Community Brag Posts

My daughter wanted her room redone for her tenth birthday. We decided to go big with Ana's storage bed plans. I had so much fun building this and really learned a lot. It took me three months to find enough spare time to finish it, but it was worth the wait.

I made this coffee bar from your plans making modifications to fit our space .It came out beautiful, I have made numerous pieces of furniture from your plans but this is my favorite . They plans are super easy to follow and modify to my needs .
Thank you Ana and keep up the good work!!

I wasn't planning on doing another project so close to Christmas but I saw this and couldn't resist. After the holidays, I will be making one for myself, because it is really comfortable to hold!

I did both versions, one with just the crayon holder and one with the lap pad. For the lap desk, I used 1/4" birch (purebond) plywood, just because its lighter.

Thank you ladies so much for all the fun projects! I have to catch up on my brag posts, I've been so busy building (and trying to finish my dissertation!)

Happy Holidays!

I started this project with 1x3 mdf primed molding and used 1x5 for the base. For the hearth I used 1x8 knotty pine and created a box, distressed and stained it. I glued veneer to the sides so you couldn't see the seems. To finish off the project I used 1x6 mdf boards to create shiplap effect and painted them grey. I love how cozy this fireplace makes the room.

I loved the look and design of Ana's Simple Bunk Bed but due to limited space in our home, needed a triple bunk bed. I wasn't interested in the hassle of a trundle so I decided to modify the simple bunk bed plan and make it a triple. I have to say, I was a little worried about how sturdy it would be but this plan is so solid with the 4x4 posts that there is no need to even even think about that for another second!
I changed the ladder so that it was attached to the side rails of the bunk bed as someone had posted they did earlier and decided to add another little ladder for the middle bunk so my little one wouldn't have to leap from the ladder to get into her bed. ;D

In order to do a triple in our home (with 8 ft. ceilings), I needed to bring the height down so I made the bottom bunk sit on the floor with the legs only being as long as the height of the headboard. I also made all the headboards and footboards only as tall as the footboards in Ana's original Simple Bunk Bed plans.

This was my first build and there are definitely things I would do differently to make this work better if I had it to do all over again. I would make the legs a little shorter on the 2nd and 3rd bunk so that there is more head room for the person on the top bunk.

All in all though, I had a great time building this and can't wait to try some more of Ana's plans!!!

This was the second building project I've ever completed. I had to make a few adjustments to make it fit the size of ray's closet, but it was totally worth it. most of the work was in the measuring, sanding, and sealing of the wood. Ftting the frames can be a little tricky if your planks aren't perfectly straight. Otherwise, this project was pretty straight forward and can be done in just a few days depending on how much time you have to dedicate to it. Thanks Ana!

The Tryde Console table was the inspiration piece. Used kreg jig to join the top boards and connect the legs and aprons. The bottom stretchers were similar to the Farmhouse table plans. I plan on using this outside for a grilling table. I am not going to apply a finish - I want to see how the wood changes when exposed to the elements - hopefully it gets a nice Restoration Hardware-type finish.

Raised panel pine blanket chest lined with 5/8" aromatic cedar.

I made this in an afternoon. Loved this project. It is made with 2x4's using a Kregs Jig and mitre saw (plus additional tools like a drill and square).  This was my frist time using the Kregs Jig and I am sold!!

The free plans were taken from another website. They are very detailed and there is even a video (I recommend it as he gives a great tip for making sure the back stays equal/level to each other before putting the back on). Even though you can build this by yourself, I did have help for the heavier sides once they were assembled.  I plan to build the additional side table soon and finish them both with sanding and staining when the weather seems less iffy for rain.

If you are looking for a good beginner project that doesn't take forever or have complicated steps, this is your project.

Construction phase of the bunk beds was about a day and a half project...Cutting, assembling, screwing, bolting. Nothing complicated about it at all. Just followed the instructions step by step. I didn't use metal brackets to reinforce the mattress rails (that the slats lay on). I'm a good 250lbs and I laid on them without a problem. Also, similar to the posted Comments, the original materials list is short a little lumber. I followed the advice of some of the Comments that indicate how much additional wood you'll need. I didn't have to make any additional trips for wood.

The finish took me another 2-3 days (incl. drying wait-time between stain and polyurethane coats). The sanding (electric hand sander) takes a number of hours to sand all the surface area and all the edges (300 grit). I then I applied 1 coat of pre-stain wood conditioner and then immediately 1 coat of Natural color stain (basically clear oil stain but it brings out the wood grain just a bit), and then 2 coats of semi-gloss polyurethane for a shine / protection. Each of those coats took me 2+ hours as I applied them using a paint brush (vs. spray gun).

Since I only need to take apart the bunk beds into 4 pieces to carry upstairs(front, back, 2 sides), I simply bolted them together using 3" bolts (with washers / nuts). 4 bolts in each of the 4 corner posts.

The only real modification I made was moving the ladder to the left-hand side (vs. right-hand side per the instructions). All other measurements were basically the same.

Really happy with the mini Kreg Jig! Simple to use and provides solid joints for the rails of the 2 shorter sides (without showing screw-heads from the exterior).

My toddlers have been sleeping on them for a week now and no squeaking or shaking. They are sturdy. And neadless to say, my boys LOVE having bunk beds.

Sure I could just buy some inexpensive bunk beds for $200-300 but where's the fun in that!?

Let me know if you have questions, happy to help out! Thanks again to Ana and her site.