Community Brag Posts

Expecting our second child, my wife and I decided to do away with our guest bedroom and combine it with our office. The only problem was our queen bed took up way too much space and it didn't get enough use to justify the sacrifice. We looked at the wall bed options available for purchase and decided they were way too blah and very expensive. I then found the "A MURPHY BED YOU CAN BUILD, AND AFFORD TO BUILD" post on Ana's website (thanks for the inspiration)! 

 Using cheap pine boards, plywood, door hinges, vinyl upholstery and stain I constructed the wall bed you see here. It really wasn't that difficult but facing it took the most time. To give the boards a more rustic look I used a utility knife to shave off the edges/corners and stained them with the Minwax American Walnut water based stain and the Minwax White Wash Pickling. When this started we thought we were going to have to settle for something unattractive and less than desirable. Seeing it in our office now, we love our new bed and actually think it makes the room look much better!  I didn't keep track of costs, but it couldn't have been more than $150.

Modifications to the simple outdoor table plan thanks to Finn’s dad. 

I used pocket holes to hide the screws. I made an ottoman out of the outdoor coffee table plans to my dimensions that can be used as a coffee table when we need it.

I'm happy to share with everyone my IKEA hack 6" tray cabinet.

I found a 24" cabinet box in IKEA's As-Is section and took it home for half price ($23)!  I would have preferred plywood, but my table saw is a little small and cutting large sheets of plywood is a little scary.  When I deconstructed the cabinet, it sustained some damage (as its particleboard), so if you try this at home, be careful!  I ended up changing the depth to 22" in order to cut off the damaged piece, but that shouldnt be noticeable with average trays and cutting boards.  

I used Ana's 6" tray cabinet plan and modified the dimensions a little for my planned space.  It still needs the back, face frame and door (which will be a replacement drawer front from the cabinet manufacturer).  I plan on building the face frame at the time the cabinets are installed, since this will go in between the 36" corner easy-reach and the 36" sink base.  Once its done, I'll post updated pics!

Thank you for the easy and fun bench plan.
It was really easy to install.
Even my 2 little daughters had fun (-:

Modified plans to include game storage drawers, a flip open mantle for DVD player and hidden charging port, and hidden cupboards on both sides for DVD storage. I scoured the Internet for months before drawing this up to fit my space and tackling all on my own! I love it and all of my other Ana White inspired projects!

Casey O.

We have a small pantry as well, so we used the shelving featured on your website to help!
I absolutely love it. They’re not as beautiful as yours but I’m happy with what I made :)

Weekend swing project

As a complete beginner in wood working (unless you count a year of woodshop over a decade ago), I decided that building a cart for the miter saw I just bought would be a great first project. So what did I do with that brand new miter saw? I left it in the box and made all of the cuts with a circular saw. Not sure what I was thinking there...

I mostly followed the excellent plan provided here but used wooden arms to prop up the wings in order to save on cost. I got the idea from the folding sling chair plan. It took quite a few screw ups and adjustments of the lower support bar before getting one of the wings level but I got it eventually.

Update 8/20/13: The miter saw has been a joy to use with the cart and the big flip up wings provide a ton of really convenient work space in addition to stabilizing 8 ft boards for cutting. I added a sliding drawer and some utility hooks for additional storage.