Community Brag Posts

Black Channing Desk w/ Stained Top

Submitted by brewatts on Wed, 01/29/2014 - 18:26

Channing Desk built with select pine boards and maple plywood top/sides. Fairly easy project. The sanding/painting/staining took much longer than the actual building. We used 2 coats of Special Walnut followed by 2 coats of Weathered Oak. Then to finish, 3 layers of polyurethane. Very pleased with the plan and finished desk. Thanks Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Special Walnut
Minwax Weathered Oak
Rustoleum Semi-gloss Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

TV Stand

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/27/2016 - 07:33

This was an easy project. It took longer to paint and stain than the construction.
Thanks for the plans, this web site is awesome.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Under $200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

LEGO Play and Storage Table

Submitted by Bradnag on Sun, 01/19/2020 - 14:13

Used the plans for the Arts & Crafts Play Table, but ditched the angled legs (the squared off legs have no stability issues at all), and used a regular piece of 1/4" fiberboard instead of acrylic for the lid. On the lid I glued a 15x15 LEGO baseplate, and compartments underneath are for LEGO storage. The local REStore had an 8ft length of 3" laminated MDF trim for $2, which worked perfectly as the trim for the top of the table with no sanding or painting required.

I know the paint in the photo looks super-streaky, but I used some leftover Rust-Oleum cobalt blue metallic floor paint, so it's shimmery and glossy. Unfortunately the visual effect photographs poorly.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$15
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Rust-Oleum metallic floor paint, cobalt blue
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Scaled down Planked Wood Sideboard

Submitted by hcharnock on Thu, 04/19/2012 - 06:02

I wanted two sideboards flanking the doorway in my dining room. I took these awesome plans and just scaled them down, building the middle portion of the sideboard only and ignoring the two sides. I used the exact measurements of the middle portion of the plan. Other changes were that I used 1x12's on the ends of the sideboard, instead of planks, and luan in the doors, instead of beadboard. My biggest advice to someone else building this would be to make sure that the unit is square as you build, if it is not, you will have some serious shim work to do with the drawer slides! (of course, I know nothing about this, haha!) It was a great plan and a lot of fun to build. Oh, and I also used my router to rout out a 1/2 inch deep groove all the way around the back side of the unit, that way I could inset my back into the piece and it would not be visible from the side.

Estimated Cost
$85 for both of the sideboards, but I already had the paint and some of the wood
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I caulked seams, woodfilled holes, sanded with 120 grit, primed with Cover Stain, sanded with 220 grit, painted with Olympic Low-VOC white semi-gloss paint, sanded with 220 and painted again!
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

spiceylg

Thu, 04/19/2012 - 08:04

You did an amazing job! Great idea and looks fab! I'm trying to get up the nerve to build it full size. I've just done simple projects so the thought of doing doors and especially drawers makes me nervous as I'm real particular and get frustrated when things don't go as planned!

hcharnock

Thu, 04/19/2012 - 17:04

Hi! Thanks for the compliment. I have a Bosch Colt, handheld router that I used for all of the routing, on the back of the unit and also on the doors to inset the panels. Hope that helps!

Hillary (not verified)

Mon, 05/14/2012 - 23:02

Great work! I love that you routed the back. It's so nice not to see the back tacked on. In some applications it is no big deal, but for a piece like this, when you're walking by the side of it every day, I think it is much more polished not to see the back. And...I totally know what you mean about building square for that drawer!!

Cubby Shelf with Ironing Board Top

Submitted by PinnSB on Sun, 02/02/2014 - 11:56

Originally I wanted a cubby shelf for the empty space between the sliding door and window in our master bedroom. However, that is also where the ironing board always sat out and I got tired of looking at it. So this project evolved and I decided to add an ironing board to the top of it. I used a 41" 1x12 for the top and 2-11" scraps for the flaps on either side. I covered each piece with one layer of felt and one layer of fabric. Flaps were attached to main board with hinges. Under-mount drawer slides were used to both allow the board to shift left and right and to support the flaps in open position.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$85
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar Ultra White Satin Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

rlmilam3

Wed, 02/03/2016 - 21:07

Are there more specific plans for building the ironing board part of this? The other builds are so specific, having everything laid out even the amount of screws needed. But this one is definitely lacking. Is there further directions elsewhere that I'm missing?

itzann

Thu, 02/04/2016 - 09:24

Hi, this particular project was submitted by a reader, who modified the plans of the cubby shelf to include the ironing board top. It is not part of Ana White's project plan, so that is why there are no specifics. Perhaps you could try contacting the person who posted, and he/she could tell you more details. 

-Ann

crooked dog house

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/01/2016 - 15:31

A few years ago I was looking for plans for a dog house to be used as a prop for a seasonal photo promotion. I found these plans and made the house, it was perfect! The promotion was to get a holiday photo of your dog in exchange for a donation of dog food, which was donated to a local food bank. The project brought in over 500 pounds of food!

The plans were super easy to follow and the structure was very soild.

Thanks for all you do!

