Community Brag Posts

Ana,
I want to take a minute to thank you for your website and all the free plans. You inspired me to make my first piece of furniture. I made a farmhouse bed using off the shelf lumber. The stain is weathered gray. I used your link to making your own stain (vinegar and steel wool). The bolts are 3/4 inch and are decorative. Also, I notched the posts so they can support the full weight of the rails. Thanks again, I can't wait to start on my next project!

What do you do when your child gets too many toys for Christmas? Build a toy box of course. I went with a 1X6 instead of 1X4 as the top front apron, yes it’s not easy to put books in, but when you have a 9 month old I was more concerned with a place to put Legos so I won’t step on them. That small change made a world of difference. The toy box is sturdy which is what I needed, knowing he is going to use it to pull up on while learning to walk. I primed it and then painted the front two aprons and sides with chalkboard paint and the remainder grey to match the table I made in the same room. The chalkboard paint takes a ton of coats and requires a lot of waiting (neither of which I am good at), but I think the outcome was worth it.

Went with regular cheap studs and extended the couch to make 4-across seating.  Probably should have used better wood because it was hard to find studs that were straight and not full of burrs and knotholes!  AND...studs are actually 1.5" x 3.5", so keep that in mind if you go that route when you're cutting from detailed plans because your dimensions will be off slightly.  Staining and adding spar urethane coat took the longest amount of time.  Cushions are 24" x 24" from Lowe's.  Wood = $80, Cushions = $180.  A little extra for screws and a few pieces of hardware.  This pic shows the couch without a back brace that I added later.  It's a beast, too!  After all that wood the couch probabaly weighs close to 150 pounds!     

I got inspiration from your pattern, but decided to make it more realistic since my four year old grandson is a stickler for detail. Because I had scraps, the only cost for me was the propeller and wheels from a hobby store (about $8).

The body of the plane was cut from a scrap of 4X4 post; the corners were cut off at 45 degree angles to make it more rounded (sanding rounded it more). I used a dremel to carve the engine indentation. I used 5/8 inch dowels for the wing struts (only because I grabbed the wrong drill bit; you could use 1/2 inch). The wheels were attached to 2 1/2 X 4 inch pieces, which I mitered to make smaller at the bottom.

The backing was cut to fit the length of the shelf and 18 inches high. I painted the background a soft blue and then applied white for the clouds. After attaching it to the plane; I decided to add some pegs.

This is a Christmas gift for him because we are going to redo his room after the first of the year. I will be building him a loft bed from Ana's plans and adding some more airplane decor.

I had to modify the plans. The Size is 14" x 48". I also added a shelf at the bottom for shoes. Can't wait to replace the ugly shoe rack at the front door with this! I also used 1 x 4's for the apron. I found 1"x4"x14' at homedepot for only 3.40per piece!! So I was able to build this for less than $15. The wood has more knots than the other 1 x 4's, but if you look thru you can find some good pieces. I'm going to use this same wood to build the outdoor sectional too.

Not the best picture.  This was my first project using plans from this site.  What a breeze! Took about 8 hours total to build and 2 hours to finish (sand/paint/stain)

We built this Farmhouse table in a week. Unfortunately, we didn't get it completely put together for four months. Now it is finished. It is our first project. We used pine and fir boards from our local lumber store. It is finished with red chestnut and dark walnut stain and then a couple coats of briwax dark walnut (love that stuff!!). The table is 96" and pictured here without the 15" bread boards that go on either end. The benches are 8' as well.

This bench is HUGE! I think I should have scaled it back. It was fun to make, though. Thanks for the plans :)

Fun build 4hrs to complete. 

One of of the cuts is off  says long to short it's long to long. 

This project took me about 2 weeks. Granted, it would have been quicker, but I could only work on it a few hours every couple days. I've never built a fence before, I think anyone could do it. Just take your time and that includes time to plan. I designed houses for a year about 10 years ago, so I actually drafted some plans to help me determine how much lumber I would need. This fence will welcome our new family member soon, my wife's 4 year old german shepherd. Also, this is a treated pine fence, instead of cedar. Thanks for the tips Anna.

We needed something to fill the space in a corner in our kitchen. I modified this plan slightly from the original in order to fit in the space. We then topped it off with Marble top to match the counters in the rest of the kitchen.

In addition to the farmhouse table, my husband also built me six chairs to match. He started with the modern angle chair, and added a cross support underneath. With the dark stain they work perfectly with the table.

I needed a place to hang the children's school pictures. I wanted to showcase them and didn't have any ideas what wall would work. Once I finished my selves for the living room I knew it was the perfect place.

Fun project.