Community Brag Posts

Toy Storage Bin Box

Tried to find a toy box for my Granddaughters 1st birthday. Ana White has the best plans so far. My Grandaughter’s room is wildlife themed, so I customized it for her room. Used semi-transparent white Minwax and added stenciling with acrylic paint before I added 2 topcoats of clear coat. In less than 10 minutes they filled it up, and so far, she seems to love it.

Comments

I built a table O_o

Submitted by kiki on Wed, 06/01/2011 - 06:34

I haven’t done woodworking since jr. high and that was only making a plant stand and a turtlebank, so it’s been a while since I last used wood tools and came out with a useable product at the end.

Estimated Cost
Including taxes it ended up being around $51dollars. See my blog for breakdown.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Tinted outdoor stain applied with a brush; two coats.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Entertainment Center

Submitted by Dadx6 on Sat, 07/20/2013 - 08:53

This fun project was only my third piece of furniture I've done. I took my time and worked on it a couple hours during the work week and got a most of it done on a Saturday.

I appreciate the projects here on ana-white.com. They are easy to follow, clear, and use basic tooling and cuts.

Estimated Cost
~$250
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Kona Wood Stain
Rustoleum Spar Finish
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Trash Bin based on Ana's Plan

Submitted by Scottcs42 on Sun, 07/26/2015 - 20:39

Trash bin based on Ana's plan

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Wheat stain, poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Dining Table SC

Submitted by bhoward7 on Fri, 02/23/2018 - 08:28

It took me a good 6 months to finish this since I started before summer, but it got too hot here in SC very fast. So I just finished it in January this year. It turned out great! Longest part was the finish work since many days it was too cold to put Poly on it. The actual building of the table went quick.

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Provincial
Minwax Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Bed+ entertainment center

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/07/2022 - 13:02

This is your storage bed and entertainment o r media center flipped upside down. I am self taught thanks to you. Thank you for making it easy to do and follow!

Comments

Closet Door and DVD Storage

Since we moved into our house over a year ago, we had no closet doors for our TV room. Just a giant gaping hole in the wall. Filled with 2 boxes of DVDs. Needless to say, it was really unattractive. I saw someone on the Knock-Off Wood facebook page building her own closet doors, and I was inspired. I drew out a quick sketch and got to work. They were really simple to make, but because they were so bulky they were a bit hard to manage. (The husband never helps out with my "buildy" projects, but I definitely needed an extra hand getting these into place!) I also built the behind the door storage to go on the larger door for all of our DVDs. What turned this project into a "Weekend" project rather than a "day" project was really the bulk and the finishing. While I am normally the self-proclaimed queen of spray paint, I took the time to do a really nice hand painted and glazed finish on the doors. (The DVD storage, though, went back to my area of expertise with the spray paint.) We LOVE all of this extra storage! We definitely have room to grow our DVD collection now!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
For the doors, I used General Finishes Milk Paint in "Snow White" with a coat of "Van Dyke Brown" glaze. For the DVD storage, I used 4 cans of Rustoleum spray paint in "Dark Grey" gloss.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

teembee

Tue, 06/21/2011 - 17:00

hi I was wondering you had plans created for these doors...I "need" these doors!!

Debi_G (not verified)

Sat, 07/07/2012 - 19:37

Bypass doors drive me nuts, so I'd love love love to see a how-to about the doors you built. They look great!

Eco office work space

Submitted by solomonson on Mon, 07/22/2013 - 13:35

We (my husband and I) were in desperate need of a better work space, and this was perfect.

Estimated Cost
$150 (for the whole desk)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Bases - Valspar's paint+primer in one in Antique White from the oops bin. Desktop - General Finishes water based stain in Espresso. Top coat - I used Minwax's spray-on polycrylic for the bases and GF's water-based polycrylic in Gloss for the top. Contact paper from Blue for the insides. Paint was rolled and brushed, stain was applied with a rag. Polycrylic was rolled and brushed. Use good brushes (I used Purdy) and you'll never see a brush mark.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Das Tisch

Submitted by Ahlspiess on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 21:35

Well saw a project here and inspired me to get my sons elbows away from me, so i built this oversized table, Inspired by a Simple outdoor dining table design.

anna-white.com/print/247

hmm its a bit to high also lol time to build some chairs and or a long tall bench :-)

Thanks Anna 

Estimated Cost
175.00
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Bookcase

Submitted by paul42 on Mon, 02/26/2018 - 21:30

Took about a week working an hour or 2 a day, but for my first woodworking project I think it turned out pretty well!

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwood gunstock
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Extended Spa Bench

Submitted by cdswhite on Mon, 06/06/2011 - 19:24

Our entryway is always a disaster and a little dysfunctional in design.

In hopes of improving the mess and making some room to sit and put your shoes on, we have made this bench that will slide in the width of the wall (approx 58.5"). It has room below to throw shoes and we can add a couple of hooks and storage cubbies above next to the window. This seemed to be the easiest, quickest and least costly solution. The only drawback (and it is the room not the bench) is that when the front door is open, it isn't easy to grab your shoes or coat (if they are behind the door) and go.

