Community Brag Posts

Clara Table and Four Dollar Stackable Chairs

Submitted by BrandonH on Tue, 01/01/2013 - 17:36

I built these for my son for Christmas. They were very easy to build (the 2nd chair turned out much better than the first, however!) and I am very pleased to have discovered this site. Thanks!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$30
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Three coats of flat paint (Valspar color: Summer Solstice) with two coats of Minwax Polycrilic as a top-coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Rolling grill cart table

Submitted by kmatt55 on Sat, 10/18/2014 - 19:13

I made the countertop with 2 plywood boards screwed together and topped the stainless steel with heavy duty adhesive.  I adjusted the plans a little to accommodate my space.  Thanks for the plans!  It was a fun build!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Glossy black exterior paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

A More Traditional Modern Craft Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/26/2017 - 18:37

This is my more traditional take on the modern craft table (I guess that means it isn't technically "modern"!).  We call it the "Lego Table" at our house.  I doubled up the ends like others have so that my two daughters can have their own sides.  My wife asked that the there be backs on the side shelves so that items aren't pushed off.   I also added trim around the tabletop and molding to give it a bit more traditional appearance.  Finally, I made the shelves adjustable.  

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Kitchen Island

Submitted by TX_Richie on Sun, 10/18/2020 - 02:32

I’m very excited for my first project. Not to be boastful, but I am very proud of myself. So my wife decided she wanted a kitchen island. I began from the top of the plans and about halfway through I realized I have a small kitchen. The wife came in and said “that’s way to big). So I had to make a lot of adjustments. For instance, the 4x4 legs became 2x2. I was afraid it would not be sturdy enough, but it turned out nice. I left out the portion of the plans for the range and just made a bigger shelf to accommodate my wife’s mixers and other large kitchen items. Instead of a second shelf I made a slide out trash can (single instead of double). It fits the kitchen well and more importantly the wife loves it. Now to build stools. Thanks to your site Ana, I was able to make a place for my family to have dinner together. My daughter helped me with this project and has been asking when we will start our next project.

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I did the top in Jacobean (Minwax). It only needed one coat. Then used clear (water based) polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Simple Dock Bench and Chair

Submitted by edrichard on Wed, 01/02/2013 - 18:19

If you'd like to build a very inexpensive chair and bench for your boat dock out of just 2 x 4s and 1 x 2's that is extremely sturdy, then this project is for you. As you can see by the picture, I used the Kreg jig, 2 cordless drills. Also a chop saw to cut the materials.

Estimated Cost
$30 for all
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
The picture shows the bare wood, but I used a walnut colored stain followed by a clear sealer
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

dbrown (not verified)

Wed, 01/02/2013 - 20:23

These are great! Where are the plans for these??? I've been looking for a bench just like this.

dbrown (not verified)

Wed, 01/02/2013 - 20:27

I love this bench. Where can I find the plans for it????

Our version of this awesome little greenhouse

I found your plans last summer and loved the design so I decided to build one for my wife for her birthday last August. I didn't get started until the weekend of her birthday in late August so there was little expectation to have it finished before winter. It is now 14 months later and I only have a few trim pieces left to install. We live in a harsh climate and I wanted to be able to use it through the winter so I made a few changes. I built a 2 x 12 base and insulated it with R40 and the bottom walls are 2 x 6 instead of 2 x 4 and are insulated with R20. I used twin wall polycarbonate instead of the corrugated lexan because of the superior R factor. The insulated walls are of course vapor barriered and I covered them with tongue & grove cedar. I also made raised benches out of cedar for growing potted plants on. The floor has ceramic tile on it and the exterior is colored metal. I also ran underground power to the building and installed a fluorescent grow light. Surprisingly a small 110 volt heater keeps the temperature above freezing even during our awesome -40 winter temperatures. If the daytime temperature is anywhere near or above freezing we have to keep the screen open in the door or it overheats inside. I have attached links to a few pictures of the almost finished product, ready for another winter full of flowers and veggies. I initially used clear vapor barrier until the twin wall polycarbonate showed up. This worked rather well. 

