Community Brag Posts

Simplest Stool

Submitted by DWeen on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 17:34

I modified the Simplest Stool plan for this project to use some old threshing floor boards that I had leftover from another project. I like the blocky and chunky look it gives it. We chose to distress these stools to make them look as though they've been around for awhile. The stools didn't take long to build, but since the finish needed time to cure between coats, the overall length of time for the project was about a week. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax 'Early American' with two coats of polyurethane. The legs and rungs were painted with Behr semi-gloss white paint, and distressed using Minwax 'Early American' stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Chicken Coop with Run

Submitted by Jen Marzen on Fri, 06/17/2011 - 02:10

My husband and I live on a small hobby farm and are growing/raising a lot of our own food. We decided to venture into working with chickens. We wanted to start out small so we got 6 chickens and needed a home for them. We found a kids play house one day while shopping and got the idea of modifying it into a chicken coop with a run. We took off with this idea and with quite a bit of modification and some extra building materials we were able to raise it up in the air and attach a run so our chickens would have a nice home to protect them from preditors and the emements and not to mention one that looks good in our yard!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Cedar deck stain and white outdoor house paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Heather Dalton (not verified)

Tue, 02/21/2012 - 19:08

Are the plans available? I have Black Copper Marans and Lavender Ameraucanas and I really need to separate the LAs from the BCMs and this would be perfect!

madrona (not verified)

Tue, 02/28/2012 - 10:21

I'd also love the plans!
Great job - it's beautiful!

guest (not verified)

Tue, 02/28/2012 - 10:22

I'd also love the plans - thanks!

Eliza B (not verified)

Thu, 05/31/2012 - 10:02

Can you please post the plans you used? I have 4 week old chicks that need a coop. Thank you very much.

Jen Marzen

Sat, 06/02/2012 - 15:22

Sorry guys there are no plans for this coop. My husband and i just "winged it" and built it without any plans.

It is a play house that we found at Mills Fleet Farm and we modified it to make it a chicken coop. We put together the play house based on instructions from the box (with a few of our own modifications to make the window on the ground etc.) added some chicken wire to the doors and bay window, added some 4x4 "stilts" and a floor to get the house in the air, and constructed a frame around it with 2x4's and wire fencing to make the run

Sorry I dont have any plans to give you guys!

Seasonal And Holiday

Easy Build Wood Headboard, Cal King

Submitted by carlynoel on Sun, 08/11/2013 - 18:05

This was my first project and I loved every second of it. I did the whole thing by myself (with the "help" of my two-year-old) and I'm 5 months pregnant! THAT is how easy it is.

Estimated Cost
80 bucks
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I distressed it a little before staining so it didn't look too brand new. I filled a sock with bolts and screws and beat it up and scratched it with a steak knife to make fake cracks.I did one coat of Minwax Jacobean and it was really blotchy. I should've conditioned my wood, so I lightly sanded the whole thing and added a second coat and it evened out the blotchiness a lot, but it did turn out darker than I wanted. I added only one coat of Minwax Polycrylic Finish in satin because I wanted it to look rustic and not glossy. The cutting and assembly only took about 4-6 hours. The staining and sanding and distressing and finishing took a couple days.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

yurra-bazain

Sun, 08/11/2013 - 20:41

How awesome is that? =D It looks gorgeous, and I applaud you for tackling it with your 2 year old and baby on the way. =D When I was pregnant, the only thing I considered doing was putting furniture together. Now that I've built furniture, I now realize how much harder it was to follow the assembly directions than it is to make your own assembly directions. Keep it up!

Super Simple Bedframe/Hailey Planked Headboard

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/22/2022 - 21:57

My grandaughter and I built the super simple bed and modified the Hailey planked headboard. We used common douglas fir from Home Depot. The finish is equal parts Minwax cherry and early american with 3 coats of Minwax wipe on poly with a light sanding with 220 grit between coats. Total cost was about 250.00.

Comments

DIY Barn Door and Hardware for around $80!

I really wanted to put a barn door in my husband's home office, but have you looked at the prices of the kits?  No way was I going to spend that for a door.  So I decided to fabricate it myself.  For the rail hardware- I used a 72" steel rod, copper pipe fittings, and lag screws.  For the door hardware, I used 12"ish, long pieces of steel, pulleys, and carriage bolts.

The door itself is made from plywood siding, 1 x 4's, 1 x 6's, and 1 x 3's.  The entire door and hardware cost around $80 to make myself.  It's functional and looks amazing!  The entire tutorial is up on my blog!

Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
white paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Toddler beds,Toddler bunk beds,Toddler lofts

Building Bunk beds and custom beds is what i do. I router the corners so that they are rounded, plane the face's of the boards,and sand to perfection. then i glue and screw it all together. you can check out the site at http://www.dreamworksbunkbeds.com

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
all my products come with no finish just natural.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse Bed

I built this bed as a modified farmhouse bed. I chose to have a solid wood headboard instead of having a slotted look as it fit better in the decor of our home. I purchased a bed rail kit from Rockler so that I could remove the rails without removing any screws. (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5783) It was a relatively easy project considering my skill set was very low when starting! http://www.lifewithfingerprints.com/2010/09/labor-of-love.html

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$110
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used a satin black paint finish with a polyacrylic coating.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Three story doll house

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/06/2019 - 13:53

I built this American girl doll house for my daughter. I wanted to give her something to keep her youth alive! 

