Community Brag Posts

My Brother-in-Law killed it, 1st Build!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/03/2016 - 16:58

This was my brother-in-law's first build and he killed it. I love this sturdy piece. Best thing in my house right now.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Chunky Coffee Table

Submitted by Malka on Sat, 02/01/2020 - 15:17

Chamfered the bottoms of some 4x4 douglas fir, and used 2x6 douglas fir for the top. Stained in Minwax Dark Walnut/Special Walnut. 

Estimated Cost
50
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
MInwax stain and Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

DIY Storage Cabinet

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 09/25/2023 - 11:58

Needed something to hold an antique scale. The sides have pop out drawers to house bags and tags.

Darren

Dog bed

Submitted by Flowerchld on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 15:38

I made the doll farmhouse bed and altered it into a dog bed. First one done for my German Shepherd. The second, finished one was for a friend's smaller dog.

Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

JB (not verified)

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 09:21

Greetings!
As a guy, I tend to overlook the child stuff on this otherwise great site! But the idea to turn the child stuff for a pet is just great and a fine example of outside the box thinking. I am a dog trainer and think this is awsome! It's also a way to get a useful product out of a test run before you go full size! Again, superb!

Flowerchld

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 09:48

Thanks JB! I wanted something more stylish than your typical fabric covered mattress pad (which is what I threw in there until I get motivated to sew one that fits). He loves it so I think I'm going to do another one for the bedroom because 125# is a lot of dog to share a bed with! :)

momofour09

Fri, 08/17/2012 - 19:51

I was looking at dog beds and they can get pricey fast. For a little more money I can make her something that is more durable and stylish. I figure if it fits your dog, mine should be perfectly fine. Love the way it turned out :)

2x4 end table

Simple end table made from 2x4's

Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Full over Full Bunk Bed

Full over Full bunk beds. Adjusted for Full from a twin measurement. only 1" off floor for more head room.extra rail bar coverage upstairs for my daughter who rolls out of bed regularly.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
used common board mix and a few premium cuts. Pine was more costly. @$250
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
White primer/paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

bjerfr

Sat, 07/11/2020 - 10:12

What measurements did you use to adjust to a full size?

Dress up center

Submitted by jim7sf on Fri, 02/07/2020 - 11:44

 I Purchased Kitchen cabinet handles to use for the ribbon so that the girls could put their bows on there I also got 1 inch wheels 2 of them with breaks on them from amazon. Between the vinyl letters and added bonus I spent about 110$

Estimated Cost
110$
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Hall Tree Modified

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/02/2023 - 10:29

My variation of the hall closet. Dark stained bench and top shelf, it is taller (5'6") and skinnier (30") and doesn't include the venerated X's.

Jeffrey Knotts of Black Boots Woodworks

Built from Plan(s)

barnwood frame - poster size

Submitted by kari on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 09:48

Our family loves Doctor Who, and I had given my son 2 posters as gifts. Apparantly keeping them rolled up in the tube would not do, so I tackled a frame.

One of things that I did to make the frame more difficult to build was to use the table saw to cut the angles. I did use the angle guide on the wood pusher, but the pieces were too long to lean against the fence. So, I was aiming the sawblade at my mark. The angle was good, but it was difficult to get the 2 pieces exactly the same length. Next time I will cut the 2 pieces at the same time so they match. I think a miter saw would be the saw of choice here.

Also, I wanted to use glass. To inset the glass on the back I had to learn to use the router. That added a bit of time to the project. But me and my router are friends now, so the next one should go quicker. I cut a 1/4 groove on the inside edge on the back where I could add the glass. I used glazing points, sold by the glass at the depot, to hold the glass in the frame.

Estimated Cost
$18 (includes glass)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Krylon satin black spray paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Wall Bookshelf

Our second project for our son's room makeover. I love that I can build this for $15 compared to a certain website where they want $89 for MDF. This was also the second project where I used Rustoleum Wood Stain, loving how easy it is and how quickly it gives a great color to pine.

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Wood Stain in American Walnut, Rustoleum Satin Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

2x2 Playhouse Basement Loft Hideaway :)

We loved the idea of making two of the 2x2 playhouses featured on this blog and adding a 17" riser below to add more of a loft feel in our basement.  The riser really adds something special. [We designed the riser ourselves]. 

We resized the houses to accommodate adults as well as children, so the space can be used flexibly as a playhouse, reading space, or just a hideaway for kids and adults alike.  The house as we designed it is 70" tall (5.8 feet).  We also utilized a recessed wall in the basement, so the footprint feels just right for the room.  

After building the frames, we painted them white and custom-designed curtains for them.  We wanted the curtains to feel like walls and define the space. The curtains are attached via buttonholes that we sewed into the finished curtain.  They are looped over small cup hooks screwed into the frame.  