I have posted this in the comments section as well, but I think it belongs here.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Material costs were just over $5,000
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
exposed cedar was stained
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

JB

Sat, 03/21/2020 - 09:42

Love your ideas! I have a few questions if you don't mind. Where did you buy the polycarbonate sheets, and what sizes were available? Did you end up changing the plan a bit to accommodate the vertical sheets? Did you seal top and bottom with foil tape and dust tape respectively or poly flashing?

Any help or advice would be appreciated very much.

JB

Flat Wall Book Shelf

This is a shorter and wider (and simplified) version of the Flat Wall Book Shelf.  (Approx 48" wide and 40" tall). Trying to maximize wasted space under sloped ceilings.  I did jig-saw out a notch for the baseboard so it would be secured flat to the wall.  My only regret is that I didn't put this baby up sooner.  I've been kicking books around this room for years!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
45
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Off the Shelf red paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Wood Pumpkin Treat Holder

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 10/21/2020 - 09:29

This was my first woodworking project and it was fun and easy. A few words of advice though...painting the wood first is a good idea. I did not so it took a bit more time. Using glue instead of staples would make the finish much nicer as you can see my staples, but it is rustic so that's okay. Thank you Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$0. I had the materials on hand from scraps of previous fencing projects
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Water-based craft paint I had on hand. I added water to thin it so that the wood grain would show through.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

4-Foot Mantel Wall Shelf

The decorative 4-Foot Mantel Wall Shelf Plans resembles a fire place mantel and makes a beautiful place to display photos and other decorations. The project can be built with a miter saw and table saw in 2-3 hours. A keyhole router bit can be used in lieu of mounting hardware. I also suggest a pneumatic air compressor and 18 and 16 gauge nail guns. The overall project dimensions are 48 inches long by 8 inches tall. It looks beautiful with a glaze or distressed finish. The detailed plans can be found on my woodworking blog at: http://www.jrlwoodworking.com/

Estimated Cost
$35
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
We painted two coats with a high-quality semi-gloss white paint and then used a chocolate glaze and rubbed it on with a wet rag and then wiped it off with a dry rag until the desired amount of glaze remained.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

kristenlotz

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 12:33

We actually built this one to give to my mom for Christmas last year. It looks great in her living room and we put family pictures on it. It's one of my favorite shelves because it looks so classy.

Nathan1342

Mon, 01/07/2013 - 13:36

What type of brown glaze did you use and where did you get it? Looks really nice!

In reply to by Nathan1342

kristenlotz

Mon, 01/07/2013 - 13:51

I bought a clear glaze at my local hardware store. I had them tint it to a really dark chocolate brown color. It turned out perfect, just what I had imagined!

Toddler bed

Submitted by Mommaoven on Fri, 10/24/2014 - 21:38

 

Pottery Barn inspired toddler bed, made with reclaimed lumber from our home reno. The wainscoting is real (not mdf), $2 from the HD cull lumber rack. It had a damaged piece, but the remaining part of the board sufficed for this small project. Screws are countersunk. 

The curve is elliptical (drawn with loop of string and two nails for foci, transferred to board and cut with jigsaw)

The construction is lighter than the original plan, using what was at hand and for a young toddler. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$2 lumber
$3 stain
$1 screws/sandpaper wear/saw wear/etc.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax "golden pecan", clear poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

DIY BARN DOOR STYLE SHUTTERS IN THE MAN CAVE!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 02/02/2017 - 08:39

Ever since we've moved into our new home, My Husband Matt has put his room (Or "Man Cave" as we know it) on the back burner so that other things could be done first. He has been so sweet about letting me use it for home decor, event decor, clothes, and misc. storage. 

Well, since the hectic first couple of months as new homeowners is starting to die down, I had made my mind up that I would help him get started on his Man Cave as an early Birthday present! He deserves it!!

