Community Brag Posts

I've been wanting a farmhouse table for the past year or so ever since we updated our kitchen cabinets. The thought of spending lots of money on a dining table was not something I wanted to do with two little boys who tend to get a little rambunctious at times! I found the plan for the farmhouse table, sent my husband a text with the link and asked if he thought we could build it. We've been on a roll recently building closet systems, and laundry organizers so I thought I would nab him while he was in building mode. He agreed to give it a try, and we built it this past weekend, with the help of a 2 and 4 year old.
The plans were very straight forward and easy to follow. We moved it inside to build after all the cuts were made (other than the bread board ends) as we knew it would be too large to carry in the house. We also cut 10 inches off the length as we did not have a big enough dining area for an 85" table.
Then we made the large rustic x bench for seating!

Had a lot of fun making this, and it only took an afternoon! Had all the hardware and finish needed so it was a quick trip to Home Depot for the 2x2's, pavers, and adhesive.

One caution I would give people is check how the pavers lay on the top before applying finish in case some sanding is needed to get the pavers to all lay flat and level. I had one of my cross pieces bow a bit and it needed some sanding to get the pavers laying on it to be level with the others.

Great table for outdoor use and has been a functional table for a lot of BBQ's already, thanks for the great plans, Ana!

- Mike

There were no exact instructions so the project was just eyed. We used finishing nails to put it together so it would be easy to take apart if a mistake was made, then later we added the screws. Bought a can of rustoleum paint in navy blue. I get pallets for free from my mothers work, and we had screws laying around, so essentially the project was free.

Ask for materials and how to

Thank you for your Adirondack plan. I used 2x6s for the arms and 3 coats of outdoor polyurethane over the paint. These are strong and sturdy. Thank you! 

I loved this plan. Could not find anything else close. There is details on pocket screws from another user. I loved this. I did use plywood but edge the front and rear with a 1x2 (planed thickness to be flush with plywood). I also pocket screwed the 1x2 to the plywood. I loved this and it is way cleaner than exposed corner moulding.

My son and I made this shelf unit when converting our basement to a dorm for him. While we think it turned out great, it DID take a lot longer than the plans suggest. The video suggests it can be completed in a couple of hours. It took us about 4 days. I found the instructions very clear which was very helpful. We chose a darker stain for our unit. It's very functional, although a little bit wobbly. My husband plans to attach it to the wall for better stability.  Thanks so much for a perfect solution to a room without a closet! He loves it and we've received many compliments. And I liked that we built it together. Cost was spot on for what you estimated. About $200

I fell in love with this bench the moment I saw it, and convinced a friend to let me build it for her! I used 2" brads and glue to hold the woven pieces together. I found it necessary to add a center support under the bench seat to keep it from "creaking." I also used 2" brads to hold the seat slats on; although the instructions say to use 2" screws, *I* certainly don't see how that's possible with the 2x4 supports on their sides underneath! It was a fun build. More info and pictures on my blog.

We just finished 2 sets of bunk beds using the side street bunk bed plans. The end result was gorgeous. We stained these in min wax classic gray. We also countersunk the bed slats on top and bottom.

This was a last minute, first completed, wood project right before Christmas! I wasn't sure about my own skills and if I would complete it in time, but behold it only took 3 evenings (spare time) to complete! This was really simple and gave me time to learn what I was truly capable of and any areas I could improve upon. We finished it and on Christmas morning our little girls, 2 and 3 years old, got their very own princess dress up area. I'm excited for those two girls to make the best sister memories together. Thank you so much for the plans!

My daughter needed a new bed and I needed a project, so we headed to ana-white.com to find a plan that filled both of our needs.  We settled on the Stacy Daybed and got to work.

I followed the plans pretty much on par, but made a few minor changes to make it easier to take apart and put back together. You can also see that I added width to the legs in front, allowing the weight of the sleeper to set on the legs instead of being supported solely by the furniture bolts and metal thread inserts I used to hold it together.  I duplicated this in back to keep the design balanced.

This project was fun and challenging and the plans were very easy to follow as well as modify to my needs. 

This plan was easy to follow, accurate and came together in just a few hours. I used some reclaimed barn wood for the 2x6s and dog-ear pickets for the remainder.

I made it harder for myself than it had to be. I didn't follow the directions closely enough and cut the box ends at 5 1/2" instead of 5 1/4". That meant that the bottoms had nothing to press-fit against. So, I had to do a little workaround to fix that. I made a 1" shelf at each end of each box so that the bottom could sit on these little shelves. The upside to this mistake is that there was now a drainage slot all along the front and all along the back of each planter box. 

I stained and sealed it. Finally, I lined each planter box with weed matting that I'd cut to size and cut drain slits in. The matting doubles as a way to keep the planting mix from falling out of the long drainage slots while allowing water to drain through the little slits I poked in the fabric. (I poked drain slits only along the front edge so that water would drain into the planter box below instead of onto the ground.)

I'm happy with the plan and the finished planter!

Well I told my sister that I bought a saw and some tools and I was going to attempt to build my own dining room bench... being the snarky "younger" sister that she is, she suggested I start with a cutting board instead. :)
But hey... go big or go home I figured, so I tackled my first ever carpentry project: the Triple Pedestal Bench from Ana's plans!
I attempted to cut down the measurements for the top from 106" (in the plans) down to 70" (to fit my table) BUT I screwed up my measurements (I suck at math...shocker!) and ended up with an 86" long beautiful beast of a bench
somehow... so beginners mistake! At least now I have some practice under my belt for when I have the time to tackle this project again and start over and make a new one that actually fits my dining table...
And while it's far from perfect, I absolutely love it... it turned out better than I had hoped and I still have all my fingers and limbs attached! Thank you God !:)

We finally built the #1 Project on my to do list. Took about 3 Days total with finishing and all. Love it so much, defintately my fave project to date! Have to do nightstands next!

 My kitchen is huge but has little counter space since I pulled out two oversized peninsula(6'x3') island things in my kitchen that had no storage. I also found out there was an outlet behind each one. The only outlet on the wall I am showing was covered. I was relieved to find it. I decided to build the Farmhouse Kitchen Island & Bar Plans and put a few shelves over it for coffee and tea. I made one drawer and one flip down drawer face. I put a large bowl in the cabinet below the drawer to catch coffee grounds. I alos made the cabinet 4 feet instead of 6 due to the space. I also trimmed a 1x3 down to cover the bottom foot plate so stuff doens't collect under it. I also added wheels so I can move it out if we have a lot of company for extra seating. The drawer faces are recycled barn wood from my sisters property. They are clearing out what was a 100+ year old barn that had fallen over. The shelves are from the same wood (I used bronze spray paint to paint the brakets on the shelves). I sanded it down just enough to get the splinters off. I used 4x4's for the bar side and bought a pre-made butcher block from Menards for the top. I stained it with carrignton stain from rustoleum except the barn wood I just clear coated. Oh, I added 12 in drawer slides to the drawer. The mail sorter plan is from http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2016/02/rustic-chalkboard-mail-organizer.h… I made it bigger to fit the space. The organizer took a day the shelves to a couple hours and the Island took a week off and on. The secretary is an antique passed down to me along with the chair. I am planning on making the full size Island later on, with a few adaptations.