We combined two projects into one area to create a wonderful spot for reading to the grand kids.
Started to renovate hubby’s bathroom, got annoyed with lack of space on his work bench, built my own. Since this pic, I’ve added locking casters, a power bar up one leg, and a plain metal tool holder on one side. Still have some thoughts rattling around in my head about various other upgrades. Super plans, easy one-woman job.
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
I built this for use as an outdoor patio table suitable for an umbrella by eliminating the center truss below the table. Instead, I used my Kreg Jig to join the two sets of legs with 2 2x4s each set about 6 inches off center directly under table top. (See picture). I used Douglas Fir for most of this build. I also added a 1x2 cap to the bread board ends of the table top to help stabilize it against warping. I secured the table top to the frame with countersunk screws under glued wood plugs since I needed to allow a gap between boards for water drainage. I used the Varathane wood weathering product to soften the “new wood” look. I helped preserve the wood with a coat of Benjamin Moore’s clear Arborcoat. This acrylic product will allow the wood to continue to gray naturally. I recommend this as an intermediate project due to the awkwardness of joining the 45 degree angle cuts. Having a second set of hands here would have been very helpful.
Thank you for sharing your plan. It was a great experience!
Wood Type: Cedar
I saw many different sliding door projects online, so I did my own spin on one. I was able to get several old pallets for free (pine and oak). I went to Lowes and bought a few 2x3s which I used as the frame, and the track hardware which was only $13! Most doors I see are mounted from the wall, but since I have 7' ceilings downstairs I mounted mine from the ceiling. This project only took about 4 hours total and cost about $40 when you figure in costs for screws, stain, etc. The most difficult part was taking apart the pallets. Using a reciprocating saw with a 12'' demolition blade is the best way to take them apart. Thanks for the idea Ana.
Mon, 05/13/2013 - 20:00
Hi!!
This looks so awesome! I came across this and was hoping to repeat it. You mention that you found the door hanging hardware at Lowes for $13. I can't seem to find it. Do you happen to remember the name of it? I'm entering "hanging door hardware" into Lowes and Home Depot and can't seem to find any hanging door hardware at all. I'd appreciate the help. Thanks!
Tina
This table was so much fun to make. I couldn't use an 8 foot table so this is 5 ft. My table top has some blemishes that I could have tried to fix but at the time I just wanted to see it done. I think using better than big box store wood would have been a great start. The table is so sturdy. The bench was harder though because it had a wobble that just wouldn't be fixed.
I used pine for the top and Douglas fir for the legs. I used minwax wood conditioner, minwax early american stain, then minwax red oak stain for a couple of minutes then wiped off. Then topped with 4 coats of poly.
Love these benches. Working on cushions for them.
With six people in our household, we were in desperate need of easily accessed storage for our off season clothes/gear. This ended up being a perfect solution. We customized shelf heights to fit the bins that we use for storage as well as made an area for our cat box (at the bottom right). It's such a relief to finally have everything tucked away but easy to get at when we need it.
My daughter wanted to create the Farmhouse look for her New England home. Had so much fun building the Table, Bench and Floating shelves. The Plans were perfect, and of course customizable (she wanted it a little shorter). My next project is a real workbench for my garage. I think the only issue is the New Jersey winters.
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 31/2 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 took approximately a week to build, but was fairly simple. Drew arm rests freehand and applied 3 - 4 coats of Helmsmen.
Sat, 12/06/2014 - 12:27
I built this at the local college woodshop and I am very happy with how it turned out. Our comminity is so very lucky to have a community college that has a wood shop and a huge spray booth. (Wood Shop 1 & 2 as well as Cabinet Building 1 & 2)
My Biggest build so far. We have a large living room and needed something large for that wall. I really had fun on this one. It took longer than I wanted but in the end, I’m really proud I finished. This was my first time to use the router and learned how build shaker style doors. -Instagram.com/theorthfam
Made this out of a ton of scrap wood I had laying around. On the downside it made the project more difficult, but on the upside all I had to buy was hinges and handles...