Estimated Cost
$150-200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Light grey paint for all the walls and ceiling. Classic grey stain by Minwax for the floors. I also added baseboards to all the rooms with some small trim I found in the window trim section at Home Depot.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Tessa2009

Sun, 01/06/2019 - 21:46

Thanks Ana! This is her momma that built it for her. I wanted to tackle something on my own and challenge myself. Your plans were amazing to work with. Thanks for taking the time to make these plans so easy to understand and follow. She is very happy with the doll house! Happy New Year! -Abbey

Coffee Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/10/2022 - 07:15

Thank you so much for sharing your plans!! You are so generous! This is my first attempt at building furniture!

Check out my TikTok at - https://www.tiktok.com/@floridagirl092/video/7152573909735427370?is_fro…

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Mudroom bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/01/2022 - 17:16

Ana I came across your open bottom garage bench design and really liked the concept. Inspired by your design I put this together in our laundry/mudroom and am really pleased with the result. As you described, being able to clean under it is a huge benefit and the whole bench was less than $200 even with the solid oak boards I joined and edge routed for the top. Thanks for the inspiration and all of your project posts.

Comments

Jewelry Box 2

Submitted by yhaas on Thu, 12/17/2015 - 20:58

I built this as a Christmas gift for my office partner/best friend.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50 (bit of a guess, more if I add finishes which I already had, less if using scrap wood)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used wood conditioner, then stained with Goudey stain in Rosewood. Next was a shellac washcoat, followed by glaze in Van Dyke brown, another washcoat, and finished with 2 coats of Tried and True varnish oil, then another 2 of Tried and True original wood finish. Knobs and felt were from Lee Valley.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

4X4 Truss Table and Bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 02/09/2019 - 14:46

My daughter moved into her first apartment and asked me to make her a dining room table. I used the plans found on Ana's website and made a slight modifcations. I used 5/4" pine boards to build the tops and regular douglas fir 4x4s and 2x4s for the bases. All screws are hidden exept the lag bolts I painted black and used to bolt the end trusses to the center truss which gives it kind of a industrial type accent. Thanks to Ana White and Shanty 2 CHIC for the great plans. My daughter loved the table and bench and she is going to find chair for the other side of the table. 

Estimated Cost
Approximately $275 for the table, bench and misc stain, screw, sandpaper etc.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Varathane Stain and Poly Mission Oak in Satin. Two coats on the bases and three coats on the tops. Used a pre stain conditioner prior to applying the Stain and Poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Dining chairs for X based pedestal table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/06/2023 - 10:15

I made the 4 chairs to complete the dining suite. The table was made from the X based pedestal table plan.

The timber was all cut from 200mm x 50mm pine sleepers and finished with Cabots clear finish.

Comments

Truss table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/11/2016 - 19:14

Fun build 4hrs to complete. 

 

One of of the cuts is off  says long to short it's long to long. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

sectional and chairs!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/03/2023 - 13:57

my husband and I used your plans for the sectional, end tables and chairs I made the pillows thanks so much for the designs we love them

Comments

Fancy X Farmhouse Table Build

Used Douglas from Lowes and used a jointer and planer to get everything square.  Also used eight 2'x6's on the top to allow to properly use the jointer.  Also used biscuits in addition to pocket holes to hold everything togther

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Wood Finish Satin Classic Gray Oil-based Interior Stain / Minwax Semi-gloss
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Back Yard

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/15/2023 - 08:32

This is my homemade backyard inspired by plans from Ana. Used Ana's previous post to build all pieces. Stained in Mission Oak and bought pillows from Lowe's. Succulents from a local nursery.

Coffee Table
2 piece lounge
2 chairs
Ice chest
Planter Box

Comments

Narrow Console Table

This past weekend I build Ana's Narrow Console table. I went Saturday evening to pick up the boards and cut them. I completed the whole project late Sunday afternoon. I don't have a nailer so in-between the project I switched to self-tapping screws and it became even quicker because using the ol' fashioned hammer and nails was difficult and time consuming.  Cutting the angles was a first for me, and it is not bad at all! I was very intimidated first but so glad I took that first step! Also, I just watched her video countless times to ensure I was doing it correctly, and that helped the most ;).  It is very lightweight and I did not need any assistance in carrying the table. I truly, truly believe anyone can do this!

Estimated Cost
$40 with the paint
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
After sanding I used one coat of Glidden Flat + Primer "Crushed Silk"
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Stable for Nativity Scene

Submitted by arkep on Fri, 12/06/2013 - 18:51

I had been thinking about making something to go with the nativity scene that I made a few years ago, and was so excited to see the plans for this stable this morning. It's less historically accurate, but much easier to build than a cave. =) I had cedar fence picket scraps laying around, so this project didn't cost me anything extra.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$0--made from scraps
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
none--just sanded
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modified 4x4 Truss Beam Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/03/2019 - 05:26

Build the 4x4 Truss Beam Table base with the Fancy X Farmhouse Table top shortened to 7' (84") for my wife's birthday! We love how it looks and can not wait to build the matching benches! Also, this is my first time attempting a building project and Ana-White Plan. The plans are very easy to follow and execute!!

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Varathane - Kona and Clear Poly
Sherwin Williams - Cotton White
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner