Had a lot of fun completing this project. I was assisted by my fiance and her little brother.
The original plans were altered to measure 6 feet long to fit the space. The top is all cedar which I had planned to keep unfinished and oil each month. Well, that was the plan until I found that it was very hard to clean with kids eating on it and because the 2x4 boards were screwed down, they allowed a lot of food, water to seep through. Some of the boards began splitting and warped considerably. Then I discovered the pocket hole jig!! I took the top off, gave a good sand to them and attached all with pocket hole screws which tightened them up so much that I needed to add an extra 2x4 to adequately cover the top of the island. I also added a breadboard to the end to give it that finished look. To fill in the grooves I used wood filler with a dark pigment, and gave it a really good sanding after it dried. I then applied Varathane in 4 coats to the top after using steel wool in between coats. Gives it a lovely natural cedar patina and keeps the breadcrumbs out.
Needed new nightstands for our new house....these worked out perfectly.
I was intrigued by Ana’s Simple 2x4 Potting Bench. The project seemed simple enough and it would be used as a means to clean up clutter in the garage. My main focus was to make it semi-portable and weather resistant. Instead of using 2x4’s for the corner posts, I used 4x4’s to accommodate casters. I also shorted the length of the posts by 4 inches to compensate for the height of the casters. To provide extra rigidity I did a dado for the 2x4’s that connect the front and rear legs. In retrospect, I wish that I did not dado the legs because it made it more difficult to attach some of the shelf planks. I painted the frame green and left the shelves and backboards clear for beautiful contrast. My wife is ecstatic with the result.
This was my very first project (yay!). I finally got over my fear of power tools and my husband bought me a jigsaw for my birthday. (Yes, I built this whole thing with a jigsaw! Clearly I was clueless about power tools back then! :) But even a jigsaw was pretty intimidating at that stage!)
Ok... so in hindsight it was a really bad idea to start on a project marked as "intermediate" for my first project, but I was so in love with this desk that I just HAD to have it. The drawer made it really tricky, but I figured no one has to know if it has its little quirks. :)
I saw a similar version of this desk on Pottery Barn's website, which retailed for a whopping $700! Thank you Ana for giving us the gift of amazing furniture for a fraction of the price!
Tue, 04/02/2013 - 15:17
Congratulations on going for a tricky project. It's gorgeous.
Tue, 04/02/2013 - 17:53
Thank you Francoise! Your brag post (and the others for this plan) were a huge inspiration to me!
Great project. I didn't have all the tools and/or skills to make some things exact or perfect, but I am very happy with the finished project and more importantly the wife loves it! Thanks so much for sharing. I still need to add x, but I ran out of time.
I used the Outdoor Set plans to start with the sofa, but I didn't like the height of the back. I adjusted it with pallet boards and copied the curved shape of our Adirondack chairs. The bench was made entirely from upcycled wood, including pallets and landscape ties. All the cushions were made with fabric (waterproof) shower curtains. The most expensive part was the 4" foam for the cushions. I used Varathane Diamond Wood Finish, so it will all last for a really long time.
Went together nicely. I had to use cedar 4x4s for the posts -they were kind of pricey compared to the pine.
We made this table from the original Balin Console table plans, but faced out the drawer fronts with some mitered trim and added some drawer stops inside to keep the drawers from falling out when pulled all the way.
The drawers were made with a cabinet grade plywood along with the sides and bottom of the table. We used 1x8s on the console top to get that nice wood look, where all corners and ends would be showing, but for the sides and bottom of the table, since the edges were all trimed out, the plywood worked out nicely.
The legs seemed plenty sturdy without the extra trim, so we skipped that to get a more simple look.
Drawer handles were found at our local Home Depot.
For the finish, we stained (with Minwax ebony) the edges where we wanted distressing, then wiped on vaseline along edges and painted over in Behr Swiss Coffee (white) in matte. After drying we took sandpaper to the edges to show the dark stain through. Because we used matte paint, after everything was finished, we waxed with a clear wax and buffed for a nice shine and a smooth texture.
I made 2 for my bare front patio
I built the dresser to match the canopy bed.
Rather than buy a cheap toddler bed from a chain retailer I decided to build my own. Ana's plans were amazing! I changed just few things to fit our needs. My son loves it and so do I.
Made this cute little bed for my three year old Granddaughter....she absolutely loves it!!!
This is a version of Ana's industrial closets used in a new house. Everyone that has seen it thought it was cool. I used 2x4 for uprights and shelf supports. Shelves are 1x4 and the rods are big box store closet rods.
Thanks a lot for the free plans. We enjoy out new deck !
Here is the latest Table I have made. I cant get enough of this table design, the rustic bold feel blending with curved lines is awesome.
Patio sectional
Covered sandbox with folding benches. It was surprisingly easy to build and a lot of fun. I opted to forgo the pocket holes this time.
I found the Little Sloane desk and bookshelf on the Land of Nod site. I thought it would be a great bday gift for my niece, who has a very small bedroom. I did not have an actual building plan to use, but I loosely based my plan off the Leaning Bookshelves project in Ana's book. The picture I have is when I first gave it to her and then a few with it in use.
Fri, 04/12/2013 - 13:23
Hi Jaime, thank you so much for posting!!! We've had a ton of requests for this project - mind if I draw up plans to share? Thank you so much - it is beautiful - and I love the smile! Ana
Mon, 04/15/2013 - 17:35
Hi Ana, Thank you so much for sharing this project! I just uploaded some pictures of the desk and bookshelf in use. Thanks!
Fri, 04/12/2013 - 14:53
Thank you! Please do draw up and share the plans. It was a fun build!
My wife asked me to make a pair of these to go with the outdoor table I built
Fri, 05/15/2015 - 17:33
This bench came out great. I love the finish.
I am going to be building one of these soon. I have been trying to think of a clean way to attach the little "y" pieces without the back of the bench looking too messy. How did you attach yours?
Made this coop in a weekend. $140 in material. Still a bit of work to do.
