Community Brag Posts

Aqua Woven Bench

This is aweekend project, also because I didt, and Im a beginner.. everyone can do it!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Exotic Aqua Spray Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Alden's two tone X book case

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 10:37

I built this book case for one of my Kids that wanted a new book case.

Estimated Cost
estimated cost $75,
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
rustic Mahogany wood stain (gel), apply Lacquer finish for additional protection and glossy finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Raised Bed Garden Enclosure

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/28/2020 - 17:08

We perviously had a larger garden farther back in the yard, it was on the ground which is very hard and rocky. It was tough to till and maintain, so it was taken down a few years ago.

My wife and teenage daughter have green thumbs and have planted herbs and tomatoes in pots over the past few years, but this year they wanted something more substantial. After an online search we found this plan.

It was a bit small for what the girls had planned, so with a little bit of tweaking, we changed the depth of the enclosure to 10'. It was pretty easy to do. Also the girls wanted the beds to be a bit deeper, so we made them three 2x6's deep instead of two

It was built by my wife and I in one weekend, well actually the truth is we built the entire enclosure, minus the door on Saturday about 10am and finish up about 5:30pm. I built the door the next day and we hung it together.

Just an FYI, I have quite a bit of woodworking experience and have a workshop with table saw, band saw and much, much more. I did use the table saw for most of the cuts, with the exception of the gate support which I cut using the band saw.

One caveat, if you have the lumber yard cut any pieces for you, make sure all the lumber is the same length. It's kind os a nit picky thing, but none of the lumber was exactly the length shown on the labels. If you want all the joints to be "perfect" I suggest measuring and cutting all the pieces to the correct length to match the plans.

We also used an industrial hand held staple gun to fasten the chicken wire.

The cost of all the materials, including two sets of work gloves came out to $447.92 from Home Depot in 2020.

We are now waiting for a delivery of the top soil to fill the beds. Since we used weatherguard lumber, we are going to gat plastic sheeting and line the beds.

It was a fun project and my girls are looking forward to planting all their seedlings.

For fun we made a time lapse video, which I have uploaded to Youtube. If you watch closely, you will see that we started the build in one area of the yard and moved it because the ground sloped much more than we originally thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7vvBLy034U&list=WL&index=112&t=0s

I hope that our experience may help others in some small way.

Thank you Ana for making these plans available!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$447.92
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
None.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Shoe Shrine Cabinet

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 02/17/2024 - 09:58

I made 2 shoe shrines then decided to add a cabinet between them for long dresses . Was going to put cabinet doors on the shoe shrines but decided it looked good displaying her shoes. I followed the shoe shrine plans from Ana's web site I found the plans easy to follow although once I was finished I realized it would have been much easy to make the outside frames first and then square them rather then build the insides and then put the outsides on last. It's challenging to keep them square when following the plans . The whole project was allot more work then I anticipated I used my sprayer to paint it I filled all the pocket holes and used wood filler to make the cubbies all one seamless look. Then added crown molding to the top. The doors are the faker shaker doors . I have made real shaker doors on other projects I cant tell the difference between the fakers and the real shakers . Happy with how it came out.

 

Mark DePonzi

Built from Plan(s)

Simple Outdoor Bench From Pallets

Your simple outdoor bench but a bit revised...I made it out of wooden pallets! the pallets were free from a local hardware store so the total cost of my bench...$9.00!

Estimated Cost
$9.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Red Mahogany
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Allywarner3

Mon, 07/23/2012 - 11:33

Loved the design of this bench! I am very much a diy person so I decided to try the pallet...it worked beautifully! Can't wait to get on to the next pallet project! good luck with yours!

Twin Beds

Saw plans on here and my girls loved the bed so we got rid of the bunk beds and now they have their own beds. The original plans were for a king or Queen so had to redraw the project out for twin size beds. I had never made drawers before so that was fun. Learned a lot and now onto the next project.

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Mahogany stain (minwax)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

kitchen island

Submitted by jvos on Wed, 07/25/2012 - 16:40

This is my first project. I made a lot of mistakes but also learned a lot as well. I have very little counter top space and so wanted an island for additional work space. I had to downsize it due to my small kitchen but it seems to be about right. I got a kreg jig for this and it makes for a solid project. Next up, a platform bed!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Polyurethene & paste wax
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Farm Table

Submitted by mrcleland on Mon, 05/19/2014 - 11:02

This was my first project in regards to building anything. I had some old milled wood from my grandfathers farm that needed some attention. The wood itself was milled about 60 years ago and sat under his house in a crawlspace ever since he moved from his farm in Kentucky to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The wood itself was in rough shape and since I didn't have access to a planer, I had to sand the rough cut wood to the smoothness of my liking. I was very limited to the amount of wood I had so I took various ideas from your website and came up with my own version. I would not have even attempted the project had I not been inspired by your site. Overall I was distracted numerous times by life so it took about 6 months to finish. Speaking of finish, I highly recommend testing several large pieces of scrap before staining. I went with a driftwood color to a weathered grey before I finally finished with a darker kona color. By the time I was done, I had sanded the table 3 separate times. I love the table and made it to where I can remove the legs for easy transport. It is solid as a rock and very heavy.

