Community Brag Posts

My husband and I used our Thanksgiving break to build this playhouse and deck, using Ana's plans. We are NOT builders...this is very doable for beginners with the right tools. Read the plans thoroughly before starting. Total cost (including all lumber, hardware, and paint) was under $600.

We still have door and house trim to complete, a little painting, and a handrail/ladder.

Santa may bring a slide and some other fun accessories!

Thanks Ana!!!!!

I built this table following Ana's plans!  It turned out great!

Rustic x console Table 

This is a massive Farmhouse Table. It measures 126" x 56" with the extensions on, as show. It is 96" x 56" without. The table top is 2x12's with 2x8 breadboards and it has 4x4 legs and end stretchers. It was modified from the farmhouse plan here on ana-white.com and from tommyandellie.com.

Modified the plans for the farmhouse table by using 4x4's for the legs and end pieces. Also cut 45 degree 2x4's for additional bracing on the benches. Upholstered the center 2x12 on the benches with some foam from army surplus.

Now that its all put together, I'm wishing I had went with 6x6's for the legs, but I like how the 4x4's look for now.

This was a Christmas present for my 6 year old. I felt that it was something fun and useful for him!

Created this bed for my niece for Christmas. My son was so excited to put pieces of fabric for the sheets on it so I was able to take a great picture. I didn't make plans since I was winging it as I went, however I did kind of follow the simple day bed plans and doll bed trundle tips.

I was looking at getting the West Elm Rectangles Day Bed, however, the bed was a bit too tall.  The window sill of the room was 26" high and I didn't really want the bed above the sill.  I found the plans on this site and decided to modify the plans so that the top of the bed would be flush with the top of the sill.

To make the bed fit, I removed 2" from the height of the rectangles (10" cuts instead of 12") and 1/2" from each of the top and bottom joiners (1 3/4" cuts instead of 2/1/4").  Finally, the corener legs are each cut to 26" instead of 30".  The makes the be 7" off the floor instead of 8".  Overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out.

A couple of things I learned:

1.  I used clear pine for the wood.  It was very smooth to begin with, so I didn't need to sand it.  I primed all the wood prior to cutting.

2.  The pine was not all exactly the same size.  This means that I could only have one side completely flush and needed to decide if it was the inside of the outside of the bed (I choose the inside).  I sanded the outside a bit, but all the pieces still weren't completely flush, but I didn't care since it would be facing the wall.  You may be able to get better results with more expensive wood.

3.  Get a Kreg jig.  I bought the pocket unit for ~$20.  It was very useful for creating joints.  Make sure to do a test joint as I initially set the depth incorrectly and drilled too deep (luckily I DID do a test piece)

4.  I did not buy the Kreg plugs.  Instead, I just used wood filler.  For each hole, I covered with wood filler, let dry and sanded.  I then put on a second coat and sanded again using 300 grit sandpaper.  You can not tell there are any joint holes, and am very pleased with how the joints look.

5.  I did not use the Kreg Jig on the 1/3/4" top/bottom rectangle joiners, I just used 3" wood screws and screwed throught the top/bottom in from the top/bottom.  I used a Big Gator Drill Guide to drill a pilot hole that was perfectly perpendicular (as I don't have a drill press) prior to screwing the pieces together.  Filling the holes with wood filler and sanding (twice) worked well.

6.  Sanding!! I sanded a lot to get the paint to be very smooth.  It was a bit of a pain as I did it all by hand.  I think a belt sander might have made some of the sanding go a bit quicker, but the rectangles day bed has so many inside areas to sand, you're going to have to do some by hand.

7.  I used a primer on all surfaces and sanded the primer smooth prior to the final coat(s).  For painting the final coats, I used a foam brush as the paint was pretty thin and I did not want to see any brush marks.  I considered spray painting the final coat, but it was just easier to do by hand.

I had to scale mine down a bit in size (I didn't want a huge coffee table this time around)...I absolutely love this table. Very easy to build and only took one day from start to finish to make. I receive tons of compliments on it! People can't believe I actually made it from scrap wood I had in the garage! I have a 3 year old who plays and bangs toys on it everyday, and it only adds to the distressed, rustic look that I love! Couldn't be happier!

Look no further for a one-of-a-kind coffee table to complete your room!

Deck storage cabinet modified from one of Ana’s table plans.

This project took several months of off and on work but I am very happy with the results. Followed the plans on this website and they were great. The only change I made was to add x cross braces for added support. They were necessary because this thing is wobbly as it is. Got the wood from the local lowes and the hardware from Ace Hardware. Used the Kreg Jig pocket hole system to hide the fasteners which makes a big difference.

I made some other furniture from plans on this website so I used the same rustic stain on this piece. The stain was great, really easy to make and stains really well. I covered the stain with the recommended wax which gives it a really nice shine and is very smooth.

Huge thanks to this website!

This was my first major furniture project. My daughter wanted a changing table and this looked like it would be a good choice.I made a few modifications; it's a little taller as my daughter and her husband are on the tall side, I also added a small rail to keep the changing pad from sliding off. Overall it was a great learning experience. I have built several outdoor pens and small houses for our chickens, but this was my first attempt at a piece of furniture. I think it turned out well, and my daughter and her husband are happy with it (and that is what matters).Of course I see the mistakes but I learned from them and now know what to do (or not to do) next time.  Plans are great, easy to follow ....thank you ANA!! Can't wait to try another plan.

Built by Sarah Ashley Allen on Instagram