Ken and Matt's Farmhouse Table
We used the Farmhouse Table plans but made a few modifications to get the look my wife was looking for. We've since built a cupboard to go with it.
We used the Farmhouse Table plans but made a few modifications to get the look my wife was looking for. We've since built a cupboard to go with it.
This was our very first building project and we are thrilled with how it turned out!
I changed up the dimensions a little bit... I wanted the table to be shorter and wider. I ended up using three 2x10s and two 2x8 for the table top to make it wider, and then just changed the cut list to make the table 76" long instead of 85".
We did our best with picking out the straightest pieces of lumber from Fleet Farm, but even then had trouble getting the boards flush and flat to make the table top. I laid on the boards while my husband screwed them together, but even then had to spend hours sanding the top so that it was as flat as possible.
I did a couple coats of stain, which turned out really nice on the top of the table, but for some reason the legs turned a funny color. Some of the knots are a strange shade of purple.
The polyurethane is amazing stuff. I had to control myself from putting on a million coats. Beware- that stuff sticks to everything and does not come off. (Olive oil helps get it out of hair ;)...)
Anyways, I love this table and so do all of our visitors! We can comfortable fit 8 people at the table (squishy with 10 people) even with change in table dimensions. Great for hosting Thanksgiving!
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 19:18
This is beautiful! Nice work! I have had a table like this on my list for a long time... I am getting used to using the kreg jig and joining lengths like this however I have been wondering how people get the boards flush as you can clamp them on the ends but not in the middle. I see your trick! But yes, good to know others are resorting to hours of sanding as well... Enjoy!
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 20:04
The best way to get the boards flush is to plane them on the edges, drill the kreg jig holes, glue and then screw together. Then use bar clamps on top and underneath to keep the top from bowing in either direction.
Modifications:
Rounded ends of feet with table saw.
Used 60" round tabletop, cut from a plank tabletop made of 2x6s.
Also ripped 1" off the X-supports to reduce thickness.
This was a lot of fun to build and not very difficult with the right tools.
The only thing I changed was adding a 2x6 to the top cap instead of the 2x4. I like the look.
Honestly, the thing that took me the longest was picking out the straightest lumber off the shelf. lol
The painting was a different subject lol. I painted a dark gray and after not liking it I decided to give it a light gray wash for the weathered look I was going for. I love it! Thanks, Ana for the inspiration!
I would say anyone with a passion for making things, how to read a tape measure and attention to detail can make this bed fairly easily.
AJ in Texas
Benchright table from Ana Whites plans. Made it 5 foot long to fit out space.
Easy project . Two year old is going to love it.
Built this using the Anna White's "MIMI'S FAUX MANTLE" but instead of using crown molding I elected to use STONE TILES in a neutral tones and finished the surround and mantle in white giving the piece a nice soft appeal. The building plans were easy to follow and took about 2 days to complete the whole process (because of drying times) not to mention how reasonable the cost was. I already had the tiles, adhesive, and paint from left over projects.
First build was a train table for Christmas for my 3 children. They loved it! And I love that it has a top and can be closed. I also painted the base and secured the track to the bottom plywood so we don’t have train pieces everywhere. I used 1” screws from underneath and we can take them off in the future if they want to start building their own tracks. Hope this brings years of fun for the kids!
I needed to recover the desktop space occupied by two printers--one a black and white laser printer, and the other a multi-function color printer, scanner, and copier. There are also two routers that were taking up space. The L-shaped oak desk with return I purchased from a furniture store had a full-size hutch available, but it wouldn't really help store the printers since they would be too high to use.
When looking around for plan ideas, my first stop is Ana's page. The schoolhoouse desk hutch dimensionally matched what I was thinking about. I liked the ideas of the cubby-holes to get papers and other items off the desk but readily available.
I trimmed it out a little fancier to match the desk and included feet simlar to a an oak hutch we have in the dining room. I think this feature, along with the trim, helps break up the straight lines.
I prefer to use biscuits in lieue of pocket screws so I don't have all the holes to fill. I think it makes a cleaner cabinet but clamping time adds a little to the assembly. I attached the face frame with brad naile--18 ga for the face frame and a 24-ga pin nailer for the upper trim.
I also leave the face frame slighltly proud, about 1/8", which when sanded ends up about 1/16" We had some kitchen cabinets like this and I prefer the look to flush. Plus you don't have to use a flush-trim bit all the way around the cabinet.
The cabinet is oak 3/4" plywood and solid oak pieces while the back is 1/8" birch. I couldn't find 1/8" oak panels at our local yards. The back is recessed in the cabinet, and next time I will be sure to cut the rabbit for the back before assembling the case. It was much harder with the ribs for the cubby-holes interfering with the router bit bearing.
