Community Brag Posts

Hi Ana. Been a fan of yours. My name is Ed. Wood working is my hobby. And its always nice to look at your plans, and put my own spin on it. My wife wanted a planter for our deck. So I tweaked your plans and made them a little bigger. I Also built her a herb garden too. With these new planters; it should put a stop to the rabbits eating everything.

Thanks for your inspiration.

This project was our largest build to date, but the outcome was definitely worth the sweat! The build went relatively fast between my mom and I. I had a little problem assembling the tower bases, but we'll blame the 108 degree heat on my inability to figure out where to place my Kreg holes! I included a picture of how I did the tower base, in case anyone else runs into the same issue.

To accommodate for our base boards we added furring strips to the wall to bring all of the pieces flush. The hutch is secured into the studs with multiple L-brackets and so are the towers.

Finishing was very time consuming, but we'll worth the end result and look on my daughter's face! This system provides an incredible amount of storage. Thank you so much for the plans Ana!

I loved the simple look and have admired similar loungers at Pottery Barn.  Even if I had the money I feel it's a waste to pay for what they charge.  I knew there were plans somewhere to make something similar for a fraction of the cost.  So happy I found this site!

I have many tools at home so I needed to purchase the lumber, hardware (screws, hinges, etc.), stain, and sealer.  I would say it was about roughly $100/chair (rounding up) - not including the cushions.  Those I found at Lowe's for about $60/each.  

I haven't made anything like this before so I made the first one and took my time.  I really enjoyed the process and thought the instructions were simple to follow.  I have some skills and basic knowledge so I didn't feel like this was too difficult.  I love the way they turned out!  I did the 2nd chair the following Saturday.  It took most of the day including the finishing.  I only took a few hours to put one together.  If I had help, would have been less, no doubt.  I plan to make a double lounger to match these soon. 

I will agree with some of the other posts that the legs seem a little "flimsy."  I went ahead with the orginal plan and they've held up with no problem for a year in the Texas summer heat with lots of activity and use - including our dogs!  So, I guess it's just fine.  I may use something sturdier for the double lounger since it would hold more weight.

I highly recommend these loungers to cut costs!  Also, the plan is not too difficult for anyone with little experience.

Six foot by 22" buffet with open shelves and reclaimed window cabinet door.

I made this for my daughter based on one her uncle made for her when she was little.

Made this project from the Storage Bin design. We have an annual holiday party at work. Since I work in the timber program for Ca Fish & Wildlife, I decided to make a project out of wood, stuff it with firewood and s'mores makings. I applied our logo using the instructions here: http://www.unexpectedelegance.com/2011/09/01/wax-paper-transfer-tutoria…
Super happy with the results.

This is a mix the "Side-Street bunkbed" plan and the "How to Build a Loft Bed." I used "Spax" 3 inch wood screws to attach the side rails instead of bolts used in Side Street plan.  I used KregJig pocket holes for everything else. 

Went shopping for a dining room table and had no luck so I convinced my wife we could do it. About six hours over 2 days and $150 in material this is the result. Thanks for the ideas!

Very easy plan to follow! This was my first project and also my first time to use power tools. I made a few mistakes, but learned from them all and was very pleased with/proud of the bench!

We needed to make sure this was strong enough to hold a 20 gallon fish tank.So, we decided to use poplar wood and stained it with golden mahogany. The height was adjusted to 37 inches.

First table built by us. I think it turned out pretty good! Custom built to avoid baseboard heater. 

Love my outdoor couch. Easy to build and follow plans. Thanks Ana!

My wife was watching TV and she saw a Bookshelf on a Home Depot commercial with diagonal shelving. She kept telling me how much she wanted a bookshelf like that. So, for my first wood project ever, I decided to try and tackle it for her. It is slightly over 7 feet wide and a little over 6 feet tall. I am currently trying to learn sketchup8 to create plans for this project.

Unfortunately I didn't use a certain plan from Ana's site for this project, but you can find any bookcase plan and place the diagonal shelves in place of the horizontal ones.

We recently decided to turn our bonus room into a Den/Play room for our energetic 20 month old son. It quickly became apparent that we needed storage... and FAST for all of those little toys that toddlers love so much.

I loved the idea of the 5' x 5' room divider cubby, but needed something that would accommodate the sloped roof. I modified Ana's plans to allow for a tiered storage option that would work with the roof line.

Cutting/prepping and assembling went quickly with the Kreg Jig. I prepped all the materials and assembled the unit in the room as it is quite heavy completely assembled. Cutting and Assembly took about 1 and 1/2 naps for my toddler (so about 3-4 hours). Sanding and Painting the following day took about another naps worth of time (2-3 hours).

The unit is still 72" tall at its highest point- and I modified the plans slightly to ensure that all cubbies would be a minimum of 13.5 inches tall/wide. After 2 coats of paint, it was ready to be mounted against the wall for safety. I installed 2 L brackets on the top and middle rows and screwed directly into the drywall- can't be to safe when it comes to toddlers and their love of climbing!

Cost Breakdown:

1 x 12 x 8 (6): 65.00
1 x 2 x 8 ( 3): 10.00

Low-Voc all in one Paint/Primer (Valspar) (Quart)- $2.50 (a paint department return area find!)

Total Project Cost (estimate) $80-90 (including screws, wood filler and supplies)

After contacting two cabinetry carpenters to do this project for me,  I came upon Ana's plan for the Momplex. I made some adjustments for my home abd surprised myself. 

My motto "what's the worse that can happen? I have to call someone! "