Community Brag Posts

Jelly Cupboard(s)

Submitted by bbomer on Fri, 12/27/2013 - 09:48

I have built several of these Jelly Cupboards since the plans came out. Everyone really likes them, and they are super fast and easy to build. The last one had glass doors that turned out pretty well. I like to use plywood beadboard on the back to give it a little more character. I also like to use 'hardware cloth' for the mesh type doors (found at farm stores). It usually has openings about 1/8" or less but not as tight as screen, which looks perfect.

Edit: For hardware part numbers and sources please see: http://grvland.com/wordpress/2012/02/07/jelly-cupboard-project/

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50-$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Black Walnut Danish Oil, Wax Free Shellac, Latex Paint (dark), more latex paint (light), sand back, Water-based Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

romanweel

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 00:51

Really lovely work! I scoured a couple of those pretty butterfly hinges by pure luck a while back, and I know where to find more...but those strap hinges! Where did you get them? I can't seem to find them for a decent price (Ohio).

bbomer

Tue, 12/31/2013 - 07:15

The strap hinges are from Acorn Manufacturing. I had to order them because I could not find anything like them locally. For some reason I can not post links in the comments, but the sources are linked on my blog, grvland dot com (no spaces and a . obviously). Just search there for Jelly Cupboard and you will find the source links in the earlier of the two posts. I will also see if I can add a direct link above.

Reclaimed Wood Outdoor Sofa

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/30/2023 - 14:43

We had a small deck with many rotted boards. The contractor who demoed it, knowing my interest in diy projects, sorted out any usable boards. I loved the idea of an outdoor sofa, so altered your beautiful pattern to accommodate decking boards - I literally only had to purchase 2 boards for the entire project! I’m so thrilled with how it turned out! Thank you!!

Camey Brown

Built from Plan(s)

Wood Star Serving Tray

Submitted by LampAtFeet on Sat, 12/07/2019 - 13:41

I followed the plans for the Wood Star Serving Tray. I thought it was a little tricky cutting all the angles to the correct length. One tip I would suggest is to mark which end has the 24 degree cuts, since you'll be attaching these joints first. Any gaps in the joints can be filled with wood filler, then sanded smooth. I would say this is an Intermediate level project due to the angles and trying to attach them without the nails popping through the other board. Would be fun doing a set of 3 and painting them red, white & blue for the 4th of July. Thanks for the plans, Ana!

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Stained with Varathane Briarsmoke, then a light layer of Dark Walnut to help give it an aged look. Sealer on top.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

DIY Shed Chicken Coop 6x8

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/19/2016 - 19:50

 The project was used using the same plans but I extended the floor to be 6 feet wide vice 4 feet the additional 2 feet provided the perfect amount space I wanted. I also added an extra windows  to get cross ventilation.    I also insulated the coop and put paneling on the walls and lenolium on the floors.  I dropped the back wall sheeting 1.5 inches for additional airflow since the shed doesn't have a ridge vent.   The plans are easy to follow and easily adaptable.   

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$700. You may think that is a lot but you will learn a lot. Coops we were looking at were $1,200. This coop was less expensive and bigger and better plus you can say you built that.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
T1-11 with home depot behr exterior paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Sandbox with Built-In Seats

Submitted by Loral on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 15:32

This is a fun project even for beginners. If you have an interest in building a sandbox, and have some tools, I'm sure you can make this easy enough!

I used 2" X 10" wood for my sides instead of the 1" as the plans call for. This gives extra strength and more depth. When you use 2" wood, you will have to turn your 1 X 4's the other way to match the 47½" width, because with the added width of the 2 side boards, your new width is now 49¼". It's not difficult, you just have to match your 1 X 4 X 47½ boards to the proper width. It will turn out fine, they just won't match the plans or pics of those using 1 X 8's for sides.

Sorry, I'm delivering this to my grandson's house for his birthday present, so no sand, but use landscaping cloth under this sandbox, then fill with sand.

One other thing, I'm toying with the idea of matching the angle the backrest is at and re-cut new pieces of 7½" arm rests. I think that may look a little better than the rectangle blocks.

My added pics are as follows:
1. The side boards all cut, and sizing up the frame.
2. All other boards are cut; I laid them out for fit before screwing the pieces together.
3. Using a square will help you keep everything at the correct angles. Also note in this picture and the next where I used two ½" pieces of wood I ripped to keep the ½" spacing uniform. Just rip any wood to the ½" width, make 2 pieces and butt against the next board on both sides, then screw them down. Makes it VERY easy to keep a uniform gap.
4. This picture shows me using the same "spacer" when putting the hinges in place. The red arrow points to the wood spacer.
5. The first bench is complete, and working fine!!

