Community Brag Posts

I saw a type of this for sale at Costco for $109 (for just ONE bench, not a pair). It' looked nice, and I almost bought it, but it had metal legs and trim and I wanted more of a natural look to go with my Cedar theme that I have going in my back yard garden/patio/greenhouse area. After seeing it in the store, I did an online search to see if I could find something a little more organic in nature... imagine my surprise when Ana's version of the bench/table came up! I looked over the plans and thought... well, I made the modified Farmhouse Table via her excellent instructions, I can surely do this! I did make a small change, I cut small pieces of wood to use as stops for the backs of the benches, instead of using holes and bolts to hold the backs at an angle that is comfortable. You can see this in the pictures, they are just beyond the back of the seat boards, on the leg supports. Thank you Ana! It was easy, quick, and they look SO good on my patio. I will be making more, maybe even selling a few because so many have asked me if I might :) I figure the cost was about $65 for both benches. A great deal and a fun project! Patrick really has to refrain himself from wanting to "help" me, but I am determined to do it myself... and low and behold! With Ana's generous free plans and inspiration, no problem!

This cubby was my very first project! I just finished remodeling my kitchen, all that was missing was a place for my keys, dog leashes etc. My little house doesn't have a proper entryway so I created a "welcome station" with this cubby. The trickiest part was definitely cutting the sides, but I was able to get those tight circles with a little forethought and a lot of sanding :) I used leftover paint and samples from choosing colors for the kitchen, so it automatically coordinated with the rest of the decor.

Made the standard full farmhouse bed with storage, but did a couple modifications. 1) Didn’t use drawers, but wanted closed, not open cubbies. I made the drawer fronts and then attached with full overlay hinges and magnetic catches do they open from top down like a horizontal cabinet. 2) built the slats as two, one piece slat frames which sit on the cleat so that they can easily be removed for the extra long term storage between the cubby boxes. Just lift mattress and the two pieces of slats and lots more space. 

Due to rain (and horrible ability) this project has been taking a LONG time it seems. =) We had one of those "cheap" playsets from one of the warehouse clubs that would scare me to death anytime my girls got to swinging on it. So... we knocked it down and I took some liberty with the details from Ana's playset plans.

I didn't build this shoe dresser because I particularly needed one, but it looked so lovely that I couldn't resist.

- I modified the plans by building 3 bins instead of 2 so it could hold more shoes.
- I decided against the dowel stick and opted for hinges instead, which were surprisingly not too difficult to assemble. I found that I didn't even need the magnets after installing the hinges as the doors stay closed.
- I used 7" chains on both sides of each bin instead of a belt to make it extra sturdy.
- I added two back legs.

Et voila! This is the end result. I'm very pleased.

PS. Those flopping bins are a pain when you're trying to build!! An extra pair of hands is definitely recommended.

This plan was a breeze to put together (go out and buy some clamps if you don't have any!!) until I finished it, then looked at my wall and saw the baseboards. I really wanted it to be screwed/nailed into the wall, so it needed to be flush. That's where the nightmare being. Eventually (over a week later) I got that finished, however, and am loving my little one's new bookcase! I just can't decide where to put it now, in her bedroom or in her playroom. Maybe I'll make another and she'll have two! :D This plan was very simple to follow, and the materials weren't expensive, so I could definitely do that.

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. 

We've been looking for some saddle back stools for quite a while that would fit snug under our kitchen island. I couldn't find any, so I checked Ana-White and found the perfect building plan. I used scraps to build two matching stools and so I altered the plans to fit what I had. Other then the dimensions being different, I also used a 2x12" piece of wood cut down to 9x15" for the stool top.

I've documented the process as best as I could at; http://www.tommyandellie.com/Site/Home/Entries/2011/6/13_More_Seating_f…

Made it a little taller and a little deeper.  

Followed the plan, adjusted the height to accomadate a trundle bed in the future. Tapered the edges of the 2x6 material for a shaker/craftsman look. If you cut the board at a 25 degree angle the 2x6 material will rest right in line with the 2 x 4 material below. Be sure and add 2 to 2 1/2 inches to accommodate the taper edging.

Used Minwax gunstock stain to match the furniture and three coats of fast drying gloss poly.