Community Brag Posts

I have built a few beds from this site, but when I saw the chairs I knew this would be my next project! I don't have a nailer, so I used screws throughout. I found the outdoor fabric on the clearance rack at the fabric store. My boys helped me paint them with some extra white paint I had left over from a previous project (just Ultra bright white paint from Lowes). As you can see, my boys love to lounge in style! Thanks again Ana!!

Bought a dresser for $10 from a garage sale by my house, and thought it would look great redone. As I was looking around for different methods online, I found a product called RECLAIM Beyond Paint while Googling DIY methods and products.
I picked up a small can from their Home Shopping Network page, and gave it a try.
The claims that there were no priming, sanding or prepping were pretty surprising. They do recommend cleaning, though.
The results pretty much speak for themselves. The project took a total of about an hour or so, including removing the hardware and spray painting it with a metal like paint I got from Home Depot, and then reattaching it.
I have to say the results were more than impressive. I had only used about an 1/8th of the can, so I'm going to try it on a few other items!
If you'd like to know more, I found it at www.reclaimbeyondpaint.com

Last year I built a "Cara Storage Console" and matching bookcase for my 12 year old granddaughter. Her 5 year old sister decided she needed one too, but a little bigger so she could store all her "ponies" on it. She and her mother planned it all out over a period of a few weeks and what ended up being built was 5' wide and 7'3" tall. It is 20" deep. Anna's plan was scaled up a bit and then had to be broken down in to two sections, upper and lower, so it could be brought in to the house. The sides and shelves are all 1x12 pine boards put together with glue and Kreg screws. The back took most of 2 sheets of 1/4" plywood. 1x2's were added for support under the front and back of the shelves.

Fortunately her other grandmother is really good at painting, so it was given a couple coats of semigloss pink along with pink heart wall paper. The grandbaby and her little brother started loading it up before Granny could even finish the sides.

The good part is that all her toys will fit on these shelves. The bad part is she won't pick up all her toys and put them on these shelves.

$200 build and approximately a weekend to complete with finishing the wood. 

Added a tongue/groove plank (6x total)

I had my eye on this clubhouse bed from the Pottery Barn kids catalog and was so excited when I came across this plan and my hubby offered to build it for my 4-year-old. I think it actually turned out cuter than the Pottery Barn version! Thanks so much, Ana!

These were my first two Ana-powered pieces. They're not perfect, but I love them! We altered the size a bit since the 10" lumber was a bit more affordable than the 12"

I was too tired after building them to paint them, so "rustic" it is!

I built this twin bed with drawers for my daughter and I LOVE all the storage the drawers provide.  I slightly modified the plans it was based off of--you can find more info and see details from the build on my blog House Becoming Home.

This was my first building project. It turned out better than I thought it would!
I used the reclaimed wood headboard plans. The only things that I did different was added a decorative trim piece to it & did some wood filler to areas to fill in. I painted it a cream color, then antiqued it. The stuff I used was folkart antiquing medium that I got at a local craft store.
A few things that I learned...
*Make sure the wood you buy it straight. Check it at the store that it lays flat on the ground.
*Don't take a 4 & 5 year old with you to the hardware store!
*For some areas screws work better than finishing nails. AKA the top pieces of the headboard (pre drill a hole a little so that the screw head will fit in. When done add wood filler after to fill in the hole)
*measure your bed frame rail to make sure that the headboard will fit where the holes in the frame are.

Had some old skis I've been wanting to make into a chair.   The Home Depot plans worked perfectly for the base.  Cut the back brace a bit longer to fit the skis

This counter height farmhouse table fit my space perfectly. I made it narrower than Ana's table but the same length, 48" x 27".  Instead of a 3/4" plywood top, I joined five 5/4" x 6 pine boards for the top. The stools fit exactly under the table when I want to use it as a workspace. I can also use both sides of the table if I pull it out. 

Used the easiest upholstered bench plans as a start. I modified it just a little so that I could use what I had on hand!

I used the Rustic x coffee table plan and modified the top. I used 2x2's to make a frame and a router to make notches for plywood under the letters and glass to fit inset on top. The letters are antique letterpress blocks that I obtained on ebay and at antique shops.

My daughter needed a new bed and I really liked Ana's Hailey Storage Bed plans.  I adjusted Ana's plans to fit a full size bed and I also made a different headboard and footboard.  To see how I made the headboard and footboard follow the links below:

Headboard:  http://www.betterwhenbuilt.com/diy-headboard/

Footboard:  http://www.betterwhenbuilt.com/diy-footboard/