Community Brag Posts

Chunky X Base Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/24/2016 - 20:56

So my sister in-law kept sending me tables on craigslist that were for sale. I didn't like anything I was seeing and to buy what I wanted I was looking at roughly $1000 so I found these plans and was like... YES! When I told the family I was doing this they were all pretty much like... "yeah sure, good luck"
I knew that I could do I just needed the plans which were here.

I pretty much stuck to the plans with a few exceptions. I made the table longer to accommodate the entire family on Friday Family Night...! It's a little over 10' long. Instead of 3 – 1x12x8 I went with 3 - 2x12x10. One because as I said earlier I wanted the table longer and two because I just felt that the 1x12 was too flimsy and I wanted something real solid. Because of that I ended up putting pocket holes on each side of all the 2x12 boards and I also put a 2x6 in the middle for additional support.

Everything was pretty much right on except for the base posts, for some reason they were about 2" too short which forced me to cut the upper parts of the X on the base a bit shorter as well. I ended up putting an additional 2 2x6 on top of the base to raise the table to the height I felt was necessary. If I did it over I would have just made my base post 2" higher and only used one additional 2x6 for the additional height.

I ended up staining it with a semi-transparent beige stain to give it a grayish look.

I gotta say everyone was like "holy crap...!" and thought it was beautiful. I gotta say it feels really good to build it yourself and especially when it comes out the way you want it.

thanks so much for the plans!!!

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
2 coats of a semi-transparent beige stain from Olympic. Stain and Sealer in one
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

SESchild

Thu, 06/04/2020 - 12:15

Hi Ana. I'm a new member here. My wife and I really enjoy your projects! Quick question about the Chunky X Base Table... we're about to build it and we're going to do it 10 ft long like you did. I'm curious how rigid the center span is? I'm guessing the span is roughly 6'. Is it bouncy? I was thinking about running 2 or 3 2x4 "joists" under thre table attached to the bases to provide more support. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you!

Simple Bunk Bed Triple Bunk

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/20/2016 - 07:07

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!!!

Estimated Cost
$450 including hardware
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
White paint, not sealed
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

wbmclaurin

Mon, 11/01/2021 - 21:30

Do you happen to have the exact plans for this triple bunk? I saw that you modified the simple double bunk to fit your space but I'm wondering if you drew up plans wih measurements to make it easier for beginner folks.

Bar Stool

I liked the lines of the Extra Tall Bar Stools and I changed the plan to fit my needs. I made them 24" to the top of the seat and both stools are constructed entirely out of 2x4s (except the seat, of course!).

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Less than $25
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I used Rust-Oleum's Ultimate Wood Stain in Sunbleached and Ultimate Polyurethane in Matte.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Girl Scout Troup Bird House Project

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/26/2023 - 08:19

Two Girl Scout troops combined to work on the Cadette Woodworking Badge and made this birdhouse (https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/diy-birdhouse-one-cedar-…). We used cedar decking, so some adjustments needed to be made to the plan. We looked up what types of birds in our area would use different size openings. The girls had a great time and worked together to make sure everyone finished in time. My troop has built a lot of projects, but this was our sister troop's first build. They did an excellent job! So proud of their hard work and I get the feeling we'll be building more in the future!

Sarah Eiseman

Comments

Baby Cribs for Christmas Morning

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 12/27/2023 - 11:35

My wife had the idea for us to give our girls a babydoll bed each this year from Santa. She wanted me to make them so it could be something that they could take with them and hopefully hand down to their girls one day. These were simple and fun to build. I used 3/8” dowels instead of 1/4” just because I felt it would be more durable in the long run. Overall this was a fun little project and the girls absolutely loved the beds that Santa brought them.

Kevin

Built from Plan(s)

Breakfast Nook Table

Submitted by vlilly on Sun, 04/27/2014 - 13:37

This table was my very first project and I am proud of myself! After getting married in January and closing on our house in February, I was overwhelmed with all the empty space! (Being 19 and buying a brand new house.. everything was foreign to me! We had NO furniture!) We needed a decent place to eat instead of using the borrowed barstools and my dad has all the tools I could ever need, so I figured I could try out building our own kitchen table! I think it went well! Since then I have made a media cabinet, a dining table and bench, storage cubbys for above the fridge, a mail holder, a towel holder and a wooden tray for our ottoman ALL from Anas plans! I'm just now getting around to posting my brags :)

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Stained with Rustoleum Dark Walnut and given a couple coats of Rustoleum poly in Matte!
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Essential Adirondack chair

Submitted by str1523 on Mon, 05/25/2020 - 10:23

Like this chair! Changed the 3 1x10's on the back to 4 1x8's ripped down to 6 ¹⁵/¹⁶

Estimated Cost
40
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)

Comments

2x4 Outdoor sectional

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/01/2020 - 12:00

I stumbled upon this page and instantly fell in love. I made the 2x4 outdoor sectional this week with a few tweeks to make it work for us. My husband does a lot of computer work on our patio so we did the tall table to make it work. I plan to add a shelf at the bottom and touch up on my staining but for my first project I'm impressed. With the instructions and lists given this was a breeze of a project!

Estimated Cost
160$ before cushions
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Semi transparent stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Leaning Bathroom Ladder Shelf

Submitted by Jminor83 on Thu, 06/20/2019 - 10:53

My wife saw your post for this shelf and knew it would be perfect for our half-bathroom.  She showed it to me and I agreed.  I built it in a few hours one afternoon.  Stained and sealed a few days later and it fits perfectly.  Now we just need to wait (impatiently) for everything to cure so we can actually begin to use it.  We'll try and share another final photo when in full use.

