Community Brag Posts

This was hard for me because I am horrible at using the jigsaw. If I do another one I'll probably not do as many door openings.
It took longer than expected due to filling in all the pocket holes an waiting for the wood filler to dry.
My grandson loves it, he didn't care about my mistakes on it.

I found the Christmas tree shelf plans and since I had drawn my wife's aunt's name for this year I knew she'd appreciate this build.  I chose 1x6 top choice pine and a wider piece for the base since she may decide to set this on the floor instead of hanging it.  I also had some oak plywood I used for the back.  I screwed all the pieces together, countersunk and filled the screw holes with wood putty.  The paint I used was Benjamin Moore, the color was Balsam (567) and I really like how the color came out.  I painted the back and the bottom with standard black interior paint just to protect the wood a little.  I coated it with a couple of coats polycrylic and bought a couple of Christmassy items for the shelf to get her started.  Can't wait to see what she thinks on Christmas day.

This can easily be built in less than a weekend depending on your skill level.  I had to recut one of the boards when I caused some damage while putting it all together.  The sanding, painting and finishing takes as long as you want depending on the finish and care taken.

Love these night stands! I spent $40 on lumber for two night stands and $30 on the hardware! You can see more pics of my finished night stands at www.shanty-2-chic.com

This was a great plan to use!  We changed some of the measurements to fit our space and added a simple base to the bottom.  My inspiration was a picture of an old chippy mantle from a flea market.

I decided to make the Clara table and the $4 stackable chairs for my daughters for Christmas. They were not for them though but rather for their American Girl dolls. I had to modify the plans to work for standard 18" dolls.

The Table:
It is a little taller than it should be but it allows the doll to fit under the table/apron while sitting in an appropriately sized chair (5" seat).

I also changed the length from 18" to 15 1/2" so the cuts could be made from a 4ft board.

3 - 1 x 6 @ 15 1/2" (Top) (1 @ 4ft)
4 - 2 x 2 @ 10" (Legs) (1 @ 4ft)
2 - 1 x 3 @ 10 1/2" (End Apron) (1 @ 4ft)
2 - 1 x 3 @ 9" (Side Aprons)

The apron is 1 1/2 inches. a 1x2 would probably work for the aprons too. You could then shorten the table legs by about an inch.

The Chairs:
The over all dimensions are now 12" H (back), 5 1/2" H (seat) X 6" W X 6 1/2" D

Cut List:
2 - 1×2 @ 4 1/4" (Side Aprons)
2 - 1×2 @ 5" (Side Supports)
3 - 1×2 @ 4 1/2" (Front Legs and Front Apron)
7 - 1×2 @ 6" (4 Seat Slats, 2 Back Slats and Back Apron)
2 - 1×2 @ 12" (Back Legs)

This was a big undertaking for indoor furniture and I learned so much! I slightly adjusted the size to what I had available with some scrap wood from my old stairs so saved a little on costs with lumber!

Our home had a window seat that was only 14 inches deep and too small to sit on lengthwise. The before photo shows it just before I started the demolition phase. I had found the mudroom bench with easy drawers plan and decided it would work for our space. This was my first DIY woodworking project. I bought a Dewalt 12-inch compound bevel, sliding miter saw, a Kreg Pocket hole jig, and a Kreg straight-edge guide, and I plan to use them for future projects. I really enjoyed following the plans and building this project.

I got all of my wood at my local Lowe's by sorting through a lot of boards to find the best ones available. I found a nice-looking sheet of hardwood plywood for the top and sides. It was expensive ($84), but I wanted to try staining the project rather than painting it so that it would complement our flooring and other furniture in the room. I decided that if it didn't work out with the stain, I would paint over it.

A local Benjamin Moore paint store did a great job at finding a stain that would match and could be painted over if necessary. It only required one coat of stain to achieve the desired color, and I applied three coats of polyurethane over it.

We ordered a custom cushion with a cover to match the size of our new window seat with drawers. We, and our doggies, are very pleased with how the project turned out! Thank you, Ana White, for the excellent plans and video!
Gene St Germain, Poulsbo, WA

Fabulous Divider Closet by DIY_with_Emily

This was my first building project! I had so much fun with it ... for a guy that can't even hang a photo on the wall! My dad helped and he had all the tools. I spent a few weekends with him so not only was a good father/son project we had something to show off at the end. I think I've caught the woodworking fever.

After some inspiration from Ana, my husband and I tackled refacing and rehabbing our original cabinets circa 1939. The drawers and shelves were in rough shape so we built our own using the kreg jig. We're extremely happy with how everything turned out. When the weather gets better we will be building new cabinets on the opposite side of the kitchen where unfortunately we don't have ANY storage.

Thanks for looking!

These were my first builds. I am so pleased with how it all turned out! My sister in law introduced me to Ana's page and I was off! We have twin, 5 year old girls with their own rooms. They both needed new furniture and I fell in love with the Farmhouse Bed Plans. I used a little of the Mom's Fancy Farmhouse Bed Plans and the Queen Farmhouse Bed Plans. I wanted to use our existing mattresses with box springs, so I put a cleat on the inside edge, running the length of the side rails. Another modification, being that I wanted to use mortised bed locks on the side rails to allow for quick connects to the head and foot boards. I used these from LV: http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?p=67916&cat=3,40842,4126… I routered them in using a guide. I strongly recommend them if you are able. You can paint the bed pieces independently and assemble very easily. No building in the room! The other modification I made was that I made the actual side rails higher in order to fashion a trundle bed underneath. The trundle is a double as well, rolls on stationary castors, and on carpet too. I have a single mattress in it and it can be pulled out on either side. One side is for the bed and the other can be used as storage etc. My girls can easily pull it out and put it back in place. Great for sleep overs and extra company! It is technically unattached from the bed, but there are small stationary castors that run the inside length of the head and foot boards on their sides to act as guides for the trundle. I have attached pictures to show what I mean. I did not want it banging around underneath, and the castors are great little guides. I have more detailed pictures, but am having difficulty including them as their file size is too large. Since making the beds, I have also made the farmhouse side tables, and am in the midst of making the Madison Dressers to match! It is all coming together nicely. It took me about 2 months to complete the beds, but that was a few hours here, and a few hours there. I didn't think that was too bad, as I made two of them and it was my first project! Either way, I am very excited and have the builders itch now! So many things to create. Thanks for a great site, and so many ideas.

My wife saw this project on your page. I had to shorten it to two feet, but, it pretty easy to do and turned out pretty well 👍🏼😁

Steve Phethean
 

Garden Bench Project. Christmas Gift for my daughter-in-law. Cost of materials $75 and invested about 5 hours into the project. I modified the length to fit their porch. I sanded all the material and slightly rounded over all of the material edges. Recommend installing the seat BEFORE you install the arms as it is much easier to fasten. I extended the arms by an inch because I thought it looked better than cutting it flush to the leg. We will paint it in the Spring after the material dries out and can accept paint. It was fun to build. I have seen similar benches on Etsy for over $500.