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We're adding our chickens this weekend!

Farmhouse table and benches

We wanted to build my daughter a smaller bed with lots of storage. I really liked the Daybed plans on here, so we used those and made a few minor adjustments. First, we wanted the bed to sit inside the frame of the bed, instead of just sitting ontop the frame. This will prevent the matress from sliding around. We did this by adding 3 inches on both the length and width of the bed. After building the bed you probably only need to add 1-2 inches, but it still turned out fine. I glued and screwed strips on the side rails a few inches down and then attached my 3" strips to the rails. I also increased the height of the bed slightly by addinga few inches to the 2x4 sides. Also, instead of using 1x12 boards for the construction of the bed, we used 3/4 plywood. This let me make the sides and drawer taller than 12" and also saved a lot of money. I was able to make the whole bed from 2x4s and one sheet of plywood, plus I bought a sheet of MDF for the bottom of the main drawer. This brought the entire cost of the bed to around $150 in materials.

For the bottom drawer we wanted one large storage area instead of 3 seperate drawers. The main reason for this is so we would use it as a trundle in the future if we wanted to. I build the drawer bottom out of a large piece of MDF, and maded the sides out of 3/4 plywood. I cut a 1/2" rabbit on the bottom of the drawer sides so the bottom sits flush. My main reason for doing this was because the boards are different colors (MDF and plywood) and I knew I was not going to be painting the drawers. The drawer sides and attached by pockethole screws which are hiddle. The front pocket hole screws are hidden by the front drawer face and the rear screws could only be seen if you look behind the bed.

I used homemade chalk paint and put about 4 coats on the entire surface. The finish was done with a high quality paste wax which was put on, let dry, and then buffed. I put 3 coats of wax on the finished project.

The bottom of the drawer has 6 straight casters on the bottom for easy pull out.

The contruction of the bed was done in about a day, but the finishing took longer due to the multiple coats and letting the wax dry.

This bed was built custom for the girl who ordered it. She wanted both a bookcase headboard on the long side and a traditional headboard. The bookcase headboard could not block the window and needed to have access to the outlet behind the bed. The bed was designed to match a dresser that had already been purchased. The drawers below give additional storage.

This was my third project, and the first one with doors (boy do I have some great opportunity for growth there!). I left off the bottom trim because I wanted a slightly more contemporary look. Thanks for this plan, Ana. It was the perfect size for this space. Things I learned doing this project: next time cut an extra 1x4 to tack in to do the doors, hinges require math, be sure to get the kind of wood filler that dries—not wood putty (sigh), I need a workbench. 

Needed a place to store wood for the fireplace and firepit. This very nicely organizes what was before a huge dirty pile of wood scattered on the ground. Cedar pickets for the top, all is coated in exterior white stain. Holding up nicely so far.

7’ long table using 4 2x8’s on top with 2 2x4’s in the middle. The bench is also 7’ long. I changed up the bottom on the bench to make it super sturdy (added angle braces). 

My dining room has no storage and I've been trying to find a place to store all of my bowls, serving dishes, etc; for some time now. I saw a leaning ladder shelf system at Crate and Barrel that I fell in love with but it was $500 which was out of the question. Last summer I built Ana's outdoor couches with absolutely zero experience and they came out great, so I decided to take a chance and try something else. This was my first time using a circular saw, and also my first time using a Kreg Jig! Honestly, halfway through this project I was concerned I bit of more than I could chew but I stayed calm and just kept following the plans. I'm so thrilled with how they came out! I ened up using a scrap piece of the 1 X 12 board for the "desk" piece to make the center a little bigger since I wanted it to serve as a serving board of sorts. I reenforced it with a support board since it was a little longer than the original plan called for.  I am beyond thrilled with how this came out, I honestly like it better than the one I saw at C&B since it's custom to my space! This was so easy if I could do it, anyone can. My total cost came to about $130. Not too shabby for a knock off! I'm already on to my next project. I don't think I can buy "factory" furniture again now how much better cost and quality I can get doing it myself! Thanks Ana!

Simple two-toned take on this classic plan! Thanks Ana.

Building a storage shed was quite a jump for me but because of the confidence and experience I gained from Ana's  site I decided to give it a shot.  I acquired the plans online. It has 8 foot high walls and 3 feet of "attic space".  The shed is 8'x12'.  I used cement board lap siding.  It took about seven weeks to finish working a few hours here and there.  I really like it.  Even has a little window flower box.

We estimate that the cost of this project was right around $50, but we had a lot of tools and materials already.  This was a fun project and a great piece for the cost. I would suggest staining as much as you can before assembling those legs!  Staining and applying poly was a pain in the butt!  We used a dark mahogany Minwax stain and 2 coats of Minwax poly. It took us a while to do it because we have a 11 month old that keeps us on our toes. 

This was my first big furniture piece that I've built. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I used 5/4 poplar for the tops instead of the 2x10s for the table and 2x6s for the benches that the plans called for. Finished the tops with Minwax Early American stain then 3 coats of satin oil based polly. Finished the bottoms with water based Minwax tinted River Stone then coated with water based polly. 

My brother and I built this table in about 4 hours over two days (finishing took longer) shortly after I purchased my first house. We needed a dining room table, and everything was super-expensive that we liked, so I luckily came across Ana's site and found this bad boy. I had never built anything in my life, but my brother had a little woodworking experience and, very importantly, some tools, so I ordered the legs from Osbourne Wood, got the rest from Home Depot and got building! We've gotten so many compliments on it. Thanks, Ana!

Here are two table pedestal bases I made for a friend.  These are made from standard 2x8s (I could have used 2x6s, but I wanted enough extra to cut off the rounded corners), 1x6s and 1x3s.

More pictures are available on our blog here: http://famousartisan.com/hand-made-table-pedestal-bases/

I used Ana's plan for the modern project table to create my craft table. I modified it just a bit by removing the "floating top" and covering the front to provide more hidden storage (a must for me). I used my brad nailer and gorilla glue to construct. I used all whitewood boards for the base and 3/4" mdf for the top. I love it! You can read more details at http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/01/all-finished-yeah.html !