Estimated Cost
Already had all supplies on hand. If I had to price it....
$5 for 2 2x4s (sides)
$10 for 1 1x10 (shelves - ripped to shorter widths as needed)
$6 for 3 1x2s
(+screws/nails/glue/stain/sealer)

Total $21
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
One coat of stain, followed by two coats of polyethylene. Light sanding with sanding sponge to smooth everything out once dried. Going to wait a week for everything to cure before placing anything on the shelves.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Shiplap Bathroom - DIY Vanity

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/11/2016 - 13:52

It had come time to renovate our powder room bathroom. We were on a tight budget so we decided to build our own vanity & add a little twist to it! We splurged on the granite countertop, vessel sink  and faucet. Thanks to Ana White we built our vanity for less than $10! The plans were easy to follow . . . .we are so proud of our wood vanity!  link to our blog: http://www.houseofrumours.com/shiplap-powder-room-diy-vanity/

 

Estimated Cost
$10
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
none. slightly sanded and used wood oil.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Wooden Sandbox with Convertible Bench / Cover

I make and sell kids picnic tables on craigslist and a buyer asked about making one of these. I took it on and found the plans on here very easy! I now list these on craigslist also and hope to sell more before the summer is over.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
~$100
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
none, until PT has dried
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Pie Chest

Submitted by Cveith3 on Sat, 12/24/2016 - 16:35

This project was built for my mother as christmas gift.  Very easy to do, I based it off of Patrick's jelly cupboard plans and ana whites pie Chest idea.  I modified mine  to allow for a drawer/door at the bottom.

 

http://www.ana-white.com/2015/10/DIY_furniture/pie-safe

 

http://www.ana-white.com/2011/12/plans/patrick039s-jelly-cupbard

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$125
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
WATCO Danish oil
Dark Walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Pair of wood pet kennels

Submitted by Zack on Mon, 09/22/2014 - 20:55

Someone on Facebook reached out to me after seeing a gallery of some items I've built from this site. She asked if I could build a couple of the large pet kennel end tables from the plans posted here. This is the final result. This was a very fun project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150 for both
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Unfinished. Will be stained to match the rest of the furniture she is having built.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Chicken shed

Submitted by diegaeb on Wed, 10/07/2020 - 08:32

I had started this project last year in September and finished it finally 2020 in March because I get my chicken then.
I did modify the chicken coop a little bit due to the material I got.
The instructions and most of all the cutting list I like best!

Antje

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

Comments

Farmhouse Console Inspired Design with Vinyl Floor Plank Top

Submitted by mowbratb on Mon, 10/19/2020 - 10:16

Started with the Farmhouse Console design and ended up modifying a bit but still wanted a similar look of the console. This was my first time building a piece of furniture so not too hard, just more time. Here are my changes: 37" height (12" height between shelves plus drawers and 1" top) 23" base width (wanted to use for storing clear bins) 25 3/4" top width 65 3/4" main top length 22 1/2" lower top length (wanted to a place for my printer with storage for paper below it) 88" (full top length) 34" interior width large section (2 bins for each shelf) 18" x 2 interior width for smaller sections (1 bin for upper and lower) 18" x 4 1/2" drawer opening 34" x 4 1/2" drawer opening 1 - 32 11/16" w x 21 1/4" drawer with 18" Everbilt full extension ball bearing slide set 1 - 16 11/16" w x 21 1/4" drawer with 18" Everbilt full extension ball bearing slide set Additional Notes: - Used Pine/Spruce Edge V planks (.25" thick, 3.5" width) for sides and back - Used 2x4 for drawers with 1/2 birch plywood for bottom and 1x6 face (19" and 35" long) - Assembled with pocket screws, GRK finishing screws and glue just like the farmhouse console instructions. - Had to modify the location of the 2x6 slats for the two center legs to account for the change in length to keep the 1" space between them. As noted in the title, I experimented by making the top using lifeproof vinyl "Trail Oak" floor planks glued on top of 3/4" birch plywood and trimmed it with 1 x 2 stained to match the vinyl flooring. I'm pretty happy with the turnout but was prepared to use 2/6's if it didn't look the way I envisioned.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
~$350
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
1. White color, used Valspar Cabinet Furniture paint. Didn't prime underneath as the product says you don't need to but I wished I had. Took 2-3 coats to cover properly. https://www.valspar.com/en/products/interior-paints-primers/cabinet-furniture-oil-enriched-enamel
2. Top surface: Lifeproof 8.7 x 47.6 Trail Oak vinyl flooring planks, used 6 of the 7 planks from one box ($60)
3. Top Trim: Varathane (1 part Honey mixed with 2/3 part Dark Walnut) to match the vinyl planks
4. Applied brown caulking in cracks between vinyl floor planks and trim
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Garden shed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/28/2020 - 13:19

Our take on the small garden shed. Ours is 4 1/2 by 7 feet. We used cedar fence pickets and 2x4 construction. Left over shingles from when our house was built. We are definitely not roofers or framers, also chasing around a 3 year old didn't make things easier. Turned out beautiful for what we want it for. Just rustic enough. Great intermediate project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Thompson's clear water seal will be applied this summer.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

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