Community Brag Posts

My husband and I just bought our first house, and we realized that our daughter's full sized bed just wasn't going to fit in her 11x10 bedroom (neither was a twin bed--not with the rest of her furniture). So I enlisted my father-in-law, who I've learned is quite handy, to build this loft bed. It is so perfect in my girl's new room, and I know she's going to have it for years to come! Underneath is the perfect spot for her desk, and the shelves house all of her books perfectly (and she has A LOT!). I'm so excited that my ideas and dreams for her room have come to life!

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.

I'm building a doll bunk bed from Ana's plans later on for a friend's daughter.  I figured that since I had all the materials to do the linens, I would get that finished now.  I used the plans from Ana's 18" doll mattress instructions and created these two sets of beds - they're "sisters" but not twins, since I ran out of materials to make 2 quilts.  Since it's going to one recipient, I figure she won't mind having 1 quilt and 1 blanket that coordinate.  The mattresses were SUPER easy to put together, and I opted to keep them plain without buttons, in case I want to make fitted sheets at another time.  Took me about 10 minutes to make each mattress.

I love Ana White and her designs. I love that she makes the plans easy for a novice like myself to create something functional and beautiful. I love that this project cost me a total of $8.00 for all the supplies, including fabric which was a thrift store score. I love that my Xi loves it. I love that Farm Girl wants one for herself in green. This was a fun project.

Edited to add the green chair for Farm Girl. She was very happy...

A great beginners project. I put this simple bench together with scraps I had. For a full tutorial come over and check it out
http://www.ahouse-2-home.com/2013/07/17/scrap-wood-seating/
... If you have any questions be sure to leave us comment.

Happy Building!
Vanessa

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!! 

I needed a new desk and found some plans on Ana's website.Made a little modification to it for a little more work space. Turned out great I thought. Had never used pocket holes before, I think I'm hooked now.

Loved Ana's Balin Console, but the space I had available for this piece was only big enough for two drawers, so I attempted to change it. A few minor mistakes called for a few other modifications as well (the drawer fronts), but overall I am still happy with the product. The first nail and hammer only project I've completed (other than the ten dollar ledges). The passion for this new-found hobby continues, THANKS ANA!

I think that this is my favorite project so far! It was a daylong project for the build and then another full day of sanding and finishing. My girlfriend needed a new table for a big dining room in her new place so she got this. She is happy it looks great and is extremely functional. I will add the bench that I made to match as soon as I get the pictures. I am available to do builds for people who like what they see and dont want to pay retail price for this stuff. check out my profile

http://ana-white.com/users/daddydrew

I made two of these tables for a friend.  She was very happy with them.  One of my first projects.

My daughter's room needed more storage and the closet was the perfect place to add some! Visit the blog link for more pictures.

I was going to make this project out of pallets, but all the pallets that I have access too were pretty beat up and falling apart, so my mom gave me some leftover cedar fencing that she had on hand.

This is my first build using reclaimed wood; the boards looked pretty straight when I got them, and even after they had set in my heated garage for a week, but when building time came I found that they are warped. The boards dont fit exact, but I think it gives it more character.

My husband and I are debating on if we should stain it, paint it or just seal it. We plan on using it for a silverware caddy, since the house we're currently in doesnt have a single drawer in the kitchen big enough for a silverware tray! We do plan on using rope for a handle on it, but I have yet to find a rope that I like the feel of in my hands (Im picky like that).

I made this using hand tools, and 16gage nails (what I had on hand). My brother is currently hoarding all the power tools at his house and isnt sharing so I must learn how to do everything old school again!

This is also my first build of anything since becoming a mommy for the first time (6 yrs ago!), since then I've generally stuck to reupholstering things. Now I want better, less expensive things than I could just buy.

We had these spices in a cabinet, which were impossible to see stuff in the back. This was a perfect solution.

Now, we also had more spices then we know what to do with, so we added a second rack at the bottom of the door as well. I just adapted the plans to be 30 inches tall to accommodate the size of the lower portion of the door. This was accomplished by removing the 1st and 3rd measurements for shelves, and using the remaining for an extra tall shelf.

I also only used a finish nailer (and wood glue),to assemble, in combination with a brad nailer to hold the back plywood on.

I also chose not to include the dowel buttons on the end, and did not cut the dowels to length; they were inserted all the way through and trimmed off with a Japanese pull saw (get one, you will LOVE it), then fastened through the front with the finish nailer, then sanded flush.

I also elected not to paint to finish the piece and leave the natural wood.

I took the workbench plans, less the casters. I also added the shelf on top. It was fun to take the plans and then sketch out new specs to adjust for the rack

Saw the other project and based everything off of that. I made some adjustments on the shelf side to ensure I could lay down 3 layers of 2x6's without it hanging off too far. At first I wasn't going to go with the rail shelf system, but I couldn't find anything that I liked at the store to make actually shelves. I did cut a 2* angle on the bottom and top of the shelf framing. I figured if I put enough weight on those shelves, I woudln't want it messing with the frame of the cart too much. On the bin side, I decided to just do different heights instead of angled because I know I'll have plenty of 3' plus. I chose to put a scrap bin on the end for anything smaller than a foot. Many of those joints were done with my Kreg setup, but not all of them. The last fix I did was add a 2x4 to the insde of the shelf frame. This was to move the shelf hangers in so that an 8' board wasn't just edge to edge (I found that to be a problem when I put some of the 1x4's on there...they would be on 2, but not always all 3). So moving each side in around 1.5" gives you about 3" to play with as far as 8' lumber goes. This enabled me to turn my old storage into bench and shelves and I'm ready to get moving on projects!

A *mini* Farmhouse Bedside Table

Simple white outdoor furniture. Easy to assemble. Ordered outdoor fabric online @ purchased bulk outdoor foam & cut it myself! Much cheaper than pre made cushions.

I made easy picnic table for my son over the weekend. The plans are very straight forward and easy to follow. This table fits two toddlers on each side but it was smaller than I thought it was going to be. I think my son will grow out of this by the time he is 4.