Community Brag Posts

Following Ana White's Plan for a Farm Table, we were able to build our own and it turned out perfectly! We also re-purposed chairs to complete the look!

Material: Re-purposed dresser from thrift store.
Finish: Rustoleum High gloss black paint finish with brushed nickel drawer pulls

This is a very manageable weekend project that does not require any power tools. For more photos of the transformation check out my blog.

Our master closet in our home was HUGE- but pretty horrible design wise prior to this DIY.  1 light bulb fixture in a 12 foot deep closet, horrible wire shelving running the whole wall, and a pretty much horrible use of space.  As a surprise for my husband who was away for his job, I decided to create a dream closet for both of us!

I used Ana's master closet tower plans as a starting point and went from there.  I modified the towers to be wider (24" wide each) and also taller so that they would go completely to the ceiling of the closet.  I also modified the plans to allow for drawers and a pull out laundry bin on both sides of the closet, as well as shoe and clothing storage above said drawers. 

For the project I used Home Depot cabinet grade plywood for the tower carcasses and then purebond 1/2 plywood for the drawer boxes, shelves, and drawer fronts. I purchased the Kreg Shelf Jig and Rip Cut guide for this project and both proved themselves invaluable until I get a table saw (HINT HINT Hubby).  

For the trim I used 1 x 2 furring strips and 1 x 4 lumber for the decorative cut outs above the 4 tower units.  I also used cove moulding to tie in all the sections of the closet with one another.

I painted the main towers white (as well as the wall to encourage the appearance of "built in) and then stained the shoe and clothing shelves dark walnut with a few coats of satin POLY to finish. 

For the back wall I purchased target contact wallpaper and installed that- as well as a wall mirror so I don't have to balance dangerously on my bathroom tub to see if my shoes match my outfit anymore.

All in all, the project took about 3 weeks to finish.  I was lucky that my mother was around the first few days of the project so that I could do the demo work and at least get the one side of the closet framed in, as the rest of the project was completed during "nap time" for my (NOSY) toddler.  

In the end, we are both estatic with how this project turned out - I installed a valet bar and a pull out tie/belt rack for the husband and that add an even more "custom" touch to the closet...

I've posted many more photos to my blog detailing this closet reno- www.thesewchicmommy.com if you want to see a more "step by step" build. 

Project cost: $750-800 ( including paint, mirror, wall paper, all hardware, lumber etc) 

Time: 3-4 weeks 

This is my own desing and was quite a challange. 

We had been looking for a headboard for our son for the longest time, but could never find anything we liked in the shade we needed in the stores. Fell in love with this bed, thought it was one of the more "boyish" styles that I've seen which was what I wanted for my son. Asked my husband if he thought he'd be able to build it, he said he'd try and voila! We, however, modified the plans a bit and only made a headboard, but overall, I love it!

This was my first ever Ana White woodworking project.  It was also my first time using a Kreg Jig.  I had a ton of fun and can't beleive how great it turned out!  I learned a lot while building it so I'm sure I will have even more success with my next project.  I highly recommend this project for first time beginners looking for a huge feeling of accomplishment and personal satisfaction. 

Thanks Ana!

Anthony

http://wholesteading.com

We had seen the modern slat bench before, and stumbled upon the plans on Ana-White, we did look further to see if we could find a style for us and had seen one made entirely out of 2x4's that also cam with plans, http://diycandy.com/2015/06/modern-williams-sonoma-inspired-diy-outdoor…

I thought I would share mine as it differs slightly, I opted to age my bench before staining as well as added adjustible feet so I can level it no matter where I put it. I am using mine as a coffee table, and if I have too many people over, I just use it as a bench to accomodate.

I hope that everyone enjoys the look of how my bench turned out. To reproduce the look of mine I described and linked the 2 products I used for the finish. But I also used the following power tools, Table Saw, Drill and Sawzall, belt sander and palm sander. I used the sawzall as I made a slight error and had some overhang that needed trimming. We used numerous items to get the outside beat up prior to the stain and sealer. The finished product looks amazing and I don't fear someone running away with it at 80lbs.

We made a modified (and scaled down) version of this dollhouse. Check out our blog for a complete list of details, plans, dimensions, furniture plans, and a downloadable sketch-up file to help you in building this. SUCH a fun and wonderful project. This was a Christmas gift and we are hoping it will be around for years to come! Thanks Ana.

http://www.thoughtcomics.com/projects.html

Have fun! We are beginner builders but it took us quite some time to build this. 20 Hrs...??

Email any questions!

Wanted a chest of drawers with Deep Drawers.  As the drawers were so deep I used some scraps to fit supports to the undersides of the drawers as shown in one of the photos.  I knew the drawers would be stuffed to the brim and would need to be quite strong.  On the bottom two drawers I fitted three supports from scrap 1 by 4 and 1 by 6. 

On this piece I didn't bother covering up all the internal pocket holes like I normally would either and it looks a bit of an ugly duckling on inside but once top is on and drawers are in you cannot see anything.

I thought the natural colored backing gave it some interest too.

Happy to share my plan with anybody who wants it.

I got the legs from a old dining table my mom had that was damaged in a move so when i saw this plan i knew this was perfect. So simple and easy to build, yet everyone who sees it is in love with it. Thanks Ana!

As a Notre Dame fan, this was a tough one, so I charged extra for having to stomach the OSU red. It was a long build, and by far my most ambitious piece of furniture since the customer wanted it to be full size (as opposed to twin). They were very happy with the finished product (especially the desk top w/logo, which was a surprise).

Most of the joinery was done with a Kreg jig, I used dimensional lumber for the support & cabinet grade plywood for the shelves. Thanks for looking.

Printers console

My husband and I built this for a wedding gift.  We love the plans, so easy to follow and alter measurements.  This one is white washed with monogram design.

I built a breakfast bar into an existing wall shared between our kitchen and living room. I built it on the taller side of average since I wanted to have room to install new electrical outlets above the counter on the kitchen side. After the project was done we went to buy bar stools to use with the new bar and found that even the "tall" stools were too short to work. Research into extra tall stools showed that what we needed was going to $400-600 each! Luckily my wife found these stools on your site and we were able to make three of them for around $115. Also, they are much sturdier than anything we looked at to buy.

I used MDF and Pine for the build. It's a simple 3 tiered design with a small easy access storage section on top. One end of the top tier has been shaped so that the baby doesn't hurt it's feet when kicking around. The change table also has a decorative trim to jazz it up a bit.

This was first major woodworking project. I used mostly select pine, a little knotty pine and some spruce studs from a local hardware. For the headboard panels I used tongue and groove pine boards. I used Benjamin Moore primer and paint for finish. 

Tip 1: make sure to measure your hallway and doors before trying to bring this from the shop or garage into the house. If building in the bedroom, make sure to plan for the day you want to move it. I ended up taking mine apart to get it through the bedroom door and ruined the finish on all my legs. 

Tip 2: I added blocks behind the legs because I didn't feel like the legs would be sufficient support. I also created by own rear legs similar to the front for more support. 

Tip 3: the instructions on how to mount the headboard to the bed aren't really clear / don't work. I had to add some extra 2x4 material to the rear legs (on the inside)  in order to have something for the bolts to go through. Once your headboard and bed are built, you'll have to be creative and come up with something. 

Tip 4: I added support legs under the cross supports to hold the weight of the mattresses better.