With the wood I used in my project, I used 2½" self tapping deck screws for the frame and attaching the 1X4's to the frame; I used 2" galvanized for attaching the 1X4's to any 2X4's; and for the hinges, I used ¾" wood screws. Using these sizes prevented the screws from coming through the other side.

I bought everything needed in this project at Lowe's and it was under $90 in costs; this is all the lumber (upgrading to 2 X 10's), hinges, screws, and handles.

Estimated Cost
$90 - Everything purchased new at Lowe's
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
This is a gift, so I'll leave it to my daughter and son-in-law to use fence or deck stain to match their house. All pics are un-toned raw pressure treated lumber.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Lady Goats

Wed, 05/09/2012 - 16:25

I was just going to tell you how to add a brag blog when I saw that you'd already done so! YAY! Your sandbox looks awesome! You guys are all making me wish I had a tolerable yard to put a full-sized box in!!!

Loral

Thu, 05/10/2012 - 13:49

Yeah, you made the plans easy to follow. It was a lot of fun. I spanned it over 2 days, but still was only around 4 hours of work.

I'm considering cutting the "arm rests" at an angle to match the slope of the back rest. I may play with that this weekend.

Thanks for all the help!

Also, what did you use to make the sketch type pics for the plans? I know you mentioned something about not knowing how to put the hindges on them. If I can help, I can probably do it for you in PhotoShop.... Just let me know.

Thanks again!
Loral

"The Most Beautiful Bed in the Whole World"!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/13/2016 - 20:08

My husband and I just moved into a new home with our 3.5 year old little girl. We wanted to utilize the space in her room as efficiently as possible yet still accommodate her request for the "most beautiful bed in the whole world!" We found your plan and decided to adapt it to her style...and this was the end result!!! Thank you so much for the plans, we both love your work!

Estimated Cost
$225 due to our decorative additions and decision to use 4x4 cedar posts for added stability. Cedar was the only untreated 4x4 lumber available in our area, and raised the total project cost by nearly $80.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
We used a basic primer and sealer followed by Behr interior semi gloss in "Cotton Sheets". The pink used was a custom blend with cool undertones. I used "Crystal Clear" polyacrylic on the bed and wished I hadn't. It wasn't nearly as clear as it claimed and left yellow stains on the finish that I had to cover later. The stairs were done using project paper from JoAnn Fabrics decoupaged with mod podge/extreme glitter mod podge and finished with a coat of semi gloss poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Modern Adirondack Chair, Super Sized

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/21/2020 - 10:39

Am a big fan of Ana's work, and have used several of her plans in prior builds including the more traditional Adirondack chairs. Those stayed with my old house, and I wanted something different for my new house. Really liked her Modern Adirondack design with the floating arm rest. However, plans are like recipes to me--a guideline. I wanted the back boards to run up and down, and I am a bit more robust than the lovely and petite Ms. White, so they would need to be wider after I built the first one at 19 1/2" wide per plan. The next three I made 22" wide and that worked well without throwing off the geometry and angles of the other parts. Since I ran the backboards up and down, I needed some cross beams for stability and to give an attachment point for the middle of the boards. Cut some 2x4s at 15" wide, drilled pocket holes in both ends, and attached in between the back supports with the pockets facing up to be hidden by the back boards. All of the 2x4s were leftover cut-offs from the houses being built in my neighborhood. Since the frames were free, I splurged and went with cedar boards for the backs and bottoms. With the wider frames, I had to use 1x12s ripped down to 10 3/4" to get the right look (about a board's width in between). Needed some color, so I painted the frames Teal Seaglass from Menards. Cedar was stained with a natural deck stain from Sherwin Williams. I experimented with salt paint (mixing unsanded grout with the paint) to give a heavily textured and weathered finish but this was unecessary--the wood was distressed enough and I am a terrible painter. It also toned down the color so I skipped that step and just went with 2 coats of plain paint. It looks like outdoor furniture should up close. As always, am pleased with Ana's plans. Thank you for doing all the hard work!