I like the way it turned out and is functional without over-powering the room. I also added rope lights underneath and on the back for task and mood lighting.
Shelving to store scrap wood.
My husband and I needed a new coffee table. While browsing this website we found one we liked. We changed it up a little to make it taller. Hubby also added more wood inside of the table to make it heavier.
I always wanted a fireplace. Living in Puerto Rico, obviously a real one is not needed. I saw the fireplaces on Ana's site and decided to make myself one from materials I had on hand.
I started out with Ana's Fireplace anywhere but when done I thought it needed a little beefing up for my purpose so I added a few more 1x3's and made the top 12" so the dvd theater system would fit on top.
Finished it off by sanding, priming and black glossy paint. I wanted the panel gold but the metallic paint I had was too watery so went with silver, I am planning on adding a monogram or such on the panel also but haven't decided on what exactly yet, I made a few faux cardboard logs, made a few wholes in them and wrapped red and gold christmas lights in them for a fire effect. It really adds a nice touch to the living room. The wall behind it is made of brown craft paper, painted with brown, silver and gold, torn into pieces and applied with glue mix. I did it last year and gave myself a year to see if I still liked it. I do, so this year I gave it a polyutherene gloss coat and did a similiar treatment with different colors to the front porch.
With Christmas approaching and the realization that my three young boys had way too much “stuff”, I enrolled the help of my dad to build this amazing basement play area. When I found Ana’s plans for the play gym with monkey bars, I knew we were in business. I modified the design to fit our space and we were off. Such a fun build and my boys absolutely love spending time down there. Thanks so much for your continued inspiration and the confidence you give us mamas to build with the big boys, Ana!!
In reply to Fabulous! by Ana White Admin
Fri, 01/08/2021 - 16:23
Thank you so much!! 🙏
My first coffee table.
I love how this bed turned out. I made the footboard panel the same size as the headboard because I wanted my footboard above the mattress.(just use shorter 4x4 post for the legs than you do the headboard) I also added some molding inside the panel to give it a little extra flare. The boards on the panels are connected with pocket holes and pocket hole screws and the trim I put on covers them completely so there was no need to fill them in. I ordered some bed rail brackets from Rockler and attached the side rails right onto the 4x4 legs instead of the panels and it worked out perfect and it's very easy to take apart if I ever need to move the bed. Thanks Ana for the plans. Any chance you will be doing nightstands to match?
Mon, 12/15/2014 - 17:21
Very nice build. The finish is very pretty. Here is a link to, I believe, the farmhouse bedside table plans you were looking for. Many people have shared their builds of this, so you could check them out to get ideas to modify if you wanted to. http://ana-white.com/2011/01/farmhouse-bedside-table
Tue, 12/16/2014 - 00:33
Thank you so much Linda for the link to the night stands. I'm going to get started on them first thing in the morning
Tue, 12/16/2014 - 08:07
Just love this mantle. I love the Primitive style & this is just perfect. Went over to Mimi's site so I could get the paint colors she used, the color is perfect.
Thank you both for posting. My husband is making the mantle for me for my Christmas gift. I'm going to put faux brick panel behind it & dirty it up with some black paint to make it look sooty.
I used to live in Cordova,AK., beautiful little town. I miss it alot.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, Linda Storey
Sun, 08/21/2016 - 16:54
Your bed is beautiful! Nice job!
Can you share a link to the bed rail bracketts you used and how you used them?
I decided not to use the wheels to keep my son from moving it around, stained it.
My wrist has not taken well to the work at home requirement of the pandemic. So, I decided to replace my desk with a similar one that I have at work. Only, this one is much prettier.
Essentially, I built two desks using the farmhouse desk plans. One of them I made less wide than the plans by simply making the horizontal pieces 36" instead of the plan's 47 1/2".
For the middle portion of the corner desk , I based it off of the Office Corner Desktop plans. I made just the middle portion for those plans, but made the edges 46" instead of 38" for a deeper desk as well as to allow more room for my legs not to hit the uprights of the farmhouse desks. I made the corner desktop detachable, so it was easier to fit down the stairs to the office, using some small ~2" cubes placed on the bottom. They just serve to keep the desktop from moving around on the frame. The base of the middle portion I made up using the same ideas used to create the farmhouse desk frames.
I made plenty of mistakes along the way as I'm a software engineer, not a carpenter. I think next time I'll buy a miter saw, most of these cuts were by hand and aren't as straight as I'd like them to be. But, I like to work with my hands and this has made my day job less painful while I'm working from home.
Awesome project. Very simple, doing the sanding and finish requied more time than the cutting and assembly.