In passing, he made a comment to me the other day that he would love to have some kind of rustic window treatments in his room. I pulled up Pinterest and nonchalantly pointed out a couple of ideas to see which one he liked the most. We went in the room together and he started to describe what he wanted them to look like. (Again, he was saying this in general. I doubt he thought I was crazy enough to attempt it. Welllll…)

The next day I worked on my usual “project prep” routine:

  • Find the best design that will fit the space.
  • Take measurements
  • Draw up a plan of what it should look like and include measurement points
  • Take measurements, AGAIN, just to be safe
  • Look for Lowes or Home depot coupons
  • Head to the store and get this bad boy rolling!

I first measured the window casing. (My window casing doesn’t have crown molding around it on the sides or at the top, which was a plus! This will make them easier to attach!)

My window measures 35″ wide and 58″ tall. So, here’s how I figured the math:

  • If the window is 35″ wide, and we need two shutters, we will need to divide 35″ by 2, giving us 17.5.
  • I would like to get a little room for clearance, so lets round both sides to 17 even, giving us a 1 inch clearance. (Room for the doors to open and close properly without worrying about rubbing.)
  • You will want the shutters the same height as the window of course, so each of my shutters will need to measure 17″ wide and 58″ tall.  There are tons of different styles for these shutters so all you need to know is that each shutter needs to be half of the window width (minus 1/2 inch from each shutter for clearance.)And then you can just decide what design and boards you want to use.
  • I used (4) 1×10’s for my shutters. (And if you are familiar with wood, you know that the real measurement for a 1×10 = 9.25, so I had 37 inches of wood to work with.) I trimmed 1 1/2 inches from each of the inner 1×10’s to get them where I wanted them to be. Leaving them as 7.75″.
  • You will need 1×4’s for both sides on the window to attach your shutters to. They will need to measure the length of your window as well. (1×4’s are really 1×3.5)
  • For the boards that lay across the shutters, I purchased (4)  3×24 thin boards.
  • Cut these boards to the same length as each shutter. Which in my case, would be 17″. DON’T FORGET you will need to also cut (4) pieces to go on each of your 1×4’s that are on the sides. The latches will sit on these pieces and make them even with the pieces that are on the shutters.

So, after my cutting was all said and done, I had:

(2) 9.25×58 

(2) 7.75×58

(2) 3.5×58

(4)3×17

(4)3×3.5

Estimated Cost
This entire project cost somewhere around $100 to make! Including the hardware!
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Stain in Dark Walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse console table - Shortened

My wife wanted a console table for our dining room but the original plans were too big for the spot next to the grandfather clock, so I shortened them a bit and this is the result.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Flat Wall Bookholders

Submitted by vpihoney on Sat, 01/05/2013 - 18:23

I built the flat wall bookholders to go with our new bunk beds! We love them! I built the small, 24" shelves.

Estimated Cost
Less than $10 for both 24" shelves
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
A blue latex paint from Behr. Primed it with one coat of 123 Bullseye since we had a small can already.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Not So Rustic Table

Submitted by Oawad79 on Mon, 10/27/2014 - 06:44

I have built this table following the plan from the woodwhisperer website under the name "Not So Rustic Outdoor Table", Used white pine

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
PolyShade
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Farmhouse bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 02/05/2017 - 16:19

Farmhouse bed and night stands. Second bed I've made with Ana's plans, absolutely love it and easy for all........Deb M.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Mixed dark walnut and ebony
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Brookstone Desk

This was a fun project. My first using drawer slides. Best advise would be to recheck squareness before attaching top.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$65
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Dark Walnut stain
Poly top coat
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

My First Build -- the $55 Fancy X Desk

This was my first build EVER. I had never even used a saw before, so if I can do this, so can YOU!

The original plans call for this desk to be 72" in length, but my space only allowed for a 60" desk, so I cut the 3 braces that go along the back down by 12", as well as the 2x6s that make the desktop. The cross-braces in the back were also cut down, but I did that by measuring for fit (as demonstrated by Ana in one of her videos where she made the x-bench).

