Community Brag Posts

Our bedroom closet was a DIY special from the previous owners of our home. We had upgraded the closet but were left with a dilemma - the door opening was not a 'standard' size. The two options were to purchase custom built bypass doors ($$$) or to live with the tension rod and curtain we were using. I came across this plan and after a few quick seconds we had decided we were going to try to build our own.

We followed the measuring instructions to measure our door (which we found (not surprisingly) was out of square which made things interesting) and set out to find our wood. My wife fell in love with this wainscoting at Lowes and that became the backing for the doors. We had to buy an extra piece so that I could ensure that the lines in the wainscoting matched the entire length of the door (we used 4x4 sheets rather than 4x8 because our Lowes didn't have full sheets of this particular wainscoting). The wainscoting backing gave it extra bulk and rigidity, making for extremely solid closet doors.

Everything came together and in one week (building and polystaining) we had the doors.

I've had the plans to this shoe dresser saved for months, and finally convinced my husband it was time to build it! In total, we probably spent about 8 hours on it, from cutting the wood to staining.

The instructions are a smidge vague, but if you really think through it, it's a piece of cake. Do not do anything out of order! My husband and I did, and we unfortunately had to redo certain steps.

This was our third project, and so far my favorite piece of furniture in our house!

Footprint is 3" shorter than the plans...flipped the legs and removed 3.5 inches from the top cut to accomodate the apron.

Outdoor Builds by Nathan

I've always wanted a wooden outdoor table for our patio. This site has inspired my husband and I to finally make our own. We combined the 4x4 Truss beam table design with the Providence table design, and created this cedar table that can seat 10. My husband built it and I stained it with Behr transparent cedar naturaltone stain. It only took about 6 hours for my husband to build despite all our measurements are different than the original designs due to change in table size and the wood size purchased. Sanding took about hour to 2 and then follow by a wash. Staining took 3 hours since I did double layers. It turned out amazing and we can't wait to put it to use! Thanks Ana for making these plans available.

My first completed project. Simple shelves on three sides. The headboard has a shelf with a three spot outlet in it. 

I used cedar and treated 2x4 and painted them with exterior paint. Love the way it turned out.

Jason Stump

I have been planning on building a bed for Phaedra for a while now, and had figured I'd mix and match some ideas from some of Ana's other plans to get what I wanted. Then she came up with this, and it was perfect! Phaedra is not yet able to use a ladder to get up and down from a loft bed, so I was planning on stairs. Her bedroom is small, only 8'x10', and I hadn't figured out how to manage the stairs so that the bed wouldn't take up the entire room.

I decided against the stairs on this bed, since they would take up too much floor space. Instead I put a couple of 2x4s to make a ladder up to the platform. Phaedra loves her bed, and figured out getting up in no time at all. It took her about 3 days to master getting down.

I decided on paint instead of stain for the bed, because it was what I had on hand. It is CIL Smart from Home Depot in the melamine finish. Hopefully it will stand up well. The cutting and assembling took no time at all, but the painting took me two weeks! Next bed I make will be stained instead.

The best part, because I already had the paint, was that it cost less than $50 for the materials!

The fancy tree hall fits perfectly across from the coat closet in our entry-way. For the most part, I followed Ana's plans except for the trim and molding. First, instead of using crown molding at the top, I used scrap wood to cut out decorative patterns with my jigsaw. I also cut some decorative crown molding and nailed it to the edges of the bench. Finally, I covered up exposed edges of plywood on the bottom cubbies with cheap molding. I followed the plans to install base molding at the bottom.

Built from the Art Desk plans. I added an additional tray and a second paper roll. Also made mine from 1 sheet of plywood. Used paint samples we had from previous painting projects, added glitter to make it sparkle. 

I made the Modern Chairs with a vertical rounded back for more back support. I love these chairs so much and was such a good experience making rounded cuts.

This is my version of the Large Modern Porch Swing. I did a couple of things different. I wanted a nice finish so I cut everything to length then did 3 coats of high gloss exterior paint. It feels pretty indestructible and I know it's covering all the surfaces well.

Since I painted everything ahead of time and I liked the finish I thought about the screws and nails and was able to assemble it using only screws and having none of them visible. I pocket drilled most of them, although without a jig so they're actually toenailed. The seat slats are screwed down with angle brackets underneath and the back slats screwed from the back side. That way there is no need for finishing nails or wood filler.

Other than that's it's pretty much to plan. The structure we have may have been for a swing at some point so I had a pipe to attach to. To be extra safe I doubled up the rope and used a pedigree cow hitch. It's very sturdy and if and one line breaks there is another piece as a backup.

I'm really happy with how it turned out. Out of all the porch swings I've seen this one best suits our style and taste.

Despite how it looks, this chair was actually pretty cheap and easy to build. The one caveat is that it really needs to be built from hardwood. The minimalist design of this chair requires the strength of solid hardwood. I don't think pine would cut it.

I started by building my angled legs. My chair is nice and lounge-y. If you don't like the relaxed, lounger style, you may want a slightly more shallow angle to your back. The total length of the back is 33". I wanted the leg portion to be 4" tall, so I first cut 2, 33" lengths. Then, measured 4", and cut at a 10-degree angle. I inverted the 2 pieces, and attached them together with glue, pocket holes, and screws.

Once I had my angled legs, I put together my back frame, front frame, and finally joined them together with the armrests and side supports. I used wood glue and countersunk, 3" screws at each joint.

To create the sling, I took two, 52" leather belts, and strung 19" wide slats, 1" apart. I attached the slats to the leather using a pop rivet gun. For this size chair, I used 17, 1.5" wide slats to create the sling. I then attached the sling to the frame using carriage bolts and nuts.

Easy to build bathroom shelf. Great for adding an accent piece to a small space.

Our kitchen is smaller than our last house, so we turned our breakfast nook into more storage and could yet space. I love Ana White’s plans, tips, videos, and community.

After building the Emerson console for our living room, and seeing how Ana modified the plans for a changing table, I decided to do the same. Although I eliminated one of the doors to make it fit our room a little better and also cut down on plywood costs, I'm VERY happy with how this turned out.

I also decided to use shaker style drawers and a shaker style cabinet door to give it a slightly more polished or modern look. Our baby is due in July and these drawers are already full of diapers and clothes!