We left the risers in their natural color without stain and simply sealed them using a beeswax and olive oil DIY sealant that I've used on a handful of other projects in the past.

Overall, we feel so happy with this space.  It's just what we imagined it to be.  It feels so special and set apart :).  

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
~$300-350 for all materials (includes fabric)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Beeswax and olive oil sealant on riser, white paint on playhouse frames

Twin Raised Planter Boxes

Submitted by dave92082 on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 18:46

This is a build of the Raised Planter Box design by Tracy. While it is a fairly simple plan, I would still call it intermediate. One thing to note is that the bottom Cross Supports are listed in her plan as 46" when they need to be 47 1/2 to match the side panels. You can see in the picture above, I laid the incorrectly cut piece on top of the correct one that is screwed in.

Estimated Cost
Around $50 each ( a little less not counting hardware)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Going to prime and paint soon.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

tracysmith

Sun, 04/29/2012 - 20:34

Thanks Dave for posting the pictures.. I see what you did differently from my plans and I think the way you did it was MUCH better. Congrats on the build, they look great!!! I'm going to rearrange my plans to make the changes and post the correct measurements to reflect that.

Rustic X Console

Submitted by TLinskey on Sat, 02/15/2014 - 12:51

Rustic X Console....... I have made this table four times and love it!!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
80
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Special Walnut, Weathered Oak, Ragged White and Hellsman Spa Urtheane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Potting Bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 05/13/2016 - 06:44

Hello Ana, this is my second project that I have done according to your plans and surely not my last. I had bought the wood I needed a few months ago and it wasn't until the day before Mother's day that I realized I didn't have anything for the Mother of my three children. I could have made an excuse and told her I was broke from our trip to Key largo and the Grand Cayman islands in April but then I remembered your plans for a neat potting bench. I went to my home office and printed off your plans. Next I cleaned out enough room in my garage to access my tools and benches, four hours later...Boom! Potting bench with a surprised wife. We are going to allow all of the Grandkids (13) to sign it after she decides what color she wants me to paint it. Thank you so much for posting these great projects. After all it is true "Happy wife, happy life"

Estimated Cost
Approximately $50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Undecided as of yet
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Sideboard

Made to fit perfect 

Estimated Cost
400
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Turning a Chest into a Console Table

Submitted by lbrown on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 19:47

I love the little tansu chest that I bought for my apartment while I was living in Japan, but at only 14" high it has been hard to incorporate into my home in the U.S. without it looking like a piece of doll furniture.

To solve my problem I decided to try to turn it into a console table. I wasn't able to find wood with the fine grain to match the chest for legs so I decided to match the black metal pulls instead.

While I was trying to figure out what to do I remembered seeing the DIY Industrial Cart here that used pipes between the shelves which inspired me to use pipes for the legs.

For details, check out my blog: http://www.homeandawaywithlisa.com/blog/2012/4/30/turning-a-chest-into-…

Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Book Nook For The Girls!

Submitted by strotter13 on Sun, 02/16/2014 - 21:48

My wife and I wanted to turn our upstairs hallway/vacant little area into a book nook for our girls. My wife found some shelves that she wanted me to copy, so I did, but I added some custom routing to them. I had an area where I wanted to build an L shaped bench for the girls to hang out and read on. I had some old chair legs lying around, that I decided to recycle and use for the bench. I knew it would be a lot of work to sand them down and restain them, and my wife LOVES everything painted white (I don't get it) so I painted them white. At that point I had an idea to use some maple hardwood plywood for the bench seat, but I wanted it to be trimmed/outlined in white. I ran some pine furring through my joiner/planer and then I did some custom routing to it. I finish sanded the pine trim pieces and then painted them white as well. The maple plywood got a lite scuffing with 220 then stained and clear coated with some water based oil modified minwax semigloss poly. After I finished building the nook, there was some concern of the girls climbing up over the top of the bench and falling from the second story. I then custom routed some kiln dried pine, and planed some 2x2 furring, until it was square. The 2x2 was painted white and the kiln dried pine was stained and cleared, then I installed the safety rail. If anyone wants a build plan, I can write a step by step on how to build this or something similar to it.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Pre Stain - 1 coat with foam brush
Minwax Special Walnut Stain - 1 dripping wet coat with foam brush, then whipe off puddled stain after 15 minutes.
Minwax Water Based Oil Modified Semi Gloss Polyurethane- 3 coats with a light sanding using 220 grit after coat number 1 and 2. Wait two hours after coating before you sand.
White Paint (I just purchased some that matches my base board paint)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Easy, beautiful, and handy!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/16/2016 - 11:18

Easy, inexpensive, and fun- as always with Ana's plans. 

Estimated Cost
$15
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Clear sealer only
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

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