Community Brag Posts

This was our very first building project and we are thrilled with how it turned out!

I changed up the dimensions a little bit... I wanted the table to be shorter and wider. I ended up using three 2x10s and two 2x8 for the table top to make it wider, and then just changed the cut list to make the table 76" long instead of 85". 

We did our best with picking out the straightest pieces of lumber from Fleet Farm, but even then had trouble getting the boards flush and flat to make the table top. I laid on the boards while my husband screwed them together, but even then had to spend hours sanding the top so that it was as flat as possible. 

I did a couple coats of stain, which turned out really nice on the top of the table, but for some reason the legs turned a funny color. Some of the knots are a strange shade of purple. 

The polyurethane is amazing stuff. I had to control myself from putting on a million coats. Beware- that stuff sticks to everything and does not come off. (Olive oil helps get it out of hair ;)...)

Anyways, I love this table and so do all of our visitors! We can comfortable fit 8 people at the table (squishy with 10 people) even with change in table dimensions. Great for hosting Thanksgiving!

Modifications:

Rounded ends of feet with table saw. 

Used 60" round tabletop, cut from a plank tabletop made of 2x6s.

Also ripped 1" off the X-supports to reduce thickness. 

Working off of Ana's easy and classicly styled nesting table plan, we decided to go with a stain finish to match the furniture in our formal living room. Building the tables was quite easy and fast. The time was in the waiting for the stain to dry and be ready to apply multiple coats as needed. Staining obviously takes much longer to complete, but well worth the wait.

Easy project . Two year old is going to love it.

Built this using the Anna White's "MIMI'S FAUX MANTLE" but instead of using crown molding I elected to use STONE TILES in a neutral tones and finished the surround and mantle in white giving the piece a nice soft appeal.  The building plans were easy to follow and took about 2 days to complete the whole process (because of drying times) not to mention how reasonable the cost was.  I already had the tiles,  adhesive, and paint from left over projects.

Tv Stand for My mother for Christmas. Couldn't find untreated 4x4s so i used cedar. Found now after the project was done that Menards has untreated 4x4's, even Red Oak.

I built a platform bed for our new matress and wanted to make some nightstands that matched. These worked out wonderfully.

I needed to recover the desktop space occupied by two printers--one a black and white laser printer, and the other a multi-function color printer, scanner, and copier.  There are also two routers that were taking up space.  The L-shaped oak desk with return I purchased from a furniture store had a full-size hutch available, but it wouldn't really help store the printers since they would be too high to use.

When looking around for plan ideas, my first stop is Ana's page.  The schoolhoouse desk hutch dimensionally matched what I was thinking about.  I liked the ideas of the cubby-holes to get papers and other items off the desk but readily available.

I trimmed it out a little fancier to match the desk and included feet simlar to a an oak hutch we have in the dining room.  I think this feature, along with the trim, helps break up the straight lines.

I prefer to use biscuits in lieue of pocket screws so I don't have all the holes to fill.  I think it makes a cleaner cabinet but clamping time adds a little to the assembly.  I attached the face frame with brad naile--18 ga for the face frame and a 24-ga pin nailer for the upper trim.

I also leave the face frame slighltly proud, about 1/8", which when sanded ends up about 1/16"  We had some kitchen cabinets like this and I prefer the look to flush.  Plus you don't have to use a flush-trim bit all the way around the cabinet.

The cabinet is oak 3/4" plywood and solid oak pieces while the back is 1/8" birch.  I couldn't find 1/8" oak panels at our local yards.  The back is recessed in the cabinet, and next time I will be sure to cut the rabbit for the back before assembling the case.  It was much harder with the ribs for the cubby-holes interfering with the router bit bearing.

I like the way it turned out and is functional without over-powering the room.  I also added rope lights underneath and on the back for task and mood lighting.

This was the first attempt at building furniture for my husband and me...and we're thrilled with how it turned out! We had a table from Crate and Barrel that was not holding up at all (I convinced them to take it back after 1 year) and wanted to try to build our own. We used Ana's Farmhouse Dining Table original plan, and only shortened it to 64", but followed the rest exactly. We looked into getting oak or a more expensive wood for the table, but save your money and get the pine! After the polyurethane, it's harder and more durable than our C&B table!

I always wanted a fireplace. Living in Puerto Rico, obviously a real one is not needed. I saw the fireplaces on Ana's site and decided to make myself one from materials I had on hand. 

I started out with Ana's Fireplace anywhere but when done I thought it needed a little beefing up for my purpose so I added a few more 1x3's and made the top 12" so the dvd theater system would fit on top. 

Finished  it off  by sanding, priming and black glossy paint. I wanted the panel gold but the metallic paint I had was too watery so went with silver, I am planning on adding a monogram or such on the panel also but haven't decided on what exactly yet, I made a few faux cardboard logs, made a few wholes in them and wrapped red and gold christmas lights in them for a fire effect. It really adds a nice touch to the living room. The wall behind it is made of brown craft paper, painted with brown, silver and gold, torn into pieces and applied with glue mix. I did it last year and gave myself a year to see if I still liked it. I do, so this year I gave it a polyutherene gloss coat and did a similiar treatment with different colors to the front porch. 

LOVE THIS TABLE! The plan was fairly easy.

I built this changing table for my friend's new baby. I had to stain all the individual pieces and assemble it at her house. It wouldn't fit assembled in my vehicle! :)

I also built her a stepstool as well.

I love how this bed turned out. I made the footboard panel the same size as the headboard because I wanted my footboard above the mattress.(just use shorter 4x4 post for the legs than you do the headboard) I also added some molding inside the panel to give it a little extra flare. The boards on the panels are connected with pocket holes and pocket hole screws and the trim I put on covers them completely so there was no need to fill them in. I ordered some bed rail brackets from Rockler and attached the side rails right onto the 4x4 legs instead of the panels and it worked out perfect and it's very easy to take apart if I ever need to move the bed. Thanks Ana for the plans. Any chance you will be doing nightstands to match?

I decided not to use the wheels to keep my son from moving it around, stained it.

This was a blast. Thanks so much for the plans Ana, as well as for all the comments after the plans, which help a lot too. I did a combo, and it worked wonderfully! I made a little more work for myself than I needed to, but for a first project, I feel proud of myself...and can't wait for my next project.

This table is a dream come true. I have always wanted one of these but could never find one I absolutely loved. I have now.

Fun project that turned out pretty good, we also made the matching end table