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My first attempt at any furniture. My mother has been asking for one of these for a long time. I finally got to it

Todd North

This was my 3rd project...and quite an undertaking. My first project was the dollhouse bookshelf (plans available on this site). Second project was custom designed under bed drawers, which now house many thousands of LEGOs. And then, the dresser. It was my first time using the Kreg pocket hole joinery. Once I learned the setup it went fairly quickly, though keeping boards square and flush was challenging and not always successful. But, that's why there are sanders.

The plans are awesome!! Loved the shopping list. Walking down the wood aisle selecting and checking. Sorry, no coupons or 2-4-1 specials. Being an amateur taking on an "advanced" project I am a bit hesitant in commenting on the plans or design changes. But, I feel it necessary so please don't hate me.

* add to cut list: 4 - 2x2@31" - Dresser Side (sides). Needed in Step 3.

* Step 9: (picture) to keep the drawers from tipping while opened I added a stop above each dresser drawer slide. These were made from 1x2s cut to 4" - 5" and beveled on the front. I used a 1x2 + 1/8" - 1/4" thick scrap strip together as a spacer for the drawer drawer slides and a little bit of wiggle room.

* Step 10: (picture) add a 2x4x2 block under the bottom center support and drawer slides. This will help distribute the weight to, and add a place for,
attaching the center leg in Step 11.

* Step 11: instead of screwing the feet directly into the dresser bottom use a table leg straight plate mount.

*Step 16: I mitered the drawer trim corners so it would match the mitered corners of the decorative cap moulding.

Instead of painting I stained. This was my first staining experience. We were trying to match the color of an existing chest of drawers. Overall, I think it turned out very well. Next time I might prestain the pieces prior to assembly as there are a few spots that glue prevented good absorption. And yes, I thought I was meticulous cleaning the drips with a damp rag.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did building it and will using it.

This is from the Rebecca Media Center project. With my wife being an avid book collector and my children being avid toy collectors, we were quicking running out of space for both. Being the amazing husband and father that I am, I made this project and solved both issues. I had a wall that was 13 feet wide and thought this would be a great place for some bookcases. The plans provided were almost perfect. I only had to change the sizes by a few inches to make it fit the wall and raise to the ceiling. I also added a string of led lights across the top. These were cheap, hid well, use little power and came with a dimmer to adjust the brightness. I really like them. I think they came from hit lights for around $30.

I used all reclaimed lumber and DIY stains for these. The brown came from chocolate coffee so the tables give off a faint chocolate smell :) The plans came from Ana mostly but I changed the bottom shelf so that it uses pallet slats to give it more of a rustic look and to also use what I had available.

The top was made with reclaimed wood and we used pine for the base. We decided to go for a "chunky look" so we used 2x4's for the sides and skirt. We used 1x3's for the shelf slats and also spaced them to give it an airy feel. We had to customize the size due to the limited space in the kitchen. This was finished with an antique white paint for the base, mahogony stain for the top and finished with a water based poly for durability,

So easy. Being able to just use 2x4s was so convenient for transporting and cutting. This is a small room so the only hard part was figuring out the math to get 4 rows in this tight space. I made 2 changes: instead of 4-2x4s wide I did 5 so the bins fit better, and I didn't use a any 2x4s on the bottom shelf because they can just sit on the floor, so it saved me buying more wood. Super happy with this, now I just have to make another one for our garage so we can store more things!

Outdoor dining table

I needed a tv stand that wasn't ugly. This was one of my first projects, and I learned a lot from it. It's not perfect (the drawers don't work well), but it looks nice :)

We modified this table to make it larger for our growing family. It measures 42" (10 inches larger than the original plan). We added 10 inches to the length of the 2X6's and added 5 2X2's to increase the width of the width of the table. We love the interest it added to the table. 3 coasts of minwax cherry and three coats of minwax helmsman poly.

Only things I bought were the wheels and dowels. ALL of the wood came from Home Depots "dryer boards". Those are the boards that come under bunks of lumber. The Home Depot stacks them up out back and gives them away to any one that wants them. Easy to make 1x2's and sometimes 2 x 2's. Last night I made some 2 x 3's. I only need 2 more to make Ana White's Lift Top Coffee Table

I have been wanting a bench for my counter for sooooo long! I loved the Big Ur bench and finally got up the nerve to adjust the plan to be a counter height bench.

Since I am so cheap, I like to collect wood from the free section on craigslist. And that is how this bench came about! I had these 4x4's (well actually they were a little small and had to adjust for that as well) And these great top boards, which were a little warped, I think it just adds a little character to the bench to not be totally perfect, like me! :) (that was a joke, I am FAR from perfect!)

I made it like the plan, and as you can see from the unfinished picture my little ones needed a stool to climb up on the bench. So I added some 1x2's to give them a ladder for climbing. I love how it turned out and the best part is that it fits at my table as well!

Now my husband thinks I should build a smaller one for the short side of the island. We have six kids and this bench only fits four....we'll see.....

Largest project yet. Loved the variety of legs at Osborne.

I loved the look and design of Ana's Simple Bunk Bed but due to limited space in our home, needed a triple bunk bed. I wasn't interested in the hassle of a trundle so I decided to modify the simple bunk bed plan and make it a triple. I have to say, I was a little worried about how sturdy it would be but this plan is so solid with the 4x4 posts that there is no need to even even think about that for another second!
I changed the ladder so that it was attached to the side rails of the bunk bed as someone had posted they did earlier and decided to add another little ladder for the middle bunk so my little one wouldn't have to leap from the ladder to get into her bed. ;D

In order to do a triple in our home (with 8 ft. ceilings), I needed to bring the height down so I made the bottom bunk sit on the floor with the legs only being as long as the height of the headboard. I also made all the headboards and footboards only as tall as the footboards in Ana's original Simple Bunk Bed plans.

This was my first build and there are definitely things I would do differently to make this work better if I had it to do all over again. I would make the legs a little shorter on the 2nd and 3rd bunk so that there is more head room for the person on the top bunk.

All in all though, I had a great time building this and can't wait to try some more of Ana's plans!!!