Community Brag Posts

This was my second project and is the simple outdoor sectional. Took me about 8 hours to build all the sections and another 8 hours to stain everything. We ended up buying the cushions and pillows from Garden Ridge in Texas. Total cost for the cushions was about $500. Wood and materials was about $300. I used 1 x 4 cedar to insure it was rot and insect resistant. Then I stained it with Behr Premium Outdoor Natural #500. Looks great out on our covered patio. I will be building more as we are in the process of installing a pool of which I need lots of furniture to go around the decking!

We pulled ideas from a couple of plans for this daybed. We utilized the farm house headboard for both the back and the sides. And, the daybed dimensions and framework from the Hailey Storage Daybed.

We have cabinet doors to put on the two center cubbies, but the first set warped when painted. So, the second set are currently drying. We're planning to use magnetic spring-push closures on them to eliminate the need for cabinet knobs (we're afraid they could be used as a step by little feet!).

We did not secure the slats that lay behind the cubbies and the headboard, this way we can utilize space under the bed for additional storage--there's a ton of room under there!

This was the first project that we used a Wagner HVLP paint sprayer on. I will NEVER go back to brushed and rollers. The learning curve was minimal and the time savings phenomenal!

I'm so excited Ana created plans for this table!  When I first came across it on Pottery Barn Kids it was love at first sight. :D  I built it over the weekend for my little toddler.  Unfortunately, he's too short for it, but he'll grow into soon enough. :)  (I secretly wished it was an art table appropriate for my height!)

It cost me about $75 to build.  I splurged and bought select pine boards for the project.  The art table was also my submission for September's Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest.  September's sponsor is General Finishes and the theme was geometry!

Now, I just need to build matching seats! I love the little stools Ana built; maybe I'll do something sorta like that. :)  

Thank you Ana for inspiring me to build!

My husband Mike built Ana’s cedar shed over the course of a few weekends. He wanted it to be 3-ft deeper than the original, so he made those modifications, and it turned out great! We added some vintage/historical knobs and brackets to really make it pop! It is ready to be filled with lawn mowers and tools! 

I've been wanting a new desk for YEARS, as I've been using my childhood desk as a computer desk for about 12 years, but I never wanted to shell out the kind of money a desk I'd want would cost. So, this Parson Tower Desk was my very first build! First time using a table saw & I kept all of my fingers (go me). I'm very proud of how it turned out. It's not perfect, but it is exactly what I was hoping for! I love using it & can't wait to move onto my next project!

Built this for my nephew's 2nd birthday!

#formeremortals   #anawhite  
A bench I built for my sister as a birthday present.  I used whitewood for the painted parts and some left over knotty alder for the top and cross supports.  The alder was from a kitchen rehab and I have been holding on to that wood for ages. :)  The hardest part was the cross supports - figuring out the angle was a bear!   Thanks for the plans Ana!

It was taken from a plan that Ana had for a patio bench. I made it longer and high enough to match the seats on the couch 

We LOVE Ana's plans for the outdoor sectional! We just bought a house with a first patio and we knew this is what we wanted out there! We used one corner unit and four armless units to fill our space. I'm also planning to add a couple ottomans as a coffee table. Let the cookouts begin!
I don't know if it's true everywhere, but here 2x4s are about 1/2 the price of 1x4s so we made a couple modifications to the plans so we could use the much cheaper 2x4s instead. It saved us tons of money and gave the sectional a really chunky, sturdy look - a nice bonus!
When we finished it, the blue store employees suggested we use a deck sealer to make the cheaper wood last a long time. We were able to use a waterproofing stain to color and seal the wood at the same time which made the finishing go a lot faster than other projects I've done with stain and polyurethane.
This is the first time I got to use my new Kreg Jig, which was super fun, and made the furniture nice and sturdy!

If anyone is interested in using 2x4s I have the modifications here: http://morelikehome.blogspot.com/2011/06/our-new-outdoor-sectional.html
And info about my finished project here: http://morelikehome.blogspot.com/2011/07/patio-perfection.html

Made these barn door style doors for our master bath remodel. Using some of the same techniques found here. The finish is a 5 step Minwax process: pre-soak, American oak stain, grey, whitewash and finally wax finish.

Wanted to build a nice sofa table to go underneed the large canvas behind my couch.  I wanted something more simple and robust to suit my taste, but also wanted to be able to give it a nice rustic look to to suit what my wife wanted.  The kentwood bookshelf fit the bill perfectly.

Wanted a side table to go in dining room for drinks and spare dishes to go on when we have get togethers. It was a pretty simple that was fun and got it done in a weekend during naptimes and the spare moment here and there thanks to my husband having time off. I didn’t want a second shelf because that’s just a ladder for my toddlers! I decided to go with a truss look since it fit my furtinure a bit more and I like it having a bit of a decorative look in the back.

My husband and I built this for our son's bedroom using all five of Ana’s series of plans for the cubby wall system. We did pretty well, especially considering that it was our very first building project. We made the media component of the wall unit the same width as the two sides since we didn’t need it to fit a wide screen TV. My hubby was thrilled that the drawers went together beautifully. The doors turned out a little “off” -- luckily the room has a beach theme so this piece fits right in with the beach shack look!

I designed this desk and created a building plan using Google Sketchup. It has 2 file drawers, 2 smaller drawers, 2 large adjustable shelves and a pullout shelf in the bottom, 4 small adjustable shelves on the top and a large space for a computer monitor. The large door drops open for a large work space. When you're done, put the door up and you have a beautiful piece of furniture!

I consider myself an advanced-beginner when it comes to building. I have just enough knowledge to get me by. If you have time, patience and the right tools you can build this too! It took me 10 days to build, working as much as my kids would allow.

It took me countless hours to perfect the building plan - probably just as much work to design it as it was to build it :)

I really scrounged around to build this desk. I used a large beam my friend cut up into 2x2's for the main posts/legs, pine furring strips for the side boards and around the top for moulding (lots of scraps I already had), 3/4" plywood for the inside dividers/panels & desktop, 1/2" plywood for the drawer boxes, drop-down door & top, 1/4" plywood for drawer bottoms & backing-board. I used 3/4" pine boards for the drawer faces and small doors on the bottom. I used drawer slides from an old dresser I found by our dumpster and vintage knobs I bought online. The other black hardware (hinges, pull handle, and clasps for door) I bought from a big box store and is categorized as gate hardware.

I made this easy and cheap Christmas tree wall shelf to add character to my guest bathroom.  I went through all my wood stash and found enough wood to build this project with! 

Make sure to pay attention to the long and short point directions in Ana's plans.  Since I was hanging this above my toilet, I didn't need the hooks so I just omitted the bottom piece all together.

I ended up using wood glue and a nail gun to put everything together so it went really quickly. 

I painted the whole tree with green chalk paint and distressed the edges with sandpaper.  Hung it up with L brackets in a stud.

Fun and easy project!  Thank you Ana!!

The design is good, it all goes together nicely. Mid-stream, I decided to use some Mahogany I had sitting around to make the face frame.

This was my first experience with drawers and predictably I had all kinds of self-inflicted problems. Most notably placing the bracket backwards and then I foolishly convinced myself I could put the top on before I put the drawer face frame on. (I could have but I would have never aligned it correctly)

I finally came together; it fits well in the intended spot & my wife likes it.