Community Brag Posts

14 foot dining room table made by following the fancy plans.  Modified with 2 bases and 14' boards on top.  Awesome project!!

Voilà . Bois recyclé.

First time DIY project this large! It was a lot of work but it was worth it!

Wanting to replace our white laminate counters, but not having the funds made us think outside of the box.  We used these aspen boards to make the most beautiful and durable countertops.  Check out my blog post to see step by step instructions and hilarity.

I've been trying to decide which project I'd like to tackle first. So, I decided, since I have been looking for a puppy, a dog bed would be a good start. With the inspiration of Ana's farmhouse doll bed and moosmani's doggie daybed, I tweaked them both and came up with my own. I have to say, for my first project, I am extremely proud! I made a few mistakes, that only I noticed when it was done. But I love how it turned out. I already have a couple people who want me to build them one. I can't wait to take on even bigger projects!

I built this outdoor play area for my kids this past summer.  The area under that portion of the deck was always messy and muddy and so I wanted to make use of it.  I built the deck and anchored it with lag bolts to the deck supports.  On the one side I used rubber mulch and on the other there is play sand.  I dug holes in various locations and filled with gravel to allow for drainage under the sand and mulch.  For the awning I used plain cedar shingles.  I added a shower that is just regular 1/2" metal pipe with a hose adaptor.  The shower wall and fence are just old pallets that I had for a while, cut to size, which was pretty much random but they came out great.  I added a misting system under the awning that works great, the kids love the cool mist on the hot days. Overall, a heavy job ripping up the grass, moving the wood, gravel, stones, sand and mulch, but a fun deck build and even better experience doing this with my kids by my side!  

Check it out on iamhardware.com ! Thanks Ana for the plans!

This was my first Ana White project. The bed was fairly quick to put together, but then it had to be painted with 2 coats of paint. That's why I think it's a day project, and not an afternoon project.

I also made a feather mattress and feather pillows. The plaid blanket was made from a vintage table cloth. A fitted sheet, flat sheet, and pillow cases were made from some percale sheets. The dolls have definitely been spoiled!

Thanks Ana for the great plans!

This is a piece from Ana's book.  I used the plans from the book and followed Shabby-2-chic's recommendation for the finish.  I used 120 grit sandpaper to knock the edges off then applied a dark minwax stain.  Soft scrub was used to remove the extra finish from my white paint.  The kreg shelf pin jig was invaluable in getting the holes just right.   

This bed was my 3rd project from Ana white. I'm just getting around to posting it now....

The headboard and footboard were made 2 inches wider than the original plans to account for my wider crib mattress. For my mattress width (28"), I required an extra 1x4 for the headboard and footboard center panels (7 instead of 6), along with 2 1x3s. This meant that I needed to add one extra 1x4 to my shopping list. I only required one 1x6, at a 10 foot length (since I didn't make the arch on the headboard).

Most of the work was done on our backyard deck, my outdoor workshop. I usually enjoyed the company of a little chipmunk as my "helper". He became very tame over the summer, allowing me to pick him up and pet him. At times, he would sit on my lap or ontop of my shoulder while I was working on a project. He was always with me, just hangin' out. I'm not really sure how long this project took, as I was usually distracted by his company!

I really enjoyed making this project! Our daughter was SO excited to sleep in her new big-girl bed!

Thanks Ana for the great plans!

I added legs to mine so it would lean up against the wall above the molding. I liked the look of it without plywood backing. I'm really happy with it and it was pretty simple to make.

Made from reclaimed pine moulding.

This was my first time using a plan from this site, it was my first time using a kreg jig, and pretty much my first time using a circular saw on anything that mattered.  Also my first time staining.  I'm real happy with how it turned out except for the staining! I used a stain + polyurethane in one and found it very difficult to get the color even without streaks.  Next time I think I am going to stain all my cut wood BEFORE I assemble.  I think that will let me have a nice even stain.  Any thoughts on that?

I enlarged the plan by adding 12 inches to the top and 6 inches to the width. So I added a shelf 12 inches above the top one.  It feels big and I love that.  

Another thing that worked out nicely for me,  I noticed when I was buying lumber from HD, the 2x2's were all a little bit warped or crooked, So for the four legs I opted for the premium perfectly strait and smooth pine.  It was 8 bucks a piece instead of two but worked out I think.  For the back I used mahogany pickets - not smooth, hard to sand down, but looks nice.  

Took me about 20-25 hours over two weekends.  Sanding and staining were the only laborious parts.

Nice and easy work bench to complete my garage setup.

I can take no credit, except for choosing this amazing project! My man took off a couple days from work to make this as a late Christmas gift. It's beautiful and gives just the organization I needed in my homeschool room. I could not love it more!

We added a few more inches height to each shelf to make it taller than the original design. It's perfect.

I spent a lot of time looking at photos that my wife tagged on pinterest, most from builders who frequent Ana's site.  I learned a lot just from looking.

I stole particular ideas from Ana, Tommie and Ellie, and another site that I can't find right now, but they really did the trestle / farmhouse hybrid idea first and I just modified their idea a bit.  If anyone has seen their site, please remind me so I can give credit where it is due!

I didn't really use a plan other than having a general idea of what I wanted the size of the table to be.  I believe it came out to about 102" x 44"

I built 6 chairs and the bench.

All is built out of construction grade lumber, and gets lots of compliments.

The table came together in a solid weekend, the bench took a couple of evenings, and the chairs...those chairs took forever to cut out, shape, assemble, and finish.