Community Brag Posts

Flat Wall Book Shelves

Submitted by river4250 on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 16:30

This plan was a breeze to put together (go out and buy some clamps if you don't have any!!) until I finished it, then looked at my wall and saw the baseboards. I really wanted it to be screwed/nailed into the wall, so it needed to be flush. That's where the nightmare being. Eventually (over a week later) I got that finished, however, and am loving my little one's new bookcase! I just can't decide where to put it now, in her bedroom or in her playroom. Maybe I'll make another and she'll have two! :D This plan was very simple to follow, and the materials weren't expensive, so I could definitely do that.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

modified chaise lounge

Submitted by jrh413 on Wed, 07/10/2013 - 09:36

These are solid cedar. They also have several coats of polyurathane. They both got wet sanded and buffed for final coat. They were also modified with leg braces amd braces along side decking. Enjoy!

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

Comments

Twin Beds

Submitted by Jim Parker on Mon, 07/06/2015 - 17:29

After accepting a job in a skilled nursing facility last April, our son move out of our house, taking with him all the furniture from his room. As a result, he virtually left my wife and me a blank canvas to do as we pleased. My wife wanted to put twin beds in the room, and as such, searched high and low for two adult twin beds, all to no avail. Then one day while looking on Anna White’s website, she saw plans for various types of beds, including adult size twin beds. She printed the plans for the beds and asked, “Can you make these?” I studied the plans for a moment, and said, sure. Because the plans were so detailed and easy to follow, I was able to construct both twin beds over the period of a weekend. For me, I found the shopping list and the cut order to be the most useful section of the plans.

Estimated Cost
Approximately $200.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
White primer, followed with two coats of white paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Leaning Ladder Wall Bookshelf

Submitted by Liz Miller on Thu, 01/25/2018 - 07:02

My dining room has no storage and I've been trying to find a place to store all of my bowls, serving dishes, etc; for some time now. I saw a leaning ladder shelf system at Crate and Barrel that I fell in love with but it was $500 which was out of the question. Last summer I built Ana's outdoor couches with absolutely zero experience and they came out great, so I decided to take a chance and try something else. This was my first time using a circular saw, and also my first time using a Kreg Jig! Honestly, halfway through this project I was concerned I bit of more than I could chew but I stayed calm and just kept following the plans. I'm so thrilled with how they came out! I ened up using a scrap piece of the 1 X 12 board for the "desk" piece to make the center a little bigger since I wanted it to serve as a serving board of sorts. I reenforced it with a support board since it was a little longer than the original plan called for.  I am beyond thrilled with how this came out, I honestly like it better than the one I saw at C&B since it's custom to my space! This was so easy if I could do it, anyone can. My total cost came to about $130. Not too shabby for a knock off! I'm already on to my next project. I don't think I can buy "factory" furniture again now how much better cost and quality I can get doing it myself! Thanks Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$130
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used Minewax Charcoal, at first I thought it was too dark but I've come to like the dark color with the grain showing through. I only did one coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

My snowflake

Submitted by mustpetdog on Tue, 01/18/2022 - 14:41

I decided to make several of these for family this past Christmas. I made mine from oak which was harder to work with, but more resistant to scratches and nicks. I primed and painted them white with some leftover wall paint. Then I added some craft paint that had glitter in it. While it was still wet, I dusted it with more glitter: white and iridescent. Then I sealed it to keep the glitter from going everywhere!!! Then I hot glued all the sides with a rhinestone like ribbon I found at the Dollar store. I was very please with the result. I also found pearl like stickers that I hot glued on the other snowflakes when my rhinestone ribbon ran out. I added felt stickers (those that are used on the bottoms of chair legs) on the back to prevent the wood from banging on the door every time it opens and closes.
Love this project! I thought it was pretty easy and it was a good practice with the jigsaw, drill and sander which are relatively new skills for me.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Ladder Shelf

We modified this project to fit our space. We also made the shelves sturdier by cutting a groove for the bottom of the shelves to slide into. This project is much easier when completed by two people.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$35
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Glossy black paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

White Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by mtubin on Sat, 07/13/2013 - 07:40

I'm done building my first ever bed. It was a little expensive (Around 350$).
I had a lot of fun; I made some changing in the connection between the bed frame and the footboard.
I also had to convert the measurement to centimeter and to the European mattress measurement.

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

Comments

Modified King Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by Jbland72 on Thu, 07/09/2015 - 21:13

This was my first major project to build. I modified it to resemble Macy's Captiva bedroom set. I finished it with General finishes lamp black paint with some slight distressing.

Estimated Cost
$250-$300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
General finishes lamp black paint and satin top coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

My Boys Playhouse!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/28/2022 - 03:18

We made a few changes to fit our needs but love the design. Way better than any kit you can buy!