Estimated Cost
100.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Kona with a satin poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Office desk

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 08/20/2016 - 08:05

I did not add the draw and modified the cubbies to hold my computer equipment. I have enough space to add a center draw later and I will probably build a small platform for the monitor. The plywood was salvaged from the floor of my grandmother's house.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
About $30 but I already had most of the materials.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
2 coats of classic walnut and two coats of oil based polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

A First Desk Build

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 02/29/2024 - 07:44

This was the first time that I built anything from scratch and I must say that I was really surprised by how good it came out. It’s not perfect but I’m really proud of the finished product.
Thanks Ana for making it easy.

Tyra Williams

Built from Plan(s)

5 board bench with a twist.

5 board bench with a few extra boards.
I had some leftover hardwood flooring pieces that i cut for the seat of the bench. I love color so this was a lot of fun!!!
Thanks!

Estimated Cost
<$15
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I used outdoor stain and paint and several coats of poly for a water resistant finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

clara table and chair

another clara table and chair.

Estimated Cost
35.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax golden oak, and polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Farmhouse Tanle and Bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/23/2016 - 09:48

My wife and I built the farmhouse table and bench.  We then followed the plans and made smaller versions for the living room - creating a coffee table and end tables. 

 

There was a horrible bartop seperating the kitchen from the dining room that was yellow 70's linoleum.  We ripped that bar top off and made another small version of the farmhouse table for the bar top!  Looks great!!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Provincial Stain and satin poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Adirondack Chairs - first ever wood project completed

Submitted by fessehaye2 on Thu, 06/04/2020 - 17:00

Thank you for these really easy, step by step instructions. This was my first ever wood project and did it with borrowed mitre saw and few other tools I had at home. I'm now hooked and already planning my next project, twin beds for my kids.

Comments

Garden Enclosure

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/04/2024 - 09:33

This is our riff on your plans. Two seasons in and not a single animal has breached our fortress.

 

Jan Perrone Greco on Facebook

Built from Plan(s)
Seasonal And Holiday

Entryway bench and shelf

Submitted by susanuva on Mon, 07/30/2012 - 13:58

Here is my very first project.

Estimated Cost
$170.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Stained with Red Elm Gel stain
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Family Tree

Loved Ana's original of this and we saw cedar plans on sale over the holiday weekend we had to give it a shot. Loved how it turned out. Thank you for the inspiration.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$10
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Early American
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Double Pedestal Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/26/2016 - 17:36

Modified plans to accomidate a smaller eating area.  Took us about a week working on it a little bit a day.  Wood cost was about $110.  Dark Walnut stain, primer and linen white chalk paint over primer on the bottom.  

I used somebody else's design photo from this site and inserted my own numbers when figuring out the top dimensions and cuts.  I wish I could remember whose for proper credit.  Legs were completed using the ana white legs from the original plan with no alterations. 

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Our modern take on the Modern Outdoor chair

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 06/07/2020 - 15:59

When I told my husband we were going to make patio chairs instead of buy them - he thought I was crazy!

I started looking for chairs during the tail end of the pandemic’s stay-at-home order, but after looking for something that was a nice quality yet reasonably priced, we soon realized the options just weren’t there. In my 20’s, I had made a dining room table when I could really afford anything nice! Man I loved that table! So I decided to google DIY patio chairs and found your site! OH. MY. GOODNESS. I want to make all the things. In addition to these beauties, we’ve also made counter height garden boxes, and are getting ready to start on the Farmhouse Potting Bench. Your videos are great - and make everything look incredibly easy. I stained and polyurethanes before assembly, but in hindsight might have opted to wait until the end! All accessories, including cushions are from at home. Make these chairs! You will love them!!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Kona stain with Satin polyurathane finish

I presaged wood with a pre-stain, then did one coat of stain (wipes down so it wasn’t so dark), and two coats of Varnish. I sanded prior to staining, and in between varnishes. We made two chairs at the same time - so stained roughly 50 boards - which was the most time consuming part as the varnish takes the longest. It is helpful to have this on a tall surface for assembly
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