Ken from Canada

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
Seasonal And Holiday

Laundry basket dresser with a drop-down ironing board

Submitted by getcz on Sun, 04/22/2012 - 18:35

I used Ana's Laundry Basket Dresser plans but I added a drop-down ironing board and and made the entire top surface ready to iron on. A swing-out leg under the ironing board helps to stabilize while ironing.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Laundry
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Barn door tv stand

Submitted by BojackH on Mon, 05/02/2016 - 20:44

We had a cheapo tv stand made out of pressed board which I felt was one nudge short of collapsing.  So decided to build an upgrade.  There were a few electronic components I wanted to be in the middle so designed a 3 bay instead of the 4 bay originally posted here. I used the picture from the sliding door hardware tutorial site - but instead of joining the plywood box with kreg screws I instead used Spax MDF screws on the end grain + wood glue (they work great and don't split the plywood at all - no need to predrill either!).

For the shelves, I drilled a buncha pin holes in case I wanted to adjust the height.  For the top I used 3 2x6's instead of the 1by used here.

With the backing, I used scrap planks from a couple pallets - I spaced them at about 2 inches to allow airflow for the components (HTPC/ PS4/ modem) as well as the ability to run cords through.

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minewax Special walnut for base & doors. Minewax Dark Walnut for top. 3 coats of Minewax Satin Polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Scrap Wood Barn

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/22/2023 - 08:11

My daughter watched me do another build project and wanted something for herself. We built the Toy Barn from Ana White's plans using only scraps around the garage!

Laura Thompson

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Queen Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/07/2016 - 17:56

Made the bed using the Queen Farmhouse bed plans as a guide.

Wanted to include my box spring so modified the frame so the bed sits inside the frame.  Also had to increase the height of the head and footboard to accommodate the additional height of the box spring.  

Added middle legs to the frame, somewhat for support but mainly to make the connect to the head and footboard easier (since I was doing it myself).  

Used leftover prefinished fooring for the paneling.  Like the contrast with the white, plus really ties it in with the room.  Bed came out really well, wasn't sure since I've never used plans from this site before but can now say, will be doing so in the future. Next up, matching farmhouse mini nightstand! 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Satin white enamel
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Farmhouse Coffee Table

Submitted by cabinK on Wed, 02/05/2020 - 17:42

Had a great time building the Farmhouse Coffee Table plans from Ana! As with the Farmhouse Queen Bed, I used the old barn wood, ran it through the planer until I liked the look of the grains and then built away. I haven't decided on a finish yet but I'm more than likely going to epoxy the top only, so as to protect it from drink spills and water rings.  THANK YOU ANA!!

Estimated Cost
Screws and glue
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
None as of yet. Will probably use tabletop epoxy.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Three Kids and Their Step Tables (Step Stools)

Submitted by Jake on Fri, 04/27/2012 - 17:21

Each grandkid and the little girl across the street built their own step table. Of course it was accomplished through my confused and sometimes inaccurate direction but they all came out looking good and withstood my 180 lbs standing on them. Each used a slightly different method of securing the legs, top and bottom but it worked. Great project for kids. I had a ball. Keep them coming.

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Paint on two of them and stain on one.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Vertical Herb Planter

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/10/2016 - 20:04

Used your plans but make changes to the planters since I do not own an angle machine.  They look great and the cost was less than $30

Estimated Cost
$28
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Deck screws
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

NextGreenLife

Tue, 05/30/2017 - 14:33

Can appreciate wanting to do projects but not having all the necessary fancy tools.  I need to make two of these anyway (one to give away), so going to steal this idea to make it a wham-bam quick job!

X-coffee table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 02/14/2020 - 11:16

We also made one with hydraulic life so table top come up and forward

Finish Used
Expresso

Lemonade Stand for Fundraiser

One of my daughters recently was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. We are raising money to get a Service Dog for her and I was able to throw together this awesome Lemonade Stand from your plans, Ana. Thanks for the fun and QUICK project that will hopefully help my daughter with her fundraising goals. {Son not included with lemonade :)}

Gene

Homework Supplies Cubbies

Submitted by ltl_lisa on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 18:41

A place for everything and .... everything off the desktop!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

The Best Console Table

Submitted by kristyzed on Sat, 02/15/2014 - 09:48

I first saw this project on Shanty-2-Chic's website and fell in love with it. It was my first furniture build. In my area (near Toronto, Ontario, Canada) I couldn't find 4 x 4s unless they were treated. So I used 2 - 2 x 4s instead and made the minor adjustments necessary.
I chose casters that don't rotate but screwed the back two in pointed inward so that my children can't easily move the table around if they are playing near it and bump into it.
This is my favourite piece that I've made so far.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$140
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I finished it using the technique from Shanty-2-Chic's website. I spray painted Rustoleum's Dark Walnut on the edges that I wanted to show through the paint. I then lightly rubbed in vaseline on the corners and edges that would naturally show wear over time using my fingers. Then I used 2 coats of Valspar's La Fonda Boulder. After that all dried I lightly sanded over the areas I applied vaseline to reveal the dark spray paint and create a chippy finish. I gave it 1 coat of poly to seal it.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner
Back