Community Brag Posts

This was my first project. This was a birthday gift for my wife. She wanted one of these farmhouse tables but the cost was a little much for what we needed. I ran across a blog that followed the plans here and it walked me through step by step. It really wasn't that difficult of a build, and I almost want to sell this one(to the many people that have asked about buying one) and building another to fix the minor mistakes I learned while building it.(maybe triming the top so I would have nice tight seams, glue visible between boards, etc..) I started with the bench being this was my first project and first time using the kreg jig. The wife loved it. So much in fact that I took the scrap wood and made a coffee table and end tables for living room that matched. I did change the runner under the table and used another 4x4 instead of the 2x4. I like the beefier look with all the other 4x4 used for the legs. I also used the smaller table plans for the 72x41 plans as we didn't have room before building the larger one. With the extensions, we have comfortable seated 12.

This was my first build this large and turned out great!  Thanks to the DIY plans provided here.  Thank you so much for such a great place!

We did make the foot board about 12 inches taller as we prefer a taller foot board.

I was inspired to build a set of book boxes for my classroom after seeing Ana's plans for her Wood Magazine File. I'm currently using those cheap cardboard book boxes teachers can buy from those big teacher stores, but they're starting to fall apart after only 2 months! I'm trying to use only scrap wood, but I'll probably be forced to go out and buy another sheet of plywood soon.

I covered them in scrapbook paper I found on clearance at Michaels and used Mod Podge and nails I already had. For the bottoms I used left over wood from making the Modern Outdoor Table which I have yet to post. So, these babies have only cost me a little over a dollar to make. I'm not sure how long the decoupaged paper is going to last with 5 year olds. My roommate suggested using fabric instead and I think I may do that with the remainder wood I have.

*Tip: Make sure your cuts are straight because only the bottom piece of lumber can be nailed. You have to glue the other joints which can be tricky with funky cuts.

This was a great project for me. I am a beginner and building a coffee table this nice seemed too difficult. Fortunately, it turned out better than I expected. The biggest difficulty for me was putting in the 1x12's on the bottom. That was really my fault because I didn't square up the sides properly. Rookie mistake and lesson learned. 

Decided to make a pair of nightstands! Made them a few inches less wide than the original plans and adjusted the height to match my bed. For the first one, I went with the drawer as-is from Ana's plans, but for the second I got brave and used actual drawer runners from the hardware store. It wasn't as hard as I was afraid of; I just reduced the width of the drawer to account for the runners and used a false front so I could attach the drawer front in the right place.

I followed the instructions except for the plywood backing, which I left out.  This was a fairly simple build.  I love the finished product and it fits perfectly in my daughter's room, providing tons of storage space for books, dolls, picture frames, etc.  

This was my FIRST DIY piece of furniture and I am thrilled with the outcome!

Since I am not really one to go for the rustic cottage look I wanted this DIY coffee table to have a bit more of a modern feel. I chose a grey gel stain to do the job. It gave the table a thicker stain but I am still able to see some of the wood grain beneath it.

Ana White has the best tutorials & free plans to get a crafter to switch to the dark side and become a DIYer! 

I did a full blog post on my progress throughout with a lot more pictures.

This was my first wood project, and I LOVED doing it!!! Now I'm addicted :). Thanks so much, Ana, for the amazing plans and inspiriation!

I needed a new bird stand because the old was.. well.. old.. :) Even the cheapest particle board stuff was $100 and not what I wanted.. so i decided to make one.

Instead of paneling I used beadboard. I added a shelf on the inside, and a larger top.I originally stained the piece but then decided to paint. Much nicer. Larry the cockatiel approves.

This toy chest has a lego top and chalkboard paint sides. Easy to put together, a bit harder to paint! The most tedious part was making sure all the sides were at 90 degrees and filling/glueing/trimming the remaining pocket holes afterwards (most I was able to do prior to putting it all together). I increased the depth and width to accommodate more toys and made the top a bit longer so I didn’t need the front edge cutout.  My nephew loves it and my niece has already requested one. Thank you Ana!

We needed an accent table for our hallway and this simple table was perfect. I cut all the pieces in about an hour the night before and spent approximately four hours building the table the following day.

Second build for oldest son's room. 

This was my FIRST DIY piece of furniture and I am thrilled with the outcome!

Since I am not really one to go for the rustic cottage look I wanted this DIY coffee table to have a bit more of a modern feel. I chose a grey gel stain to do the job. It gave the table a thicker stain but I am still able to see some of the wood grain beneath it.

I also have two young boys that play on this table so I gave it three coats of Poly on it for some protection. But the best part of this table is that it can get all dinged up and it just makes it look better!

Ana White has the best tutorials & free plans to get a crafter to switch to the dark side and become a DIYer! 

I did a full blog post on my progress throughout with a lot more pictures.

This was SUPER easy and I love it. My daughter wants one now so digging through my scraps is what I will be doing tomorrow. Thanks Ana!

This table was so much fun to make. I couldn't use an 8 foot table so this is 5 ft. My table top has some blemishes that I could have tried to fix but at the time I just wanted to see it done. I think using better than big box store wood would have been a great start. The table is so sturdy. The bench was harder though because it had a wobble that just wouldn't be fixed. 

I used pine for the top and Douglas fir for the legs. I used minwax wood conditioner, minwax early american stain, then minwax red oak stain for a couple of minutes then wiped off. Then topped with 4 coats of poly. 

Built this table from Ana-White plans and the benches from Rouge Engineer plans.  Fun build and looks great.  Easy to customize to fit your dining space.