Since my daughter turned 5, she has joined the ranks of those children (un)fortunate enough to have 2 bedrooms to furnish. In approaching her 6th birthday I asked her mother if there was anything she needed for her new room at her house, and she suggested a new table to do colouring/craft etc at. I was actually searching to buy a table and chairs, and was decidedly underwhelmed by the selection and the quality/cost ratio on offer.
Thankfully I stumbled across the plans for the Clara Table, and it was precisely what I was after. I have made various tables before, for garden and dining, and have always gone with reclaimed wood and a rustic style, but for this I did just use the plans as-is, and I bought new pine timber purely for the convenience of it.
The table is simple to build, I already had a pocket hole jig, and the table itself took about 90minutes to build. Most of this time was spent sanding off the foaming glue I decided to use between the planks used for the top. If you are considering using this sort of glue, or indeed any glue, I'd say it isn't necessary. I had neverade a table top of this construction before, and went for the belt and braces approach. In my opinion it's totally unnecessary, doesn't add much security, but adds plenty of time to the project. If you really want, I'd go for bog standard wood glue, but by the time you screw it onto the legs, it's solid as a rock anyway.
It is mentioned to set the aprons back a way, to avoid splitting the legs. I did this, by using an off-cut of the 3x1 as a spacer on the face of the aprons as I screwed them in. Worked a treat, set the aprons back, but not all the way, and gives the illusion of a little more heft to the dimensions.
I then painted the top with chalk based emulsion, distressed and did the signwriting to personalise it, finished it with wax and my daughter was more delighted than I ever thought any child could be by having a table daddy made for her birthday, and at a fraction of the cost of a shop bought one of far lower quality.
Am.so.pleased I stayed on this website, and have already lined up the matching chairs for her as my next project!
Thank you for inspiring me to get back to making things again...it's been a while!
The timber cost me about £20, and the biggest expense was all the paint tester pots for the top!
My first real furniture DIY project. My wife has been asking for a farmhouse table for a couple of years and I found Ana's site 3 weeks ago. By reading the plans the project seemed simple enough to give it a try. I modified the plans to shorten the table to 72" to fit in our dining room. I bought lumber from Lowe's and lumber costs for the table was approx $65 and the bench was right around $20. My wife loves it and I have had multiple requests to make more tables for other family members. The project took a week to complete working a few hours each evening after work. Stained with Rust-Oleum Ultimate in Kona and 4 coats of a Rust-Oleum Polyurethane in Satin finish. A big thanks to Ana for the free plans and for my new hobby of furniture making! *EDIT* The table and bench are not as dark as the pictures show.
My dream bed is finally done. Blood, sweat and tears.....not really, but after making a few mistakes along the way, I can finally say it's done. I am happy to report that it only cost $300 -- a whooping $ 1895 savings from Restoration Hardware's Maison Bed Collection. I am in love with my new chic bed. I will be posting my tutorial for the Chestwick Bed - King size - very soon. In the meantime, thanks for looking.
Dining Room table and benches tops built from reclaimed Douglas Fir and table and bench bases built from 4x4 posts.
I'm still getting to know my Compound Miter Saw, so I wanted to get another small project under my belt. Not to mention I had a whole other picket and a half left over from yesterday's project. This just seem to be the perfect project to do. And needed since we actually needed a few more planters.
we needed an exterior table big enough for 8 on short notice. It's hard to find nice exterior furniture on the Big Island of Hawaii so we decided to build ourselves using borrowed tools. only wish i had my kreg jig nearby :).
*this is July 2021 (pandemic) so wood prices have shot up. that's the reason the cost of the project is higher than normal.
Great plans allow for versatility and easy customization. Put the whole thing together in a day w/ one other person. My set up is 16' long - 5' on the side shelves and 6' for the workbench. Added a pegboard and fluorescent light under the top middle shelves. I'm also designing a slim drawer to go under the workbencheck area. Thanks a bunch!
