Community Brag Posts

First project from Ana White plans. Thanks Ana, looks great in my coffee bar.

I made a more narrow version of this bookshelf. I needed a place for the thicker books to go, so I left the top shelf open. This bookshelf has made it so simple for the boys to clean up after reading. Even my four year old knows to put his books back!!! YESSSSS!

I have been trying to attract more birds. I built and put up some more birdhouses, added a bird bath, and wanted to add some more feeders. I found this quick and easy plan and I had to build it.

This took me less than an hour to build. I bought my picket from Menards when it was on sale for $1.18. That's not a bad price for a bird feeder!

You can see the steps I took to build this on my blog.
http://jaimeofalltrades.blogspot.com/2014/05/make-bird-feeder-for-under…

Added kitchen and dining room storage by building bookcases / shelf units to fit under the peninsula breakfast bar overhang. It's the simplest possible "box with a toe-kick", loosely based on Ana's plans for a bookshelf and the closet master system.

Much of the "working time" was stain and finishing time. Actual cutting and assembly time was under 3 hours.

No dimensions: every breakfast bar is different.

1 - The boards were cut to fit under the overhang, with 1/8 or less clearance. Top and bottom of unit is between the upright pieces.

2 - Width of units was also cut to fit. One unit is the width of the lower section of countertop (appx 23 in), the taller section was divided into 2 equal units (appx 21 in)

Shelves were cut about 1/4" narrower than the insiude dimension of the unit, to allow for insertion and the shelf pegs.

3 - Toekick space cut to match the cabinet on the far side of the peninsula. Used a circular saw and then a hand saw to finish the corners.

4 - Drilled pocketholes in the top and bottom boards.

5 - Used Rockler's jig for drilling shelf pin holes in the 6 uprights. Oops! I should have drilled every possible hole. I drilled every other hole and don't have the shelf flexibility I really need.

6 - Stained and topcoated everything, let it dry.

7 - Assembled each shelf unit, using corner clamps and a carpenter's square to make sure it was square. The bottom shelf is screwed at the same level as the toe-kick.

8 - Slid units under the overhang, shimmed them firmly under the countertop.

9 - Added shelf pegs and shelves

DONE!

Doors could be added, using the hinges for inset doors on frameless cabinets.

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NOTES:
The units are backless. I considered nailing a 1/8 hardboard back onto them, but because the finished back of the peninsula is visible behind them, and they are shimmed into place to prevent slouching it was not needed.

Cost is low because we had some 1x12 boards in the attic. Already had the tools and stain from earlier projects. 3 1x12 x 6ft boards were new, the rest were salvage.

Two projects that I recently built for my wife and my daughter. My wife wanted a tea bar and a beach vibe, my daughter wanted an outdoor couch so it is made out of cedar. They both loved them.

Todd Springer

I honestly think Ana is a mind reader. Whenever I need plans for a particular piece of furniture, they magically appear on her site. Of course if she was a true mind reader, everything will be exactly as I need it requiring no modifications. That's what makes her plans so amazing. I can build bigger and better because I've learned to modify her plans to fit my current needs.

This Cart was no exception. I had to make mine a few inches deeper and change the height of the legs and it was a piece of cake. I put this together in less than 2 hours and finishing was easy too.

I did a blog post all about what I did differently including how I constructed a towel bar instead of the pipe. Check it out at www.thepursuitofhandyness.com

This was mine and my wife's very first woodworking project. Overall, it wasn't bad at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the actual process of cutting the wood and putting everything together. As far as the painting goes, I'd much rather just go on to another woodworking project, but I have to say that all the hard work paid off. Anna's plans helped tremendously. I tweaked slightly just because we wanted our center piece to be a little taller and slightly more narrow. We also added two shelves on each side, for a total of four. For our small reach-in closet, this was by far the best way to go about everything. We definitely have much more room and overall it is a much better use of the space.

I threw in a "before" picture just for fun.

We also just finished the Farmhouse Queen Bed that Anna has plans for, and we will be putting up a brag post on it very shortly.

After a floating shelf fail, I threw this one together with scraps. Time investment below includes waiting for paint to dry and hanging it up.

When I recently moved into a space with a kitchen and living room attached, I quickly realized that I wouldn't have room for a full size dinner table. I had seen extendable kitchen tables but none fit the bill, I was looking for something more compact. I also liked the idea of a bar / island with storage underneath, and I had noticed some had a drop leaf on 1 side which would be useful – but why not have 2 leafs for more dining space? When I decided to build my own table to fit these requirements it was difficult to find any plans out there, especially with drop leafs. Through lots of experimenting and research I finally built what I had envisioned: a kitchen island / bar with cart storage and two folding table leafs which expand to about 3^1/2 feet squared of eating / drinking area. I went through this trial and error process so you don’t have to, find more pictures and instructions here: http://bacheloronabudget.com/diy-drop-leaf-kitchen-island-cart/

This is a chair I made from the Super Easy Adirondack Chair plan from your website.

My wife used the benchmark media console plans with her own idea for the doors

These sturdy chairs are a wonderful replacement for plastic deck chairs! They are nice and heavy, and won't blow over in a storm! This project is a mix of Ana's Adirondack Chairs and the Simple Outdoor Lounge Chair. I combined ideas from the two plans to use the extra lumber we had left over from an outside project from last year. Left-over lumber included some 2x4 for the bottom frames, some 5/4 decking board for the seat, back, and arms, and a few balusters at the back. Most of the lumber was left over, so I only had to spend $20 for 2 boxes of Kreg screws and 2 pc 5/4 x 8 decking board. Finished with some left over exterior latex semi gloss paint. This was a fun weekend project - built the chairs on one day, and finished the sanding and painting the next day. My next project is a little outdoor table to go with them, and I have a few scraps left over to use for that. These chairs have received lots of compliments, and we've given Ana's web site name to several admirers. Ana, thank you for your wonderful plans!