Community Brag Posts

We have gone through several sets of deck furniture at our home in Monument, Colorado. We like wicker, but so do the squirrels! Inspired by an article in the Wall Street Journal where the author used his wood shop experience to make outdoor furniture and avoid "astronomical prices," I found this site. I thought, "Even I can build something out of 2x4s." I borrowed my neighbor's high-end chop saw and made two chairs, a love seat (by cutting the dimensions of the 79" sofa - three cushions - down to 55" - two cushions, and the coffee table, cut down from 55" to 47". Construction took less than two weeks from purchasing the wood to finishing. Everyone who has seen the finished set loves it.

A play kitchen stove and sink for my 1.5 year old daughter for Christmas!

This was my second woodworking project ever. It was VERY involved. It took me about 3-6 months of planning, ordering, buying, figuring out, and finally building the thing.

I used magnetic primer on most of it. Some magnets do stick to it, but I learned some very important lessons: Magnetic primer is MESSY and it doesn't sand very well, so when you paint it on, it should be done in the smoothest possible way in the smallest area. I primed with it using a roller and when I sanded it, got metal shaving dust EVERYWHERE (because the metal shavings in the primer keep it magnetic, obviously).

Made the curtain and matching towel. Next on the list: Matching apron and kids oven mitts!

This "island" was inspired by the plans for the Easy Kitchen Island, with a bit of a twist. My roommate is really into cooking, and had a little butcher block that he wanted to upgrade. Our kitchen is fairly narrow, but there was a huge bare spot underneath some cabinets that was begging to be used. Our cabinets were overflowing and we needed more storage space. The kitchen island-butcher block combo solved both problems and fit nicely under our cabinet.

After a little research, we decided to go with an end-grain board made with maple. We looked around and ended up getting a bunch of wood off of eBay for about 65 bucks. The butcher block turned out to be a bear of a project. Without access to a table saw (not going to happen in this apartment) it took some sanding, then more sanding, then a trip to my dad's to use a table saw after all, then more sanding, then more...well, you get the picture. Once all the pieces were assembled, we glued a 1"x4" poplar border onto the sides to give it a more uniform appearance from the sides, as well as to hide the connection to the structure.

Finally the block was complete and it was time to build the structure of the island. The cuts and the assembly of the main pieces took a grand total of an hour and a half - a great relief after spending weeks on the butcher block. We decided to glue the slats onto the supports to make life easier. Once we got done with that it was time to finish the structure.

We decided to follow Ana's directions on crackled milk paint. We tried to follow them exactly, but weren't able to get the same amount of crackling on ours. No worries, though, we just sanded down some edges and gave the whole thing a good coat of Polycrylic.

Once all that was done, we screwed the block on and construction was complete! We gave the block and the poplar several coats of Boos Block Mystery Oil as the conditioner and we were done. The oil really brought out the color and the body of the wood, and we couldn't be happier with the results. Can't wait to chop a turkey on it!

Made this table and benches for my daughters friend. Now I have orders for 5 more tables and benches.  Easy to make just takes some time to the finish to cure.

This is my homemade backyard inspired by plans from Ana. Used Ana's previous post to build all pieces. Stained in Mission Oak and bought pillows from Lowe's. Succulents from a local nursery.

Coffee Table
2 piece lounge
2 chairs
Ice chest
Planter Box

I was getting tired of cleaning marker off my oak table after art time so I decided to just make them a desk. I had been eyeing the x-desk plan for quite some time, I wanted to see how it worked out so I threw one together and was pleasantly surprised at how it came together. The drawer was a bit complicated but I am so glad I made it. My kids love it and it is a nice place to charge my laptop and sit and do bills.
My cousin was opening a call center and she wanted to cut startup costs and I told her we can make the x-desk and cubicles and save $1000's.
For the call center we started and assembly line and had them cut and assembled in 2 days. We used the kreg jig to create the cubicle walls and 2x4's flat we put rigid insulation in the open spaces, covered them with batting and muslin fabric. We completed 8 desks and 2 cubicle pods, we couldn't be happier with the results.

We used the plans from this site to build this for our daughter. We did however make the bed part a bit more sturdy to ensure that no one would get hurt and to make sure it could support any weight. We added 4 2x4s across the bed like rafters and screwed the slats on top of them.

My older daughter needed extra storage in her room and I loved this plan. It was so simple and easy to do. We ended up having to use oak plywood because they didn't have pieces in pine. We only paid a bit more but it was worth it. I used black minwax stain but only one coat because I wanted the grain to show through. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Now I just need to buy some baskets.

I used the 6' modification of the 8' model. I used 2x6s for the top, and most of the pieces were cheap lumber, like furring strips. The color and stain are a bit darker in person.

This is my version of the Dollhouse Bookcase. I'm not very good at cutting out doors/windows so those were left off.

I knew I had to build this bed when I saw the images on a Google search. Thank you so much for such great plans. And FREE no less. Due to the small size of my son's bedroom I couldn't add the front bucket. He's so excited now to go to bed. Thanks again.

I needed a larger table so we increased the size to 48 X 58. Used premium grade pine and finished with Valspar Cabinet paint for durability. I had a piece of glass cut for the top. This table is used for many types of projects. I have a large room and this table fits perfectly!! 

Hi Ana. Been a fan of yours. My name is Ed. Wood working is my hobby. And its always nice to look at your plans, and put my own spin on it. My wife wanted a planter for our deck. So I tweaked your plans and made them a little bigger. I Also built her a herb garden too. With these new planters; it should put a stop to the rabbits eating everything.

Thanks for your inspiration.

I personalized this bench for a gift for my mom's birthday. I stamped both of my girls handprints on top and added their names and date. Turned out so cute :)

Oh Goodness. This was a HUGE project for us. It was our 2nd Ana White build (the 1st can be seen in the pictures, the kitchen island with the microwave on top). We changed the overall dimensions to fit our kitchen. And we built two matching benches. The hardest part was kreg jigging. We did SO MANY pocket holes and it was our first time using a kreg jig on a LARGE project. We also trimmed up the sides of each of the table top boards so they fit closer together. We really really LOVE this table. And my kids are putting their own special touches on it daily. Thanks for the plans!!

I had a great time builidng a shorter version of the Rustic X console table. Total length is 41inches.

Six foot by 22" buffet with open shelves and reclaimed window cabinet door.