I described this as a weekend project ONLY because of the time I had to allow between coats of paint, etc. I built it easily in one day (with kids at home!).

This was a GREAT experience and I am HOOKED! Thanks to Ana and Shanty-2-Chic for designing this!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$35
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I painted the base with flat black paint, and the top of the desk with Minwax Jacobean stain (primed with the Wood Conditioner first, and finished with the Polcyrilic Spray that Ana recommends).
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Lianna (not verified)

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 08:27

I hope to build this desk this week! Your post timing is great! AND your end result is gorgeous!!!

berryrach89

Thu, 01/10/2013 - 19:31

I absolutely love this. I've been searching for a new desk and I think I want to copy yours. Love it.

Jodye (not verified)

Fri, 01/11/2013 - 00:35

Well done...I too have been contemplating giving this ago. Our out door glass table exploded due to the heat here in Australia on monday...never going glass again...did I mention the nightmare clean up job :-((
Im building the big version....Im excited..you did it so I can too!

Writing Desk and Bookcase

Inspired by Ballard  Designs Turin Bookcase http://www.ballarddesigns.com/turin-bookcase/237257

and the Marche writing desk http://www.ballarddesigns.com/marche-writing-desk/278164

with some tweaks to my liking :0)

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$700
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Tidewater by Sherman williams
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

King Easy Build Bed - Headboard / Footboard

Submitted by imsomark on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 07:26

First of all, thank you to the site for this plan. The headboard specs were spot on. I was interested in making a footboard as well, and you actually will end up with a few scrap pieces that will help you build the footboard (the 1x3's and 1x2's). My footboard ended up being about 23 1/4" high. For reference, the mattress in the photo is 10". I included a picture of the total boards you will need to buy to do the headboard, footboard, and side rails (I used 8 inch boards for the side rails, not 10 inch, but those could be interchanged). One thing to note is the plan calls for pocket hole screws but these are not necessary. I used 2" brad nails, 1 1/4" brad nails, and 2" screws (for the slats and the support rails on the slats. You could use 2 1/2 inch for the slats but the support rails need 2".). Not included in the picture I included is another 2x4x8 that I bought that I placed three scrap 4x4 posts that I had under the middle of the slats for extra support. I also bought steel bed rail fasteners ($11.30 from Amazon) to attach the side rails to the headboard and footboard. They worked great and the bed is extremely sturdy. Can't budge it at all. I used the common whitewood boards from Home Depot, which are all the correct width - the fur boards are cheaper but are not the correct width, you would need to adjust the plans if you were to use those. Overall I am very pleased with the bed. Please ignore the half dozen water bottles in the photo.

Estimated Cost
$190
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
75/25 mixture of Classic Grey and Jacobean.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

8' Farmhouse Desk

I created this farmhouse style desk. Quite the challenge dealing with such long boards!

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Top: Varathane Dark Walnut x1, Minwax One Coat Satin finish x2, Minwax paste wax
Bottom: Rustoleum Espresso brown spray paint, thick coat of Behr smokey white matte finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Rope Trim Console Table

Submitted by efmolly on Wed, 01/09/2013 - 08:58

This is a pretty basic console table I built for a craft show last month (that's why I don't have better photos). I started with the top. Using my Kreg Jig, I pocket holed 3, 1x6's together and added some 1x4's to make breadboard ends. For the base I used reclaimed table legs from a table I bought at a garage sale for $5! The aprons are 1x4's, pocket-holed to the legs. I did add some diagonal support blocks in each corner to keep the whole thing square. Using pocket-holes once again, I attached the top. I then simply measured the aprons, cut the rope trim and attached with glue and 3/4in finish nails. I have a few more projects like this featured on my blog http://pneumaticaddict.blogspot.com .

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
The top I blended 'Golden Oak' and 'Walnut' oil-based stain from Minwax. The base was 'Aqua' spray paint from Rustoleum and then glazed with a light mix of 'Raw Umber' tint and Martha Stewart glaze. The whole piece is sealed with 2 coats of Polyacrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments