Community Brag Posts

Our old cluttered coat closet is now lockers with lots of storage. I chose not to do the Braden bench due to a space issue so I framed a bench out with 2x4's, lined it with ply wood, covered the front with some trim and bead board and topped it with a nice piece of stained oak 3/4 inch plywood. The lids were cut and attached with continuous hinges and inside I used 2 lift hinges so that little fingers won't get smashed. I attached the lockers to the bench with a few Kreg jig screws which worked really well.

This was the most complicated project I've built yet, and of course I had a few problems. First, I drilled some holes in the wrong places, and things didn't line up. So i drilled them again. Then I had trouble with holding everything level without a helper. When it came time for the plant stand to stand ip, it wouldn't.

No worries. I screwed a couple of short boards underneath the top rack and made it a Stationary Plant Stand!

The thing is really cute and everyone asks me where I got it. I tell them I made it myself from Ana White plans. They never notice the extra holes in the legs or wonder why I can't fold it up and store it!

Large version of the toy box for the basement. Added a half shelf in the bottom row for small items (cars). 

my mailbox was hit by a vehicle so I decided I wanted to do something creative/different but also didn't want to spend much money as it may just get taken out again in the future :)

this is a good project to get kids to help you with

instead of cutting into the concrete easement, I installed 2 post bases & locked them with sleeve anchors.  They're sturdy enough but will give if hit again.  drilling the holes for the sleeve anchors was the hardest part of the project.

I used a left over 4x4x8 for the posts, scrap 1x4s, 1x2s up the sides (1/2" gap between boards), and a 2x4 scrap to attach the mailbox.  I eyeballed the width between posts using the mailbox itself. I left over stain from another project (almost bought a quart of oops paint at HD)

I figure the total cost would have been about $100

It's a super easy project that took about 4hrs. I've already had a couple of neighbors come by to take measurements to try something similar.

FYI: USPS guildlines for installing a curbside mailbox: https://www.usps.com/manage/mailboxes.htm

Built my sister a cat condo before she moved so she could take it with her to her new house. Made out of carpet remnants, and scrap wood, so it was FREE! hahaha. I like free! Don't you?

This was my first furniture piece. I was very please with the way it turned out. The step by step instructions are so easy to follow. Anyone can do this!

I stenciled on the design then sanded to make it look worn.

Winter is approaching, and my plants needed a place to live indoors. I built two of these console tables to fit in the space at the  head of the stairs.

The base layer of the tops is plywood, because I had a half-sheet left over from another project. These went together really quickly with my Ryobi Airstrike nailer

Great Project!! I am currently working on it, love the challenge. I am using pallets to build will upload the finished looks.

Love it!

I was watching the DIY network while my neighbor was over one day, and got a hair up my butt to take the builder grade mirror down from my hall bath. I had just gotten a $50 Lowe's gift card for my birthday, so I decided to do a mini bathroom makeover. I had NO plans and no clue what I wanted in there, but the mirror was down so I needed to get GOIN!

I saw the plan for the Barnwood Frame and altered it to use 1x3s as well as 1x2s, and (obviously) made it bigger. I also built a medicine cabinet from 1x6s.

The biggest issue with this whole thing was cutting the mirror to size. I had never done anything like this, so my medicine cabinet mirror is about 1/8" too small for the frame (hid that by using DUCT TAPE on the inside!).

I still plan on building a vanity and changing out the sink in there, but that has to wait until I have the motivation to redo the floors!

Yeah, me and motivation aren't very close...

I have been looking for a big enough rustic coffee table for us, and oh boy those cost a lot of money!
My friend told me about ana-white.com website and when I found this Tryde coffee table, I was so happy!
It took me about hour to cut (with help of my husband) and put this coffee table together and then during next weekend I sanded and stained it.

We are having our full house under renovation and it was so nice to have clear plans to follow and get this done without hassle.

This is my first, of hopefully many projects to come. I modified Patrick's Jelly Cupboard plans to be 40" tall and added the tins to the doors. I used spruce and pine board from a local lumber yard. The finish is Miss Mustard Seed milk paint inside and out. With kids in the house I didn't want to use stain with the heavy chemical smell so I mixed the milk paint with a lot of water to look like a stain. That product is so easy to use and looks great. Needless to say my wife loves her pie safe. Thanks Ana for this site and the inspiration to give this a try. I'm hooked!

I modified the plans for a smaller size and used pallet wood as well as 2x4s and 2x6s ( scraps I had from earlier projects)

I had a similar bed in grad school that I had purchased from Walmart. I loved the design but despised the quality. I was obviously very happy to find this plan here and had no reason to not invest in the required tools and supplies for my very first woodworking project.
This was very easy to make. I did have a small issue in that some of my lumber was bowed but a little improvisation fixed the problem.
I used pocket screws to join the headboard pieces and also used 4 cleats at the back of the headboard to keep it all together. I did not nail it to the wall stud and I see no sign of warping.

I used a semi-gloss polyurethane finish, but I am not a fan of it and will not use it again. I also did not sand between polyurethane coats and wish I had done so. In future I will use a satin polyurethane finish or wax.

I did not use glue because I would like to take the bed apart if and when I move houses. It is nonetheless a sturdy piece and is held together very well.

In short I am very proud of my very first build and the little imperfections are all lessons well learnt.
 

made from tiny table table plans & pallet wood.

You'd think it'd be easier to find a great coffee table but it's not! After looking for several weeks I finally told my wife that I could build us a table cheaper (even accounting for tools) than what we would pay, not to mention we were spending weekends looking for something that doesn't exist.

This table is STURDY - with all the nails and glue in it, it's not going anywhere. I would recommend this to anyone who thinks they'd like it, fairly straight forward directions but there's lots of sanding involved. This is the first thing I've ever built and I think it turned out great.

You can do this just as easily!

Used 1 x 4 cedar boards for the legs and backs and 1 x 6 cedar deck boards that were left over from when we built the deck it is sitting on. Built 6 armless units and one corner unit. Total the sectional is 10' x 6' with two 2'x2' ottomans. As everyone else states, the cushions were the most expensive part of the project. We purchased these 8 Sunbrella cushion sets from Home Depot for about $600. After cutting all of the pieces it really did not take that long to assemble the units. I ended up building a little "support bridge" that I rested the unit on so I could attach the back legs since the front legs are attached first. This way I knew the legs would end up level without having to measure, attach the back legs and hope that the legs would end up level. With the front legs resting on the ground and the rest of the unit supported by the "bridge" I could set the back legs in place, resting solidly on the ground and attach the legs to the seat, with no measuring needed.