Community Brag Posts

My beautiful wife and mother of my two 3-day old sons asked for a changing table. I deviated from the plans quite a bit for her tastes and added strength; it still turned out really well. The top is removable when we're ready to turn it into a book shelf or toy station. Stain is Sedona Red.

My wife says it makes her feel wealthy to have her own changing table. I know I'm wealthy because I have a beautiful family (and a great changing table)!

I liked the variations of the simple table. Kept the same dimensions as the plan. Made chairs based on simple Harriet chairs

I started by searching Ana’s website for a vanity plan, and found a really great jumping off point with this plan. The problem was that it was for a single sink in cabinet size. But I was looking for something about five feet long that would incorporate a drawer and countertop area so my little miss will have lots of space for makeup and hair products and all those other girly things. I added a shelf to the cabinet, made the top 66" long and added a drawer and some spindle legs to give it the extra length it needed as well as a vanity area. I also incorporated Ana's genius idea to make the kickplate into a pull out step stool with drawer slides and some scraps. My blog post features the modified cut list as well as my step by step assembly for it. I love this vanity and am so proud to say I built it all by myself!

We used old dock wood for the surface of our X table for a nice beach house beverage center (sand bar!).  We adjusted the size to fit our space (a little longer and wider) and used additional studs for the shelves instead of 1" shelving, glued and PH/PS together.  To cut the X pieces I just held the 1x1 on the end of the table where it goes and marked the lines. Then I clamped a guide board at the correct angle on the table saw to make all the cuts, starting a bit long and shaving off until it just fit.  

With all the pocket holes and screws I wouldn't consider this a beginner project. Some additional steps and pictures in your description would help also.  End result is really nice.

A neighbour was giving away this home made "blanket chest" the lid lifted up to a 6" deep compartment with a lower compartment having a fake draw front. After debating on how to transform it I cut off the legs & attached them to one side, stood the unit up vertical & turned it into a jelly cupboard with the lid becoming the front door & the fake draw front becoming a side door. Made & attached the top to the cabinet. A little chalk paint & project done in a weekend of free time.

Whew! This was a challenge. Yes, it should have been easy - Ana's plans are really straight forward and seem easy enough to follow. I think I just have a hard time following directions! First, the table needed to be small, so I was going to have to tweak the plans anyway - why not make it just a bit different? Well, because then it's not so simple!
Almost finished with my first plan, the table boards started splitting. I had to make what I had work, so back to the drawing board, and the end result did turn out beautifully.
The chairs were a challenge because I really didn't want to use my husband's BIG circular saw. I bought a new cordless, lighter saw - and it wouldn't cut through the 2x4s. After butchering the first set of legs, I dampened my fears and pulled out the big saw. How silly I was - it was easy to use and cut right through those 2x4s with ease! Once I had the legs cut it was pretty simple to put the chairs together. I would suggest that you sand and finish all the pieces before you begin putting them together. And, attach the seat slats before attaching the seat to the back piece! I ended up adding an additional 2x2 across the seat so that I'd have something to nail the slats to (Thank you to my son for that idea!).
I had the table and 4 chairs sitting on the lawn waiting for my son to pick up, and had quite a few people stopping by to ask about them. I always tell everyone that I've found this wonderful site just full of beautiful furniture plans waiting to be built - thanks, Ana!

About three years ago I made my first project from Ana's plan for the Super Easy Little Tricky Ladder Table. It is the one on the right in the opening picture. That little step stool (that is what it is used for) has stood the test of my 175 lbs and the terrors of two grandkids dragging it around for all sorts of mischief. Since then I have made another version of that same stool but a little wider and shorter for more stability and I like the new proportions

I have also made one of Ana's Vintage Step Stools and that is the one with the kid standing on it in the bathroom. Perfect. The last picture shows my knock-off of a classic Shaker step stool except I hinged the top to add a small amount of storage under it. That is not me in the picture. Its a co-worker.

I encourage everyone to build these stools. My family has found them to be very very useful in the kitchen, in the bathroom, reaching high places in closets and I even use them to paint rooms. Easier than dragging a step ladder around.

My only caution is to use the best grade of pine or a stronger wood and to overdo the strength of the lower step connections. Do NOT build these out of furring strip wood. I did and it collapsed immediately. Not the joint but a leg below the lower step connection.

Built a twin bed trundle for visits from grandma and grandpa. Thrown together when we realized our setup was not going to work, we are planning to paint or stain once this visit comes to an end.

i made a laundry dresser about three years ago, but we had a water filtration sytem installed in our laundry room and I had to build another one to fit the new dimensions. I loved this idea because it’s simple, and more open. I wanted to choose some larger, sturdier baskets, so I chose the Sterilite 2-bushel baskets. I bought them at Walmart. I am not an expert in woodworking, but I am very happy with the results. I accidentally made it a little too wide, but I added another 1x2 to the rack where the baskets hang, and now the baskets fit perfectly. I chose pre-primed pine boards because I hate sanding and I hate painting. The top are just normal 1x4 pines that I glued together and fastened from underneath. I did have to sand those. I also did add a coat of paint that matches my baseboards. All in all, I am pleastly surprised that it turned out.

These chairs were super easy to make and so was the table. I did make a couple of changes if you'd like to read about it on my blog.
http://isteppedoutofmycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-love-to-build-…

Outdoor farmhouse table built using Ana's plans. Modified the plan slightly, used 3 2X4s on the top (instead of the 2 1X4's that Ana's plan used) and attached everything from underneath using pocket screws so that no hardware is visible from the top. Used a nailer board under each side of the tabletop to provide a place to attach the top without using huge screws.

Table was built using non-pressure treated lumber (because we wanted the stain to stick well). The finish was done with 2 coats of a chocolate outdoor stain. Took 2 days from start to finish, although much of that time was waiting for the paint and/or glue to dry. Very simple project, only used a few tools. The only "big" tool we used was a 12" sliding compound saw to make the end cuts. Also used the Kreg jig in a few places where we didn't have clamps large enough or, in the case of the table top, we wanted the wood to be able to "float" without warping other boards.

Simple design, very practical, and the kids love them

We recently had our 6th child and needed to rearrange our kids' rooms.  We decided to put our 3 oldest girls together and wanted a triple bunk.  We used the classic bunk plans, but increased the height to allow for a middle bunk.  We wanted L-shaped to give each child some headroom.  We used pine wood, common board and select pine.  We finished it off with two coats of Behr interior latex paint/primer in one, satin finish.  Finished dimensions--height from floor to base of bottom bunk, 10 in.  from floor to top of top rail, 79.5 in.

This bed is our first build. We added 4 inches to the height of posts on headboard and footboard. We also used brackets rather than screwing directly into footboard to make the bed easier to move if we ever need to.

We decided to build these for the kids, to get the old Ikea dressers out of their rooms. The build went very easy. Now the kids have a room full of only handmade (ana-white) furniture!