Community Brag Posts

Rustic X Garden Shelf

My wife wanted a Garden Shelf to replace the one that just gave up the ghost, so I browsed my favorite site for plans similar to what I was thinking.  Thats when I found the Rustic X Book Case.  Perfect.

I need to stuff larger objects then books in there, so I changed it to 3 shelves and I put those on top of the cross members.  That was easier and it gives it that work bench look.

For the X's, I had the wood to risk so I tried recessing them.  I dry fitted (chop saw highly recommended) and marked them and when I flipped them over, they aligned perfectly.  With a circular saw set to just slightly less then 1/2 depth, and some very careful cutting, they fit together quite well.

Sturdy with a bit of class.  I'm pleased.  Thanks.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Less then $100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Thompson's Wood Seal - Honey Amber
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Counter Height Garden Boxes by Janet Fox

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/15/2020 - 15:21

My 15 and 12-year-old sons made two of these for me. Super easy, they followed the step by step instructions which were perfect, easy to read. They made two in only a few hours!

Estimated Cost
$130 in suplies
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Custom Bookcase Wall

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 11/16/2023 - 09:19

These bookshelves are modified from the Extra Wide Console Bookcase Plans from your website. They were constructed using 3/4 inch plywood for the bookcases, 6” MDF boards for the cup cubbies, and 1/2 inch plywood for the shelves. Purchased a jig from Rockler to drill the 1,000+ shelf holes and built the rolling ladder from oak using the plans and parts from Rockler. What began as a plan for a simple bookcase morphed into selling the dining room furniture and converting the room (which we had only used once in over 2years) into a library that we enjoy every day!

Built from Plan(s)

Deck Chair

Submitted by bigskygirl on Tue, 05/29/2012 - 12:44

I used the plans for the simple outdoor lounge chair and just made the arms wider, the cushions came from Target.............the dog loves it !

Built from Plan(s)
Finish Used
Benjamin Franklin oil based Dragons Breath
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Londons91 (not verified)

Sat, 07/28/2012 - 18:06

My husband and I love to sit outdoors and read with a hot cup of tea. The wide are will be perfect for us. Would you mind sharing the cost of your project?

Camey21

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:04

Hi!  I would love to make this patio set but I am having some trouble with cushions. I noticed that Ana stated this chair will use a standard size 20x20 cushion.  On your notes it says you got your cushions at Target, are they 20x20, I love the deep cushions but cant seem to find any that sized. Are yours 20x20, or did you modify you project? If so, what dimensions did you use? Thanks so much!!!

Camey21

Sun, 09/14/2014 - 22:05

Hi!  I would love to make this patio set but I am having some trouble with finding cushions. I noticed that Ana stated this chair will use a standard size 20x20 cushion.  On your notes it says you got your cushions at Target, are they 20x20, I love the deep cushions but cant seem to find any that sized for the bottom ones. Are yours 20x20, or did you modify your project? If so, what dimensions did you use? Thanks so much!!!

Custom Star Doll Closet w/Pink Doors

Submitted by devinmlyn on Sat, 03/15/2014 - 16:15

My daughter has been accumulating American Girl doll clothing and accessories since her birthday last summer (2013), and we were rapidly running out of room for all of it. Luckily, her Grandpa ("Pop") is a skilled carpenter and whipped up this awesome closet for her in a weekend (including the amount of time it took to pick out all the materials, paints, and paint everything/let it dry). She absolutely loves it and it is the perfect way to keep everything organized, while still looking great!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Latex acrylic paint in antique white for the main structure, and bright pink or the doors.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Sandbox for G

Submitted by Redboots on Tue, 06/14/2016 - 18:15

I made this for my 4-year old granddaughter and added it to the play area I built for her last summer. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Exterior spray paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

TV Media Stand

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/18/2023 - 13:20

Our grandson needed a tv stand for his new apartment. They liked the plan from your website and this is our version.

Steve Mawhorter

Comments

Child Beach Sling Chair

Submitted by ktjoy86 on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 08:57

I used two towels to make the sling portion of the chair, instead of outdoor/decor weight fabric. Even though the towels were thick, I did not need to change the dimensions of the dowels or slits in the wood that hold the dowels.

Estimated Cost
$1, I had the towel, hardware, nails, paint, and some scrap wood already.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Primed and then painted with leftover satin-finish paint. Lightly sanded between 2 coats of the final paint color.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Mary1025 (not verified)

Thu, 05/31/2012 - 16:59

What a great idea to use towels. I have a few extra beach towels that would be great for this.
Thanks!

