Community Brag Posts

Here is a bed I recently made. My inspiration was a bed we saw at a local high end furniture store in the mountains that has price of $4,800. I bought my wood at a local saw mill for $125. I used a wood planer, table saw and miter saw to build the bed. It turned out great.

I love how this table turned out. The plans were simple and easy to follow. I chose to distress the table to give it some character i found a great video on youtube for different distressing techniques here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iotye7dvAQ For the finish i used the tea and vingegar method then to make it darker i rubbed on a little oil based stain and finished it with polyurethane.

First project I have done and loved it! Building it I got it done pretty fast it was the polyurethane layers that took the longest.

Modified the Grandy Sliding Door to be three doors only. Stained top and doors, added polyurthane, and painted the rest with chalk paint. We couldn't find the hardware ourselves so we made it based on the website recommended in Ana's plans.

Build straight from Ana's plans. Very easy and quick to build. I spent a little longer sanding it a lot. I then just stained it and put two coats of urethane on it.

This was my first project ever. I did it around April 2013. I worked with my boyfriend on it, and I think it turned out really well. I plan on making more for friends and family. I didn't use finishing nails the first go round, so I am going to make sure to do that this time. Also, I bought the cheap pine from Home Depot, but it split terribly, and the bowing made for inconsistent cuts. I ended up going back and getting red oak to finish it up, so about 75% of the box is pine and the rest is red oak(not including the MDF board, or plywood, etc). I did an MDF board on top and plywood on the bottom.

We ended up painting the crate instead of staining, and we did a polyurethane coat on the top to help protect from the eventual spills that will occur. I didn't paint the inside of the crate, mostly because you don't notice it is unfinished and I was a bit lazy. Originally I did line the bottom of the crate with cushioning and fabric and stapled it to the bottom (pictured) as a bed for Roxie; but, with the "Snowmageddon" this past winter here in Birmingham, I was stuck out on the road all night and while my apartment manager came and fed her and took her out, she did decide she was going to pitch a fit by eating the handmade bedding. Not a big deal though, now she has a bed from TJ Maxx that works perfectly.

Roxie is a border-collie/lab mix, and she tends to be more border collie in size (50 lbs, about knee height). I went directly from the specifications here on the site and Roxie fits in this well with plenty of room to stretch out. I work and go to school, so she is in the crate for about 8 hours a day, give or take, and she has been doing just fine with it.

I should note that my dog did not really like her original wire crate. We trained her with it, and she would go on command, but she never liked it. After this was built and the first time we let her check it out, I was amazed. She went straight in and laid down. Now it's her favorite spot in the house (other than on my bed of course).

I have received more compliments on it than I can count, and I have people begging me to make one for them. This was definitely worth it! Great plans!

We enjoyed building it and it looks amazing

This was mine and my wife's very first woodworking project. Overall, it wasn't bad at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the actual process of cutting the wood and putting everything together. As far as the painting goes, I'd much rather just go on to another woodworking project, but I have to say that all the hard work paid off. Anna's plans helped tremendously. I tweaked slightly just because we wanted our center piece to be a little taller and slightly more narrow. We also added two shelves on each side, for a total of four. For our small reach-in closet, this was by far the best way to go about everything. We definitely have much more room and overall it is a much better use of the space.

I threw in a "before" picture just for fun.

We also just finished the Farmhouse Queen Bed that Anna has plans for, and we will be putting up a brag post on it very shortly.

I was in need of a new bookshelf so I searched online and all I could find were cheap, plain bookshelves at a pricey cost. So I decided to make my own. This was my first piece of furniture I have ever made. I love it! Super easy and the Kreg Jig will quickly become your new BFF!!

I did shorten the bookshelf so that top was accessible.

Tips:

1. Bed Frame: runners attached with bed connectors from Rockler to make it easy to breakdown and move.
2. Slats: made removable slats again for ease of move. Made with nylon rope stapled to 1x3. Pin the first and last slat by putting a screw on the inside of the first and last slat to keep it in place.

From scrap pile to a fun picnic table. Thanks Ana for the plans.

Modified wide cabin dresser with metal full extension drawer slides on the bottom of the drawers. The extra set of drawers on the bottom were added to give more space for storage.

This was easier than I expected, and worth every minute I spent on it. I followed the plans to a "t".

Dear Ana, 

Thank you for inspiring my friend Erik to build your farmhouse style table.  I was inspired by him, so I decided to build your farmhouse style kitchen island. It was not an easy DIY project for a first time DIY. However, I'm thankful that your plans are easy to follow and that there are plenty of Kregjig tutorials on YouTube! This project took 15 hours, but in the end- the time spent didn't matter. I love the finished product, finally a space to prep and cook. Thank you for inspiring all of us. Not perfect, but beautiful. Used Minwax Golden Pecan Wood Finish and 2 coats semi gloss.  Thanks again! -Leo C. @1LeoChen Instagram & Twitter 

My husband and I are doing a bit of remodeling in our 150+ year old farmhouse - over time we have amassed a not so small pile of old lumber. We hated to see it go to waste so it has been our hobby to try to find ways to reuse. Small projects. Finding this website was a dream. My husband and I are NOT natural carpenters but the plans we found here were perfect for us. Clear, simple, un-intimidating. I've been meaning to make the Library Console Table for a while and before the weather got too yucky to work outside I knew I had to get to it. It cost us zero to make, however, since it is all old barnwood - no two pieces were alike, the wood was a bit warped, dinged and splintery. But with enough sanding and the right paint I think this will be adorable. Husband does not want me to paint it and I might not have but we were forced to use some plywood (we also had a small sheet on hand) and I hate plywood too much to leave it exposed. We'll see.

What I LOVE about these beds is how every piece is flat when taken apart for easy assembly/disassembling and moving.