As far as making it goes, it was fairly simple. We finished the wood (with the exception of the polyurethane coat) prior to building it. The stain is ebony and we decided to use nails instead of spending more money on a fancy pocket hole screw get up. Because it is a small area and the bench is the width of the room, I was a little concerned that it may not fit. But it was perfectly made to order!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Ebony Stain with spray Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Fancy X Desk Interpretation

Submitted by trevor on Wed, 07/24/2013 - 19:44

My first project building a piece of furniture and using stain! When I saw this desk on your website, I knew I wanted to make it for my wife. I got lucky and found this NEW chair on craigslist for $40, which we easily recovered with a fun print. About our X-desk... the frame I built out of lumber per plan except customized the overall length of the desk. With so many pieces of wood butting together, I used a tube of ALEX clear paintable caulk on all the internal edges to give it a tighter appearance. This would not have been possible if we stained the bottom of course. The caulk did a fabulous job of closing all the gaps - or making them appear closed. Next, put a good coat of bulls-eye primer then latex top coat. Hindsight: since we knew we wanted to distress the paint, we should have perhaps skipped the primer. It made it really tough to distress areas and nearly impossible to do so without having some areas of white showing instead of just wood underneath.. Still turned out fine, but for next time : ) For the top, I debated several options but ended up using a piece of ikea birch butcherblock that I bought a couple years ago and never used. the piece was not quite as wide as we wanted for the desk, so I used some kreg jig pocket drilling ingenuity to widen it with some cedar deck boards, which have the same 1" nominal thickness as the butcher block. Worked out nicely. Stained it with Minwax Early American and finished it with Helmsman Spar Urethane. We are very happy with the end product. Thanks for the inspiration & direction to make this happen!! My next project is a refurb of a $20 maple end table I snagged from craigslist. Will keep you posted. PS. Not sure why my thumbnail photos show up sideways, but when you click on them, they open in the correct rotated orientation

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Picket Storage Shed

Submitted by dp38393 on Tue, 08/04/2015 - 05:16

Pretty fun and easy weekend project.  Decided to go with Pine shingles instead of cedar based on availability.  First time roofing, and it is apparent.  We have had many strong storms since, and it is waterproof - so at least I have that going for me! 

Overall, I am very happy with this shed, and I should have taken pictures of the inside.  I have two 5 level shelves on the side walls, and a garden tool rack on the back wall.  I have been able to clear a lot of space in my garage thanks to this shed.  

Also, the beer bottle opener and cap catcher were a must for me when I work in the yard!

The plans are excellent!  Don't hesitate to build this shed if you need it!

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$250 (originally $300+, but I returned the Kreg Jig when I realized I could get by without it).
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Cabot Cedar Stain, and gloss white trim.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Outdoor BBQ-help table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/21/2022 - 12:43

I love you and your site and have learned tons from it. Last week I picked up this old bookcase on a website for free. I then worked on it to turn it into a BBQ-help table. I'm very happy with it and hope the weather in Norway will soon be hot enough to get out in the garden and BBQ!
Love and best wishes,
Pauline

Comments

Tryde-n-true

Submitted by chjaway2 on Sat, 06/11/2011 - 15:41

The online plans for this table were far too long for our room, so I took the plans to Sketchup and shortened them to fit our space.
Having done so, I had to adjust the board-shopping list and I goofed up and ended up with a slightly shorter 2x4 for the table top!
So, I cut that board in half, and added a squared-off 2x4 piece and set it in the center of the table with the grain going in the same direction as the breadboards (fixed in with pocket-hole screws). It turned out very nice and the center square gives a little extra interest to the center of the table. (can't really see the center in the picture, sorry).

We LOVE our 'experimental' finish technique! The table looks amazing and very expensive.

The outdoor photo of the table was taken as I waited for the ebony-wiped stain to dry -- before the semi-gloss polyurethane. The Polyurethane darked the whole piece up just enough to make it take on a deep rich look.
I often get the remark "YOU made THIS?" !

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
1. Sprayed Red Krylon
2. Distressed
3. Wipe-stained ebony
4. Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Monster Truck Loft Bed

Submitted by fielden_m on Fri, 07/26/2013 - 18:40

Reference plans:
http://ana-white.com/2010/05/furniture-plans-loft-bed.html
http://ana-white.com/2011/04/fire-truck-bed

The plans for the loft bed were accurate and easy to follow. Used pine, primer and paint. My kid was inspired by the INCREDIBLE Fire Truck Loft Bed (http://ana-white.com/2011/04/fire-truck-bed). Thankfully the Monster Truck can be taken off with a few screws once he outgrows Monster Trucks (giving it 2 to 22 years).

I did go back and anchor the bed to the wall in 4 places (he likes to bounce). In addition, anchored the ladder to the floor. Added 2 additional 2X2 under the bed for a total of 3 spines to support the planks and a thin piece of particle board (used for backing in book cases) to help distribute the weight over the planks. Blame it on over-protective parenting. Also added a shelf between the bed and wall to hold his music stash.

Estimated Cost
300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Primer and 2 coats of paint. I have learned to paint before assembly to make sure all surfaces are fully covered.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Starting with a used drop leaf cherry cocktail table

This plan inspired me to buy a used drop leaf cherry cocktail table and make the storage bottom with wheels.  The oval deisgn of the cocktail table helped it fit in my daughter's small apartment kitchen, which is a pass through to the bedroom.  She also really needed the additional storage space.  Thanks so much!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60. $40 for the cocktail table. We also had some scraps we used.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Black paint for bottom, polyurethane on the cherry top.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Makeup table

Submitted by kgclark31 on Thu, 04/21/2022 - 18:02

Made this table for my sons girlfriend for her makeup and to use as a table for her laptop.

Comments