Step up bed

Submitted by Coach Ty on Mon, 03/17/2014 - 12:23

Base was easy to do, drawers were another story! very big drawers, plan a lot of time for these.

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

Comments

Herb Planter

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/20/2016 - 14:42

Modified the dimensions to make a good sized planter for patio herb garden :)

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
~$50 for lumber and supplies
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax polyshades in classic black satin applied, then distressed with sander
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

DIY Rocking Chair and Crib

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 11/26/2023 - 11:29

Baby bed is my grandson’s first wood working project for his first son to be born in February. The rocking chair I made from your plan to go with the baby bed.

RichardF

Apothecary Coffee Table

I am happy with how this turned out, but I did run into a couple of problems while building this. First of all there is a typo in the cut list. It says to cut the drawer sides 23 and a quarter inches, but they need to be 21 and 3/4 inches. I built the drawer to deep and then had to take it apart and cut the sides down. Then the drawer was ever so slightly too wide to fit under the table after I put the L-brackets on (which are definitely needed to make the table sturdy enough.) So I had to make a little room under the table by taking the sides back off and adding a little piece of wood as a spacer on either side.
Also I decided to use poplar for the top just to make it a little more dent resistant because poplar is a hard wood. But after I started staining it I learned that poplar acts like a soft wood and can be very blotchy when stained. I had to keep going darker with the stain to try and make it even. It came out okay in the end.

Estimated Cost
$120 for wood.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
For top and inside of drawer: Minwax prestain, minwax special walnut - 3 coats, minwax poly in gloss - 3 coats. For the rest I used glidden white primer and white paint plus a coat of polycrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Farmhouse Storage Bed - Twin

Submitted by Abby721 on Mon, 04/20/2020 - 13:26

Modified to have storage boxes on only one side since it was being placed next to a wall.

Estimated Cost
150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Custom white color paint to match trim.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Painted Tryde End Table with Shelf

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/27/2016 - 01:00

A white spruce base painted with hessian chalk paint and waxed with furniture wax over the top. Topped off with a section of oak block kitchen counter waxed with dark oak wax

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rust Oleum Hessian chalk paint with furniture wax over the top
Old Oak Kitchen counter top with Briwax dark oak wax
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Farmhouse Coffee Table

Submitted by rincon1986 on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 04:11

Worked on this table last week to save me some money on buying one from a store. This was my first ever time in my life building something on my own and I was surprised how easy it was. Came out better then I expected.

Estimated Cost
50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Flower Planters

Submitted by mags247 on Sun, 06/10/2012 - 08:07

My co-worker and I built these planters from pallets that we had lying around at work. The only expense we had was the Kreg Jig I purchased (and love). It took us about 5 hours to put them together, including the time it took to cut the lumber to size. Then we used Thompson's water seal and stapled commercial grade landscaping cloth inside the planter. We made them for work and hope they will just naturally age. This was an easy project and we will definitely make more of these.

We had leftover screws, landscaping fabric and water seal from other projects.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$0
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
We just used Thompson's water seal to let the wood age naturally.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Red Shoe Shrine

Submitted by Julie737 on Fri, 04/04/2014 - 18:17

I was looking for an excuse to use my new Kreg Jig and also Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. My entrance from my garage had a cheap two level shelf which never was enough for all our shoes so when I saw this I thought it would be perfect. This was my first Ana-White project and the left cubbies ended up being wider than the right. I loved the Kreg Jig. What's cool is I did it all alone, with the help of my husband watching my kids! It was a lot of painting to get the distressed look that you really can't see from the pictures but I am very happy with it and it is very sturdy. I ended up doing 4 columns instead of 3 but only one shelf...probably also why the measurements got messed up.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Primed in Dark Brown paint I had leftover, Distressed with vaseline and sandpaper, Painted with Annie Sloan Chalk paint, and applied clear wax. Also, distressed the pine before painting with my hammer and screw driver.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Farmhouse queensized bed

Submitted by SteveS86 on Thu, 06/30/2016 - 19:12

I built this bed step by step from the Mom's fancy farmhouse bed - queen sized. I have no experience of building things before this, but bought a miter saw and nail gun. Banged it out in a weekend. More time was spent painting than assembly. I reused the slats from my old IKEA bed. In hindsight, I wish I had a way to even the boards better before assembly, like a planer.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$175 -$200 with paint
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Benjamin Moore Aura - Chantilly Lace. 2 coats of Zinnser 123 primer and 2 coats of paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

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