Community Brag Posts

Can I be real with you here? This projects was a pain. I love the way it turned out, but getting there was a horrendous process. Blisters, cuts, sore muscles and exhaustion contributed to an overall very distasteful experience for me.
We have cheap hollow core doors throughout our house that are slathered in what turns out to be 12 layers of paint. Getting that paint off was torture. Paint stripper, painters tool, steel wool, wire brush, mineral spirits and a belt sander all did their part over 4 days to get this paint off. Afterwards, when I sanded the holey, splintered mess of a door, it actually looked like I could make something of it. I stained it, and cut strips of 1/8" ply, nailing them to each side. I ORB sprayed the knobs and hinges, moved the casing (breaking the casing, of course, and having to buy new casing) to fit the new width of the door, and installed it all in place.
As I said, I love the results, but boy was it a chore. The white door is a before door.

Rustic X Console table. I extended the size to 96 inches to fill a wall in the kitchen.

This was our second table from Ana's website. We flipped the bottom legs around to make the cross bar on the inside...just for a little additional leg room on the ends. Don't be discouraged if you have trouble finding good boards. We had to go to two stores and REALLY dig for them... and even then, we did a LOT of sanding to make the boards even when it was all built. We used the Kreg Jig (we initially bought the $20 one, and then went back for the "real deal" so if you're considering buying one - just go for it, the small one frustrated us). The Kreg Jig is AWESOME!!!. We are just finishing up building the farm house bench to go on one side of this table... then we're going to have to figure out where to get our other chairs. A few friends have seen our table so far and every one of them has asked to purchase it! Thanks Ana!!!

I'm so excited to have finished my 1st woodworking project!! Not sure why I thought a King Bed would be a good start but I LOVE how it turned out. I used the Cassidy Bed plans and Jennajustfine's beautiful herringbone design as inspiration. The headboard and footboard insets are 1x3's that I stained using 2 different colors and varying coats. I am completely addicted to working with wood now!

I made this set using the plans from the simple outdoor lounge chair. I used cedar wood, and adjusted the dimensions of the love seat to fit the cushions. Total cost (including cushions from walmart, not including granite slab for table) was about $250, and it took me about 20 hours to complete from start to finish.

I recently started a refinishing business and needed a work surface where I could use the computer, print, and write down inventory and have some storage for receipts, etc. I couldn't find anything affordable and big enough for my home office so I decided on building something myself. With help from my wonderful husband, I built the Narrow Farmhouse Table. I beat up the top with any tool I could find, then sanded, gel stained the top (java) 2x, and I painted the legs a sagey green with homemade chalk paint. Its big and beautiful and perfect for my home-based business.

My version of Modern Farmhouse Bed. Let me know if you have any questions.

We made these beds for my daughters, who were ready to pass on the bunkbeds to their little sisters. We have 4 girls in one room, so use of space is crucial! I originally wanted the hutch as well, but as you can see in the picture, we had to work around a wall cut out, so we modified the corner unit to have a larger shelf area to fit the space. We also left the sides open to be able to slide containers in to store out of season clothes and blankets, though the ends have a backing.

This was my first "by myself" build! I decided to make my daughter a pre-K graduation gift. She helped me fill the screw holes and painted the inside of the drawer with me. We called it "peek-a-boo pink" because she pulled it out and said it's a surprise. My only complaint was a lot of the pieces in the plans said they were 1x4's when they were in fact 2x4's, so I ended up building the desk top twice before I got it right. Live and learn right? I love, love, love this site and am so excited looking through plans deciding what to build next. Thank you Ana!!

This plan was pretty easy to follow. Apart from having to make some minor adjustments to the notches for the rafters across the top, and needing a couple more seat support boards than the cut list called for, everything went as planned.

I used green treated lumber and stained it with Minwax Walnut. I also sealed the entire piece with Spar Urethane.

I didn't use lattice work on the sides, but went with some horizontal lattice work on the back (a mix of stained and unstained 2x1 and 3x1 boards). I may install a couple of 2x4 for arm rests on each side.

The morning glory vine I planted behind the bench has almost reached the top of the lattice work. All in all, I'm very pleased with how this project turned out.

Thanks Ana!

I finally went back and finished the blog post of my diy oversized chair. Lessons learned.

We shortened the length of the table to 5 1/2 feet. Took me bits and pieces of 3 weeks to build working around rain days and napping children.
Around $80 in materials, not counting the new orbital sander (which I wanted for a while).
Looking forward to building 2 benches next month. A sturdy table for my family of 7. (Including 3 boys!!!)
This was my first project. I see the flaws, but overall, I'm very happy. I built mostly myself, but hubby had to help with the hauling indoors/outdoors, kids held wood while I used the saw, stood on boards while I attached. It was fun for all of us and we are thrilled with the results. Even the scratch in the tabletop photo below was done by my 2 yr old and I call that his little touch!

I modifed the Classic Bunk Bed and Cubby designs to create a convertible twin over full bunk bed. The bottom full-sized bunk can be rotated to be parallel to the wall (when my son sleeps there) or perpendicular to the wall (for when we have guests so they don't have to climb over one another). Changes I made were:

- I moved the ladder to the end of the bed to make room for the full-sized mattress.
- I added 1x2 treads to the ladder to make it easier on the feet.
- I raised the height of the top bunk. Finished height of the bed is 68" to add head room on the bottom bunk for taller people.
- I built 2 custom cubbies (full dimensions of each 37.5" x ~13.5" x 11.5") to support the added width of the full-sized bottom bunk. These cubbies can also be rotated to support the mattress in the perpendicular position for use as a guest bed (see pictures).
- I built an additional support that fits onto the back of each of the cubbies when they are turned to support the perpendicular guest bed (see pictures).
- I changed the end support rails for the bottom bunk to 1x12s that I painted to match the bed to be used as night stands when the bed is rotated to be a guest bed (see pictures).
- I used wood thread inserts and 1/4"-20 connector bolts (from Fastenal) to assemble the bed, so it would be easy to disassemble and reassemble.

Funny story - When we went to move it to the second story bedroom from the garage where I had finished it, the long sides wouldn't fit up our stairs!!! Our stairs have a tight 90 degree turn partway up. After all the hours I put in building and finishing it, I almost cried! Fortunately after using a straight edge blade to carefully cut through the paint, we unscrewed the upper most rail and were able to just barely get it up our stairs. I was so thankful I hadn't glued those boards on!

Project completed!