Community Brag Posts

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. 

One of the adriondack chairs you have shared...made with wood scraps so it cost nothing only the time to make. It's comfortable and sturdy.....and I loved making it

I changed the plans a bit and added backs to the chairs. I've never used a saw or a drill before, but I am thrilled with how easy this was to do. I love the end result!
I found cushions to go with the furniture at Target.

Love Ana White plans! 

Dining Room Table: http://www.ana-white.com/2012/11/plans/farmhouse-table-updated-pocket-h…

Benches: http://www.ana-white.com/2011/01/plans/farmhouse-bench

A friend asked for a corner sink\stovetop cabinet for his tiny home . Made from sinker cypress.

Cypress Past 

I had a lot if fun building this and am so glad I did!

Ana mentioned that she distressed the planks by using a screw driver between them to scrape off some of the paint, I did this on the headboard and, while it did work, it was a pain and added a lot of time. For the foot board I painted and distressed all of the pieces prior to assembly and it worked out a lot better! :-)

My 1x8's were slightly smaller than Ana's so I cut down a 1x2 using my circular saw to fit into the spaces left on both sides.

I attempted to use pocket holes to assemble the bed to minimize visible holes, it actually worked great except one side on the foot board :-( I ended up sanding it down and actually ended up really liking it. it always makes me think of it when I see that spot (and not in a bad way)

I cheated when putting this together. I decided to keep the mattress and box spring in their original frame. I used brackets from Woodcraft to connect the side rails to the headboard & foot board.
http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2003981/9364/hafele-nomortise-bed-rail…

Flashback to last year when I found this way chic table at Restoration Hardware.
But the price tag is a bit steep for moi.

I have, like, a million kids, so… as I am a huge fan of Ana White and her amazing skills – I looked for a similar plan AND found one!

Well, you have to remember I have a million kids and I usually hangout with other families with their millions kids and there is never enough room, a 28″ x 58″ table is crazy small for my type of entertaining. Go big or go home, right?

So I drafted modifications for these plans – I am a seamstress and can draft sewing patterns, TOTALLY the same thing, right?

I am kidding, I really wouldn’t know, but so far so good.

Anyways, I bought the wood and got to work and here's how it turned out!!

I would LOOOOVE to hear how you like it! :)

Isaac is 14.  He built his baby sister a chair inspired by Ana! He builds things almost daily!

Loved building these chairs they were really easy and look amazing, couldn't be happier.

I can't believe I built this bed! It's the project I'm most proud of so far and my daughter loves "my big girl bed!" I recently got a jigsaw and tried it out making the arch. It didn't turn out perfect but I'm probably the only one who notices it. I built the rails using 1x2's from the "Traditional Wood Toddler Bed" plans on this site and altered them to fit this design. I added a third rail to it because there was too much space between the mattress and rail when my daughter lies on the bed.

I found a bunch of free wood on Freecycle from someone local so I didn't have to spend a ton of money on this.

Thanks for the plans, Ana!!!

I copied the boat wood painting technique using the colors of my daughters room and it turned out wonderful. It really is as easy as it looks on the tutorial! You can see more of my stuff on anexceptionalife.com

Hello!  Sloped ceilings won't allow bunk beds at our house. Decided to go with these beds for the built in toy-box feature.  The hinges were a bit tricky.  I added magnets to the doors.  All in all, I am pleased!

After I built my table (the farmhouse/tryde), my sister wanted a table for her new home. She had looked online and found a table that someone had refurbished from an old table, and put a new top on it..

So once she described it to me, I got started. I again used 2x4s glued/screwed together for the legs. Then I got 2x8 and start putting them down. Since these are such big boards, you have to be extremely careful not to get ones that aren't straight. If they are warped, they will make your table wobbly once you screw them down. After I finally got past that, I began staining.

For the distressed-ish look, I used Rustoleum's water-based Kona stain. I stained each board and then use a wire brush to "scruff" the boards up a bit. From there, I sanded the tops with a combination of 60 grit and 220 grit. I used Rustoleum's matte-finish poly to give it a very soft feel and look.

This table compares best with the farmhouse.

This is The Traditional Wood Toddler Bed. Built straight from the plans. Worked out great and my daughter loved it!

Made a miniature rustix x end table. You can find the video of me making it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPL-mh5rWJ4