Community Brag Posts

I have followed Anna for several years and really liked the Adirondack chairs so I finally got around to making mine, the plans are the same but I made some modification so I could use as much of the recycled mahogany I had. The wood came to me from South America in the form a crates, I kept as much of the original patina as I could as well as the chainsaw kerf marks. The seat was the only part where I used a different wood and that is kiln dried beetle kill pine.

Such a useful and attractive way to keep the mudroom area organized. Especially needed in our house which has no dedicated mudroom--just an area carved out by the kitchen door where we need to stash our coming and going type stuff. Loved the plans!

I made a few alterations to the originals to customize the plans to our particular needs, which are outlined in the blog post on our site, http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2012/09/my-ana-white-mudroom.html.

I made this cute kid-sized Adirondack chair to be auctioned off for charity. The pattern I used for this can be found in Ana's book, The Handbuilt Home.

This chair costs less than $5 for the wood!

If you want to see more details and pictures about how I built it, check out my blog post.

I'm building a house for a client who wanted a country farm house feel.  The kichen cabinets are custom frames with beaded board inserts.  

Custom Kitchen Island

The custom kitchen island is unusually large for this size home at 10' 6" x 4'. The base cabinet 90" x 25 1/2".   But, there is no dining room.  I wanted the island to not look like the rest of the cabinets.  Then I found Ana's design.  I reworked the design to fit my space and the buyers preferences.  Trash pullout, larger drawers ect.  My plan was so far from typical site built trim that I decided I would build it myself or it would really be a budget breaker.  I do have experience in all aspects of building but, this is my biggest trim project.  Time?  I'm sure I have 40 + hours in it.  Money?  The columns alone were $500.  I'm sure I have $1,500+ in it.  Don't even ask how many cool tools I had to add to my collection just for this project!  

I built the custom kitchen island in pieces in the shop, and assembled it in place.  Very heavy, no way to move it after assembly. The stain went on today.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Thanks for the inspiration Ana!    

Decided to build this bed for my 3 yr old to free up some space in her room. It was a big success.

What's better than an Ana White play kitchen? 2 Ana White play kitchens back-to-back!

Slightly modified, we made 2 play kitchens, turning one into a garage workbench and laundry. We managed to just get the kitchen & garage done for Christmas morning (minus a latch & plexi for the microwave). We later added a window view above the sink, and a table and 3 storage stools to join the two units on one end. In a long mixed-use playroom with little wall-space available, they jut out from the wall, dividing the TV side of the room from the toy storage side.

Dad was excited to help put the garage-side together and bought his little girl some peg-board to hang her tools on, and installed garage lighting. As pull-out drawers cut into the storage space, her "tool cabinet" doors just fold-down. Grandpa sent her a full tool-set with power drill for her new workbench. Big brother helped piece the gas burners together and chose paint colors.

Little miss finger-painted in the garage next to me while I worked on this first woodworking venture, but she was not a bit interested in the contraption until we added the stickers! A local sign vendor we use was so tickled to be involved, he had the stickers printed in under an hour and for just $25 (which saved hours and hours of detail painting)!

Next up: the ana white dream dollhouse (which perhaps we should've started with).

Ana White's Fancy X Farmhouse Table with benches

Built this potting bench for my sister in law. Added an aging finish to give it a reclaimed patina to match the reclaimed cedar used on the back. Also added a bin for soil and a removable panel to cover it when it isn’t in use.

Even though the summer has come to an end, I decided it was time for some new furniture for my small garden in the city. I looked in different stores, but for a student the prices were very much out of range. I then decided that perhaps it would be cheaper to build by myself and an interesting project as I've never worked with wood in a 1:1 scale. I came across the plans for the fancy x, table and farmhouse table and figured that it should be something like that. I made the table and benches in Sketchup, but wasn't really sure about a variety of the aesthetic solutions. I then tweeked it and tried to come up with a new design for the benches that would mach the x shape without just repeating it, and i came up with the final design through a lot of experimentation. The benches can be made by a complete novice, and the table is also quite easy if you have the necessary tools. I'll give it a finish this spring, perhaps just paint it. I've received very good feedback on the project, and even though the benches are quite fancy, you sit very well in them and I think the aesthetics are somewhat accounted for by the easy assembly and comfort. Thanks for the inspiration, and I hope it will inspire you to build even more! The plan is in millimeters, and the planks are standard european sizes, but it should translate ok. PLAN Direct Download: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2622939/X%20Diningtable%20with%20fancy%20bench…

Long weekend project with my dad. First real project for me. Great learning experience can't wait for my next project.

I built this table shorter than the plans. Its 72in long. 

My first Ana White project, so fun to build. Now standing at my summer place in Sweden, ready for a whole summer of picnicking.

After an entire weekend devoted to work on our entertainment cabinet, it is finally complete.

As many of you may have noticed, we live in a 104 year old cabin so much of the wiring could not be hidden in the walls since they are made of giant logs. One wall contains huge tats of wires, panels and plugs. We did our best to place the biggest pieces of furniture and curtains in front of it to both hide and keep the kids out, but it has been a thorn in my side since day one. We originally thought we would pay someone to build a false wall there, then we thought we would build it ourselves, and then we decided to build a very large cabinet that would nearly perfectly cover most of the wall. These plans fit the bill perfectly and since we had such great luck with Ana White’s plans for our harvest table and Poppy’s bed, we jumped right in.

With the addition of a chop saw (an early birthday present from Mike’s dad) and a Kreg Jig the project, though time consuming, was fairly simple for us newbies. That being said I am glad it is done. It contains a lot of blood, sweat, tears and maybe even a little piece of our marriage.

We used pine and finished it with two coats of “White Oak” stain. We placed four drawer pulls and will be making the remaining door knobs from driftwood or cut antlers. Though we don’t have a big television (actually it is just an old computer with a 20 inch monitor) we decided to leave the large opening since we may one day get a real one again. It cost a bit more than we had anticipated, but when you factor in our learning of new skills, the quality and strength of the piece, and the feeling of pride we feel when looking at it, I would do it all over again.

Last night, the living room was put back together and, while I made supper, Mike chopped wood for the wood box. We sat fireside last night and again early this morning.

Fall is no longer a whisper and I couldn’t be gladder.

Visit www.erinellenbergermarch.com to follow our DIY journey from homeschooling to homesteading to furniture making.

go gently + be wonderful

e.

I used baltic birch ply (two sheets) plus some 1x3s and 1x2s. I had to modify the dimensions to suit my space (a wall space between a window and sliding glass door.

The dimensions of the 1x2"s we a little hard to adjust. Mostly my math.

 I still need to add drawers, but I like the color contrast between the top, base and trim.

I used General Finishes Java gel stain for the top. General Finishes driftwood for the bottom trim. Basic white paint for the bases. I also used General Finishes High Performance Poly (2 coats). 

If I had to do it again, I would paint the bases in the Driftwood color and wax the whole thing. Also, I wouldn't apply the stain in hot sun. It came out really dark and was impossible to wipe off the excess. Also, never leave a ironed on edge banding in the sun. This lost adhesion and I had to re-iron it on.

Fun project. First use of pocket holes. 

I love the fact that it's modular and the angle gives you twice as much surface area. I get the feeling this will be with me for years to come in some room or another.

-Dallas

We used the plans to create a basic bedframe.  I have used the farmhouse bed plans before and really liked the way this frame went together.  It is cheap, easy, and nicer than a metal frame.