Community Brag Posts

Created the small easy rustic x bench, it was super easy to build even with all the small angles. Very good plans, the video was also nice to watch before getting started especially since I made mine 36" long and the handy tip on how to cut the cross braces helped. I also decided to use a 2x12 for the bench top as opposed to the 1x12 because it felt even more rustic to me.

I designed and built this "Caribbean Inspired" outdoor patio set based on the plans for the "Vintage Bar Stool". Once the stools were built, I designed the table to fit the height of the stools. The table top has stone mosaic tile and all surface are painted bright Caribbean colors. I do need to add the finishing touch of a cooler on the bottom shelf, but that's coming!

Loved doing this as my first ever building project. Ana's plans made it easy and I found a tutorial for making the cushions at Sew Mama Sew. It's not perfect but we love it because it seats so many people comfortably and is exactly the right size for our patio. (All of our friends have complimented it like crazy, too!)

Simple outdoor lounge chair for use on our deck. This is a good design though if I had to do it over again I would make a few alterations:

- It's a bit flimsy, so for the chair frame, I would use 2x4's instead of 1x's.
- We are going to use them for seating at our patio table so I will make the others a bit shorter. The depth is awfully big for a dining chair but would be good for lounging.
- Used a 1x4 on the inside of the back frame to make the chair back more upright (as it said in the modified plans) would definately recomend.

I used Ana White's awesome design, but needed access for my printer scanner combo, so I modified the design and created sliding shelves. I also substituted a sheet of butchers block for the top in lieu of plywood.  

Thank you for an incredible design, that has been used by at least 3 of my friends because they loved mine so much!!

Upsized to a king. Couple of changes:
Mitered all the trim. Routed a rabbet in the back for the plywood panel. I mount to the wall with an offset to clear the baseboard (I attach wood blocks on the back and use adjustable furniture feet for leveling and floor protection.

This is the kitchen table that I made when my wife said I "wasn't handy", I'm pretty sure she meant she wanted me to replace the ceiling in the dining room...

I took the Farmhouse Table plans and changed them a bit to create a true trestle table. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Unfortunately there isn't anywhere to put the Google SketchUp of this project.

Here's my take on the Truss Beam Farmhouse Table using native Florida Cypress which was cut to size from raw logs at a local cypress mill. Thanks so much for the inspiration and plans. My wife loves it and it looks great in our first home.
I finished it with Odies Oil and a combination of Odies Oil and Odies Butter for the table top to preserve the natural beauty of the wood while protecting it from food and liquids.
I probably spent $600 in all but I got a killer deal on the wood which should have cost around $800-$900. I would guess that if I were to try to buy a table like this one out of the same wood, it would have easily cost over $3,000.

I tried to replicate the original post on this site (which is awesome by the way!)  I did make a few changes so this might help others:

1. Made total table length 72" to fit our dining room.

2. Flipped the stretcher boards towards the inside part of the table for more leg room while sitting on either end of the table

3. 2 inch pocket hole screws to attach table top to the frame (instead of 2 1/2 inch so they wouldn't go through the table top)

4. Two 2x10s (instead of 2x8s) for the breadboards.  For extra support, I used four 3 inch metal brackets (purchased at Lowes) that I painted white and attached under each breadboard (8 total brackets used- 4 under each side)

5. Olympic brand latex white eggshell paint for the legs/apron for the table and bench.  I then applied 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic Matte (water based) to help protect the water based paint.

6.  To help with the gaps between the boards that create the table top (I have two kids so you can imagine the crumbs!), I used Dap white caulk in between the boards and wiped away the excess.  I then proceeded with the Rust-Oleum chalked ultra matte white paint (using 1:1 ratio of water and paint) to create that lighter foundation for the next step.

7. After using the Minwax Dark walnut stain 2716 (one coat), I used 3 coats of Minwax Fast Drying Polyurethane clear satin to finish and loved the result.  

kids workbench

My wife and I were looking for a larger table for our deck and after searching and seeing that everything out there was 300 dollars and up for something decent I decided I would try building something. This table was perfect for our needs and looked easy enough for me to put together. The most time consuming part was staining all of the boards as I went but it was totally worth it in the end. I also deviated from using screws and used my nail gun along with some glue to put the top frame together and the slats on but I did use some 2inch deckmate screws to attach the legs. One problem I did run into was I was about half a board short on the slats which wasn't a big deal just ripped one on the table saw, not sure if I miss measured or what but either way. We love our table and will entertain around it for years to come.

I wanted this console but not as long. 

I had been on a search for a while for new furniture for my son’s new big boy bed room but couldn’t justify the money for new furniture and couldn’t find anything remotely nice on craigslist. I ran across this plan on Ana’s site and just had to have it so it became my first large furniture project.
It was fun to build and very rewarding when my son told me he loved his new bed!

I did have some issues with using the kreg jig on the platform so I did use wood screws on the outside frame. I had better success with the kreg jig on the headboard, guess I just needed practice.

There were a few things I did to make it easier to move the bed if needed:
I did not attach the slats but I did lay them on a non skid grip (like you put under rugs on wood floors).
I attached the headboard to the platform using carriage bolts so it could be taken apart easily.

The plans were really easy to follow.

I. LOVE. MY. BATHROOM.

This started with an EPIC FAIL. "Yes Dad I think I hit a pipe with a nail!!!"

Fast forward through plumbing & drywall fixes and life. I added the Board & Batten, made a mirror frame and installed a new mirror. I finally love my guest bathroom.

All scrap lumber was used on this, cost was $0

3/4 plywood 2'x4'

1x6x24"

1x4x24"

1x2x13" front trim