Community Brag Posts

Before and after. Ana White inspired built ins for my daughter-in-law!

This was my first ever project! I built the skyscraper bookcase and then built a second one, only modifying it to make a locker style cabinet for backpacks!

So glad I found these plans! I couldn't bring myself to spend $200 on the commercial ones. I built this for my 17-month old daughter since she always wants to be in the kitchen with me but always ends up under-foot. This gives her a safe place to be contained and up high so she can see what I'm doing. I don't have a jigsaw so no curved top or anti-tip feet for us but I wanted it straight anyway so that it would slide neatly under the counter over-hang. I did round off the ends of the anti-tip with the sander. I also shortened the height to 34 inches; all other measurements are as instructed.

I had to do my cutting in the garage during naptime since she always has to be where I am. Same with the drilling. So this project spanned several days but altogether did not take too long at all. I used 2-1/2'' screws instead of attempting pocket screws - I have a mini Kreg jig but after reading the comments and other people's pictures, I decided I didn't want to risk splitting the wood and having to make another trip to Lowe's with the toddler.

I assembled the ladder-rung sides & platform pieces then gave everything a once-over with my orbital sander before handing it over to my husband for staining (he enjoys it - it gives me a headache). After 3 coats, he did a final "sand" with fine steel wool which left a super smooth surface. I finished the assembly with the 1-1/2 narrow hinges - USE CLAMPS! 

This was one of my favorite DIY projects. It's so much more affordable than buying patio furniture, and the building instructions make it sturdy as ever.

I built this with my fiance, who you'll see in the image of the in-progress bench. It was a snap for us, since we have a fair amount of experience building our own furniture. With the right tools, this project can take only two days, including wait time in between coats of paint and varnish.

We made our sofa to fit the cushions we found, and thus, the sofa is actually 84" wide, instead of 72" wide. By doing this, we also eliminated the need for a love seat, and instead are in the process of making two chairs to match this sofa. All in all, our patio will seat 6, which is what we were aiming for.

TOOLS
The most important part of making this an easy, fun project is having the right tools. I highly recommend you purchase or borrow:
- Compound miter saw
- Kreg jig
- Square head screws (stripping these is nearly impossible)

I honestly think Ana is a mind reader. Whenever I need plans for a particular piece of furniture, they magically appear on her site. Of course if she was a true mind reader, everything will be exactly as I need it requiring no modifications. That's what makes her plans so amazing. I can build bigger and better because I've learned to modify her plans to fit my current needs.

This Cart was no exception. I had to make mine a few inches deeper and change the height of the legs and it was a piece of cake. I put this together in less than 2 hours and finishing was easy too.

I did a blog post all about what I did differently including how I constructed a towel bar instead of the pipe. Check it out at www.thepursuitofhandyness.com

Super excited for my new media cabinet!  I painted my cupboard doors white and added L brackets on the inside of the doors for support.  I had never worked with crown molding before so this was a great starter project on how to cut crown.  My cost was kept down by using supplies such as paint and hardware that I already had. 

I made this chair as a part of an outdoor furniture set including a loveseat and coffee table (also featured on this site). Very simple and easy to follow instructions..I did not have a jig to create the pocket holes, so I decided to leave the screws exposed and then cover them with wooden dowels sanded down. It created a little more work but added a little more character.

I needed this to be a little taller, so I added another drawer. Other than that, all the other dimensions were the same. I built it in one weekend, but the finishing took about 5 days (for drying time between coats). I was trying to match a baby bed (expresso) so I stained it dark. I also used plywood on the sides, top and drawer fronts instead of pine boards. It really turned out great and matched the bed perfectly.

I modified it slightly by leaving off the trim around the perimeter. I also shortened the table to 84" which then only required 2 legs for a custom fit for the mom space. The finish was distressed to conceal heavy use (more like spills :-D) from kids which turned out to be a home run with moms

Check out some tips during my build @ charitybuilds

Built this 2x4 deck furniture set. Stained in espresso color.

modified that bed, it is higher. We also paid our neighbor, who is an artist, to design and paint our foot board. Our cats love this bed too! We are putting the sideboards to cover up the mattress tonight.

p.s., If you live in GA and want to do something like this, let me know and I will give you the name of our artist

We built this out of solid Maple for my son's 30th birthday. He has a full-size bed, so we had to adapt the queen size plans. It turned out great....he was thrilled...but it was heavy to carry upstairs to his apartment!

This was my first attempt at furnature. I didnt use the best quality wood, and had a hard time finding straight boards at my local Lowes.

This was made entirely of scrap molding. The sides and bottom shelves are left over baseboard. The front stops are made out of door/window casing.

We wanted this to hang on the wall instead of the floor, so we added 1x3 scrap under the 2nd and 4th shelf and countersunk screws into the studs in the wall.

We recently moved to across country and couldn't fit all our belongings in our moving van so I am on a slow but steady quest to my own "hand built home"! While my husband works with his computer genius types, I am pulling out my tools......rather basic and simple tools because none of my good ones fit in the truck either!

We had some roughcut cypress lumber left over from building our house which has been laying in my yard for a few years. Once I received Ana's new book, I knew just what to do with it! We love our new chairs so much we built a firepit to go with them!

Since the original post, I made burlap seat cushions. Love it!