Community Brag Posts

We estimate that the cost of this project was right around $50, but we had a lot of tools and materials already.  This was a fun project and a great piece for the cost. I would suggest staining as much as you can before assembling those legs!  Staining and applying poly was a pain in the butt!  We used a dark mahogany Minwax stain and 2 coats of Minwax poly. It took us a while to do it because we have a 11 month old that keeps us on our toes. 

Christmas 2010 gift!

My husband and I needed more room and storage in our small one bedroom apartment. In order to get both we needed to get rid of our big hutch, desk and tv stand. So when I saw these cubes shelves I thought they would be perfect, then I saw TRACYSMITH's brag post a decided that was perfect! I painted it and did some organizing and it was probably the best decision we have ever made!

I was inspired by DIY Pete's Double bench seat but wanted more of the traditional adirondack look, so I kind of combined 3 plans together to get this! For my first attempt at these chairs with a few of my own tweaks I think it turned out pretty darn well. Changing the legs to extend out the back and curve out the front posed small challenge and then mounting the chair backs at a comfortable angle. There are some imperfections that probably only I would notice but I can correct it for next time. This photo was taken just after staining when I noticed that I missed sanding some wood filler on the front of the seat. Building these chairs only took about 6.5 hours before the finishing process but the next time would go faster. I am currently in the process of adding a protective varnish to give it a semi-gloss finish. All together it cost me under $100 CDN or $80 USD.

Night Stand

My husband built the Planter Box with Trellis for his mother for her birthday. We planted one of our rose bushes in it. They are pink teacup roses and should look fantastic against this bright white backdrop once the buds blossom.

This was a great project that was easy to cut up beforehand and put together the next afternoon. I think I want one!

OMG!!! I'm so in love with my new table!!! I had to make a few changes due to the size of my dining area. I built it a bit big for the space I have in hopes of moving soon and having a formal dinning! I shortened the length of the table and also changed up the x to have the same angle as the original table... I decided to do a natural stain using tea, vinegar and steel wool to "age" the table I then mixed a brown wax with a clear wax to warm it up just a tad... Thanks ana so much for the amazing plans!!! Can't wait to start on another :)

I loved this from Ana's site so much we tacked one. Please note I glued, screwed and dowel ed the holes. I hate kreg jigs. We also made ours taller to add an extra shelf.

This was my first big furniture piece that I've built. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I used 5/4 poplar for the tops instead of the 2x10s for the table and 2x6s for the benches that the plans called for. Finished the tops with Minwax Early American stain then 3 coats of satin oil based polly. Finished the bottoms with water based Minwax tinted River Stone then coated with water based polly. 

I am currently making the matching 2 seater Loveseat (making 2 of them) so I wanted a square table to go in the middle of the 2 sofas to make it look nice, so the rectangular table was not quite what I needed.

I used 2x3's for the legs and adjusted the side measurements of the square table for the extra width.

I didn't want to paint it, so this is Rustoleum Kona stain with polyurethane (clear semi gloss) over the top to protect it from the rain - which you can see was exactly the kind of weather I had about 10 minutes after it was put outside!

this was the second table built using Anna's fancy x plan. The first used regular 2x6 pine boards for the top and was given to my son for a housewarming gift. This second I built for my wife and changed up the top by using 1x6 pecan we had milled and then I planed down myself. The outer edges were left with a live edge to give it more rustic character. I used slotted "L" shaped metal about 6" long to secure the top of the table to the supports underneath, to allow for any expansion in the boards. I recently made a new kitchen island to match.

This was my first ever attempt at making something real out of wood. I've only made some really basic floating coat hangars and docorative rustic pieces to set around peoples houses and a spice rack. I really wanted more of a challenge and this was a perfect place to start. I had to purchase the Kreg Jig and a couple of large clamps but once I got the hang of drilling and filling pocket holes it was smooth sailing. 

The Mrs then finished it off with some lovely rustic baskets and a serving tray with all the latest Southern Living magazines.

I am more excited about building now. I started this project Saturday, started on the cuts, almost immediately and assembled later that afternoon. By Sunday Morning the whole thing was done. I have 2 Children (2 yr.old and 10month old) so breaks were VERY frequent in between. I am so exciting about building now, my husband has even offered to help in the near future for more must haves! We are planning my very first Birthday Party ever! (including childhood) so I wanted to have comfortable and beautiful seating, I’ve been drooling over these plans since Ana posted them up and thought to myself, there is no way I could do it. But…I was wrong, with hardly any help I was able to do it all on my own. The only problem I came across was the small end X pieces, I am not sure what I did, but I needed to make the cuts at 9 15/16 instead of 10 3/8 in order for the 1x2’s to fit in the center, I thought it would affect the rest of the plan, but it didn’t. Another little hiccup I did was at the HD- I went alone, I couldn’t carry the 2x6 by myself, so I got 2 2x3’s instead, I think it still looks exceptionally well. What am I saying?! I LOVE THIS THING!

My husband and my live in brother were impressed, as was I! My mother even made a comment that my grandfather’s spirit is in me! (He was a carpenter) So, with all these compliments it only motivates me to continue and build! Build! Build! My mother wants one for her Birthday as well, so I will be making another beautiful Weatherly Sofa for her, she deserves it! She takes care of my little angels while I work…the least I could do is make one for her. As many of us who started building due to income deprevation , I am living pay check to pay check, so the little wiggle room we have will be 1 project + scraps. I don’t care how long it takes to get the material, this hobby/love is going to be a long beautiful relationship.

Cushions, the lipstick on this outdoor sofa…so hard to pick!!!
I’ve been eyeing beautiful cushions online that I could afford, and Walmart was the only place that had reasonable prices, although $20+ dollars is always a stretch for me, the ones I settled for were $24.00 each, and I cringed when I stepped to the register…but, if I were to go anywhere else to purchase and outdoors sofa as lovely as this one, I am looking at $500 easy!!! So, that helped me out in purchasing them. I love the pattern on them and I was debating on another set, which were red, beige and white with wide stripes, I loved it…but the Blue one, won…husband had to vote too.

We built ours for a queen sized mattress. We used the plans for the stair case since our son is only two and can't handle a ladder. We decided to go with stain on the trim instead of paint and feel this makes it look a little nicer. The inside has Christmas lights hung from the ceiling and a "secret hiding spot" under the stairs.

My brother and I built this table in about 4 hours over two days (finishing took longer) shortly after I purchased my first house. We needed a dining room table, and everything was super-expensive that we liked, so I luckily came across Ana's site and found this bad boy. I had never built anything in my life, but my brother had a little woodworking experience and, very importantly, some tools, so I ordered the legs from Osbourne Wood, got the rest from Home Depot and got building! We've gotten so many compliments on it. Thanks, Ana!

Here are two table pedestal bases I made for a friend.  These are made from standard 2x8s (I could have used 2x6s, but I wanted enough extra to cut off the rounded corners), 1x6s and 1x3s.

More pictures are available on our blog here: http://famousartisan.com/hand-made-table-pedestal-bases/