Community Brag Posts

We executed the Cassidy King bed plan to the letter apart from the shims decoration on the head and footboard. We opted for trimming both the head and footboard with some simple trim to keep the design clean. We also used 2x12s for the side rails and added extra frame supports to ensure the bed was extra sturdy, and it is rock solid! As you can see from some of the pictures after putting the bed together using our box springs we felt it made the mattress look too high. We then decided to put down ¾ inch plywood and take out the box springs (our mattress is really thick, nearly 18’’). All in all, we are very pleased with how this plan turned out. Thank you, Anna, for your awesome plans! This is the third project we have made from your site and all of them have turned out true to the plans and looking really nice.  

I took your 2x4 closet organizer I liked it cuz it looked easy but then I went crazy and modified it used one by three maple with a whitewash turned out great thanks for the plans.

Combined Mimi's Storage Bence with the Shoe Shrine Shelf and came up with a what we really needed.  I like how it turned out!

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.

 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.

THE MOTIVATION
After a recent washer outage (that I was ultimately able to repair myself), my wife and I talked about eventually replacing our front-loading washer/dryer set.  One of the bullets I hate biting is paying the exhorbitant prices for the matching pedestals for new washer/dryer sets.

Having just bought a good set of cordless powertools, and having watched my father when I was a kid build countless household fixtures, window dressings, furniture pieces, etc., I decided to try my hand and construct a permanent platform for our current washer/dryer set, thereby eliminating the need to ever buy manufacturer pedestals again.

The existing pedestals were a standard 15" high, with a storage drawer, which we felt was still not high enough for comfort.  And, the washer pedestal drawer was entirely inaccessibl due to the 2" walls on the washer drain pan, so its drawer was totally useless, wasted space.

And, lastly, we really wanted more space for clothes baskets full of laundry, which we generally stacked (full and haphazardly) on top of the machines.

THE CHALLENGES
The largest challenges were mainly logistics, and gravity.  The washer/dryer would have to be unavailable for at least 2-3 days while they sat disconnected in the next room waiting for their new home.  So I coordinated with the family so they'd know when they needed to have their laundry done, or tough it out until I was done.

There was no way to know for sure what the drain connection for the washer pan looked like until I got the washer out.  So it was a small gamble that I'd be able to get the parts needed to extend the drain pipe up to the new platform right when I was ready for them.  Fortunately, this was no issue at all.

The biggest challenge turned out to be toward the end when it came time to lift our 230-lb. washer onto the new platform.  I seriously considered disassembling the washer to the point that I could remove its molded concrete counter-weights, but instead (and arguably stupidly) elected to use a large hydraulic car jack to raise the washer.  This ultimately worked, but I have to STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST trying this.

THE SPACE
Our laundry room is also the "mud room" between our kitchen and the garage.  It is only large enough for the two machines, and the walk way between the two doors--in total, about 70.5" square.  Building the platform from wall-to-wall made the most sense, and minimized framing by fastening edge framing directly to the wall studs. 

THE PLAN
Pretty basic:  2x4's all around for the edge framing--back and sides fastened directly to the wall studs, and front 2x4 supported by two, notched 4x4 legs.  3/4" plywood for the subsurface, and 1/4" laminate faux-wood flooring on top (left over from reflooring, so it matches the floor below).  Bore holes for the washer pan drain and the dryer vent.  1" quarter-round molding on the sides, and 5.5" face piece flush with the top of the molding across the front (spare lauan I had looks perfect).  I also made a point of putting the machines on the platform before the face piece since it might have been in the way or damaged.

Anyone will tell you that it's best to at least sketch out what you want to do so you can minimize surprises, forgotten parts, etc.  I, of course, did virtually none of that, and made several course changes and corrections along the way.  For this project, I was lucky that I didn't need to backtrack at any point, and probably won't learn this lesson any time soon anyway.  However, you SHOULD.

TAKE-AWAYS
The main mistake I made was while gathering the platform dimensions for cutting the plywood.  It was only blind luck that kept me from having to do it more than once (and having to buy more than one 4x8 sheet).  I know that it's actually very unlikely that two adjacent walls are perfectly square, so I made a point to measure the width between the walls at the back and at the front--and, sure enough, found a 1/8" difference--wider at the front.  But when I measured and marked the plywood for cutting, I measured both distances from the precut edge, and then cut.  By doing this, I inadvertently assumed that one of the back corners was perfectly square. 

What I should have done was used a carpenter's square in each back corner to extend a square line from the back edge to the front, and then measured from the square lines to their respective side wall.  This would have accounted for neither back corner being square.

Fortunately, my mistake wasn't big enough to keep the plywood from fitting, but it was very, VERY close.

GIDDY
I honestly couldn't be happier with the finished project (or more smug).  We've raised the washer/dryer 9" higher than they were (24" off the floor), and we now have basket storage underneath all the way across.  I placed two 24" plastic cabinets on top, which still leaves room for the detergent right over the soap inlet on the washer.

And, most importantly, I got to use every powertool I own.  Kinda beats "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" thing, huh?

My wife and I made this based, after being inspired by Ana's plan. Very pleased with the result.

We have a limited amount of counter space in our kitchen, while also having a large open space that is unused. We've always planned on including an island once we renovate, but we didn't want to wait. We decided to build a butcher block-style island with open shelving underneath - a simple design that would give us all the counter space we needed and some additional storage space.

We bought a premade bamboo tabletop, as well as 4x4 cedar posts for the legs, 2x4s for the framework, and 1x2 slats for the shelf.

You can see all of the details of how we built it in the blog post, but here are a few of the features:

- an interior framework that connects to the tabletop and outer framework so that no screws are visible on the outside

- countersunk GRK structural screws used to attach the legs htat look like carriage bolts

-feet are angle cut so that floor is less likely to be scratched if the island is moved

We're really proud of this build and are enjoying having so much extra counter space. It's amazing what you can get done in a weekend!

I used Ana's plan as a base.

I changed it from 8x8 to 8x12, made the 4x4x8's to 4x4x10' for a higher main platform and swing platform, and added a 12' long monkey bar set to the other side. Also, an 8' climbing wall and a plank walkway to accompany the two slides.

For the clubhouse, I used Hardiplank 4x8 sheets for the siding and an EZ-Framer kit for the structure itself.

The slides I purchased from Lowes, monkey bars from Amazon, and the swing frame braces from Amazon as well. The swing kits I got from ebay.

I made this outdoor chair by looking at a variety of plans and designs from Restoration Hardware and other stores. Check out more info on the project on my blog link. Thanks for looking!

I made this easy and cheap Christmas tree wall shelf to add character to my guest bathroom.  I went through all my wood stash and found enough wood to build this project with! 

Make sure to pay attention to the long and short point directions in Ana's plans.  Since I was hanging this above my toilet, I didn't need the hooks so I just omitted the bottom piece all together.

I ended up using wood glue and a nail gun to put everything together so it went really quickly. 

I painted the whole tree with green chalk paint and distressed the edges with sandpaper.  Hung it up with L brackets in a stud.

Fun and easy project!  Thank you Ana!!

We added additional trim to the top and also a thin trim across the front of the shelves to hide the raw edge.  For paint, I used a grey chalk paint and then wiped an antique white chalk paint over it. I had stained the edges before painting and lightly sanded the paint off of the sharp edges so you see minor amounts of exposed stained wood. 

Made for daughter’s first apartment.

Rusty O.