Estimated Cost
about $200 for all 4 chairs due to cedar and paint
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint - Pittsburgh matte exterior with Dutch Boy coloring Teal Seaglass
Stain - Sherwin Williams Superdeck stain, Natural finish
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Farmhouse Doll Bed

Submitted by TeamR-K on Tue, 12/11/2012 - 13:04

My handy husband whipped this little bed up from the leftover wood of the rustic "X" end table! I love it so much, a great toy / newborn prop!! I wanted to finish it with the steel wool/vinegar method, but it was too late, he already painted it. I love it just the way it is! Thank you for the awesome plan!!

Estimated Cost
$15 - or free if you use leftover pieces of wood
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint-Beautitone Satin Finish
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

spiceylg

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 05:26

Nice build, but the baby steals the show. What an absolutely precious baby and picture! The stuffed lamb is adorable, too, lol!

5 tator tots (not verified)

Tue, 12/18/2012 - 11:37

Our baby is due in a few weeks...makes me want my husband to build this just for pictures! Adorable baby!

Farmhouse X Desk

Submitted by Jeremysj on Thu, 10/15/2020 - 10:59

I built the Farmhouse X Desk with full extension drawers instead of shelves.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$125
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
White cabinet & furniture paint and dark walnut stain for the top. Finished the top with several coats of Minwax polycrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Mahogany Double Pedestal Farmhouse Dining Table

Submitted by ekmoy on Sat, 11/29/2014 - 15:54

I decided to build a dining table after finding Ana's site and being encouraged from the straight forward plans and great brag posts.  Thank you for the encouragement, Ana!

This project took much longer than anticipated since we changed around the plans, used mahogany which is unforgiving, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist so we spent a lot of time on each step to make sure things were correct.  In terms of modifications, we used 1x12, 1x10 and 1x8s on the table top.  We only made two pedestal legs so we could fit chairs on the end.  The overall dimensions are 96.5" x 46.5" x 29".  We kind of fell into those dimensions after having to change things to make sure the breadboards fit properly.

I'm happy to share any additional plans/information with folks who want to build a similar table.  We didn't use a stain but rather just 3 coats of MinWax Wipe-On Poly.  It really brought out the beauty of the grain and color of the wood!

Thank you again, Ana!  I hope future generations will keep this table and think it's cool that their family made it.  I'm planning to have a plaque engraved with our names and the date to attach to the table as well.  

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Since we used mahogany it was much more expensive. We spent ~$1700 on the wood alone, nevermind the tools etc.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
MinWax Wipe-On Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Meljohnson

Fri, 05/22/2015 - 20:41

Out of all the pedestal table plan variations yours is my favourite. Not only because of the beautiful wood but I like your modification of the base the best. Can you tell me what is the inner width between the two pedestal legs? Also how many people can you comfortably fit around that table and how many can you squish around? If you have a moment to answer my questions, thanks so much.

Twin over full bunk bed with stairs

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/03/2021 - 10:00

Liked the plan took way longer to sand and get everything cleaned up than it took to build.

1x3 slats for under the bed.

Made it extra high just full 8’ boards for the posts and added extra railing and dropped a 12” twin in.

It’s super sturdy, used scraps to add a headboard where the stairs are.

Turned out well

Comments

Adirondack chair from Pallets

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/24/2017 - 19:42

I decided to try and use the plans on Ana's site but with a twist. I wanted to limit myself to using only pallets. I think it turned out great! I can't upload all the photos because they exceed the maximum size limit. If I was able to you could see how each chair is slightly different and has a lot of character. I finished them with a waterproofing oil which I highly recommend over other finishes. 

Estimated Cost
$10 for screws.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Cabot oil
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Brook Laundry Basket Dresser

Submitted by krochelle on Thu, 01/01/2015 - 15:42

Used square laundry baskets instead of regular rectangular baskets. The square ones aren't as deep but are a bit taller so I had to modify the plans. I added a backsplash and some wooden tags to the baskets to designate them for certain colors. I also added some decorative trim and finished the bottom in a gray stain and used white chalk paint for the top.

Estimated Cost
$70
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Weathered gray stain
White chalk paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Kitchen Island

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 16:35

Larger than on-line plans but it got me started. The top is made of oak skids glued together for 1-5/8" thickness.

Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

My spin on the Counter Height Farmhouse Table from Amazon White’s free plans!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 03/20/2021 - 06:52

The counter height farmhouse table plans were so helpful! Thank you Ana White! I replaced plywood on top with 2x8s and added a shelf underneath the table for some kitchen storage! I am in love thanks again😍 Follow me on Instagram @abbbclark_homeee for more home renovations, decor and DIY!

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Weathered oak oil based stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

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