using only scraps around the garage!

Laura Thompson

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Twin Farmhouse with Trundle

Submitted by mommaerika on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 09:52

This is the twin farmhouse bed and the matching trundle. We chopped about 8 inches off the headboard since we were not using a boxspring for our mattress. Other than that it's as written. I'm so thrilled to free up space in our girls' room!

Estimated Cost
$200 - 250 give or take for both
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Primer, 2 coats of basic white semi-gloss paint, and poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

t00court

Fri, 08/22/2014 - 16:27

This is exactly what I'm looking for!
My husband and I would like to begin building this ASAP. Could you please clarify for me that the original measurements for the Twin Farmhouse bed and the trundle bed will certainly be able to accommodate one another? I just want to make sure it'll fit! I think I saw someone else comment that they changed some of the measurements to make a trundle bed fit underneath, but they didn't go into detail.

We also won't be using a box spring.

Thank you for your help!

Childrens table and chairs

We built Two children's table and 8 stackable chairs for one of our daycare's. It took a lot of work but once we figured out the first chair it was a breeze for the other 7.

Estimated Cost
$30
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
We stained the wood in a Cherry Stain and finished with multiple coats of Poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

timh

Sat, 02/08/2014 - 15:54

Awesome! I built one for our homeschool and it works great. Yours look very nice.

Queen Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/07/2016 - 17:56

Made the bed using the Queen Farmhouse bed plans as a guide.

Wanted to include my box spring so modified the frame so the bed sits inside the frame.  Also had to increase the height of the head and footboard to accommodate the additional height of the box spring.  

Added middle legs to the frame, somewhat for support but mainly to make the connect to the head and footboard easier (since I was doing it myself).  

Used leftover prefinished fooring for the paneling.  Like the contrast with the white, plus really ties it in with the room.  Bed came out really well, wasn't sure since I've never used plans from this site before but can now say, will be doing so in the future. Next up, matching farmhouse mini nightstand! 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Satin white enamel
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
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