Comments

Leaning Wall Shelf - My First Build

Submitted by dhrider33 on Sun, 05/22/2011 - 17:23

Finally I drummed up enough courage to try a project ... the leaning wall shelf. My husband and I had a great time working on it together.

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Primer / Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Headboard Benches

Submitted by LARMO on Sun, 07/14/2013 - 13:11

Both footboards were cut in half attached with Kreg jig frames built for the seats out of leftover 1x2 and the seats were from leftover 1x6 fence boards cut to fit. Both headboards were oak the first was stained using 3 coats of pittsburgh exterior stain . The second was originally painted white so I left as is and added the seat as the other and left it rustic looking.

Estimated Cost
under $30 for both stain and phs
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Pittsburgh barn red
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Weathered Gray Triple Truss

Submitted by SunDay35 on Tue, 07/14/2015 - 09:01

The most difficult part of this design are the beveled pieces that creae the truss. The angles have to be exact

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Weathered gray, wood conditioner, matte polyeurathane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Rustic X End Table

Made two of these and I made them a bit thinner as I wanted these to be on the end of the sofa where there was not a lot of space. Matched the hardware with my rustic X console table I made a few years back.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$25 each.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Weathered Oak with a a wipe on poly and an additional layers of polyurethane on top surface.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Ayla Cabinet

Submitted by srodge1 on Wed, 02/16/2022 - 20:56

OMGSH ... I'm in love with this project!! My brother had given me some left over lattice that he had, and I was wondering what project I could use it on. This turned out so precious. However, I must say that drawers aren't for the faint of heart. Feeling defeated, I took the cabinet over to my brother's workshop and he helped me (or maybe he just did it for me). Anyway, as with all of my projects, it's going in the annual church auction and I can't wait to see how high it goes!!

Again, thanks Ana for your blog ... you're such an encouragement!!!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Guest Room update

Submitted by nlaupp on Wed, 05/25/2011 - 15:18

Our guest room had to be ready for some friends coming in town for the week. Before this room had no shelves and worse yet; no head board. Turned this boring room into...well a less boring room. In the picture are my first two projects; the Ten Dollar Ledges and the Reclaimed-wood headboard.

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
The ledges were just painted with a glossy white and the head board was painted with a flat charcoal, distressed, and finished with a mahogany gel stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Sweet Pea Bunkbed - Modified

I took the basic plans for the Sweet Pea Bunk Bed and modified them to make a loft bed for my daughter. She dreams of opening her own restaurant when she gets older. The bed is on top and her restaurant is below. I made a chalkboard on the back wall of the bottom section. Curtains will be added sometime in the near future in her restaurant as well. Now she wants a cafe table and chairs as well.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Olympic One Gloss and Valspar Chalkboard paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Loft bed for our girls

Submitted by RenayW on Sat, 07/18/2015 - 05:33

The first picture is of our oldest daughters bed (purple/black). We took the original design and increased measurements to fit a full size mattress and adjusted platform to fit room size. The remaining pictures are of our youngest daughters be (purple/white), which is only a twin. 

Some of the tweaks we made were:

* building for a full size bed

* adjusting platform and stair width so the entire bed went from wall to wall

*adding brackets in all 4 corners for extra support (not shown in purple/black bed - weren't added at time picture was taken, just used triangle pieces of extra wood for brackets)

* Used plywood as bunkie board for both beds. Twin - 1 sheet just layed on top of cleats, fit perfect; Full - 1 1/2 sheets, used 'H' clips to hold the two pieces together when on frame and screwed down onto the cleats.

* shortened platform on purple/white bed  bringing the stairs back a little to go under window

* added design element at end of purple/white bed to ensure entry on and off the bed would be safe and always on platform since it was shortned

One thing we did that wasn't mentioned in original plans, unless I either overlooked them or is a standard procedure when working with wood (seeing as I am a complete novice) all the wood we purchased need to be checked for quality - needed straight boards with minimal cracks and all the wood needed to be sanded down. Overall the project wasn't difficult, but I was guided by an expert. It took us about 20hrs over a period of three weekends to finish both beds from purchasing material to setting up in room. But that was due to emergencies, work schedules and traveling to the workshop we were using.

 

Estimated Cost
We purchased material for both beds at the same time, total cost was about $300-$330....so roughly $150-$160 each *(note full size material cost a little more)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Used a primer on wood and then paint color of choosing
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Corner Cabinet--Perfect for practicing corners

This was my second project. I wanted to get practice working with corners so I could do a media cabinet eventually and this was a great starting point. This cabinet is a great addition to our dining area too! My little helpers were never far away :)

Estimated Cost
$150 (higher costs thanks to island living)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Randomly mixed (flat interior based) paints in a shade of green (left over from another project).
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

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