Outdoor Sofa
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After we built our deck we needed furniture...so I headed to see what projects Ana White had. These benches were so easy and quick to build and look great on our deck!
After we built our deck we needed furniture...so I headed to see what projects Ana White had. These benches were so easy and quick to build and look great on our deck!
The kitchen helper tower was a fast and easy build, the modification of 16 hinges to allow the tower to fold flat was actually the most time consuming part of the build. I added clear skateboard grip tape to the platform floor. I found the hinges and griptape on ebay and most of the wood was scrap leftover from other projects.
Tue, 10/04/2011 - 20:38
Love the use of grip tape! Will use it on my little helper! It definitely adds a little flair...thanks!
Mon, 02/27/2012 - 08:52
First off, your website is awesome and I love how you give such great directions. However, on everything I pull up all this information is on it. On this one it is not, can you help me? I really want to build this for my daughter.
Thanks so much.
Stacey
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 19:46
Stacey, This page is just a brag post from someone who has made the project for themselves. The full project plans are here: http://ana-white.com/2010/12/helping-tower.html
I really like all the furniture at Pottery Barn but hate paying the high prices. I saw their Cortona Buffet on day and decided it would make a great addition to my dining room. I started out by making a simple frame out of oak, put a bottom in it and built the sides. The drawers were inset drawers and i wanted 1/16 of an inch clearance on all sides so I made some simple drawer slides out of wood. You can kind of see them on the last picture. They worked great! Drawers fit perfectly and didn't have to spend extra on drawer slides. The top is 1inch thick oak that I distressed with a variety of tools to try and achieve the same weathered look as the real deal. The only thing I wasn't able to keep the same was the bottom trim. I went to ever custom molding and trim place in town and no one had anything like it. So I settled for a little less ornate piece but I think it came out well. The hardest part of the entire process was making the tiny trim pieces that fit on the door and on the sides. I had to make my own scratch stock and scratch them out of a piece of oak. If you've never had any experience with scratch stock (I didn't) Google it and try it out. You can make some pretty nice custom trim pieces by hand. All in all it was a nice build, now the wife just needs to decorate it!
Wed, 09/11/2013 - 18:14
This is what I call WOW factor! It is a spectacular build! The way you did the drawers is intriguing. I've seen some wood slides in Rockler, did you build your in that style? The finish and craftsmanship are just awesome. Now I'm off to google 'scratch stock'. Thanks for sharing this wonderful build!
In reply to WOW factor! by JoanneS
Thu, 09/12/2013 - 08:13
Thanks you for the kind words! They are the same idea as the Rockler slides just not with a tapered slide. I built a simple wooden stop to keep the drawers from falling out since the slide wasn't tapered. I think if I had to do it again i'd taper the slides for a little better fit. Thanks again!
Sat, 09/14/2013 - 23:30
I don't mean to sound condescending or anything, but YOU MADE that? That looks like something that was bought not built. I hope that doesn't sound badly, it really is a compliment! It's amazing! I love it! Fantastic quality looking piece, excellent color!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
Mon, 09/16/2013 - 08:15
Thanks Tracy! It was a fun build and fits very nicely in my dining area. Just trying to decide what to build next :)
First time builder.
Our 19 year old daughter moved back in with us and we had to put her in our den. This room doesn't have a door or closet. The closet system was priority one. She has a ton of clothes. We followed your plans to the letter, but didn't add the shelving in the middle. She wanted a space to put her dirty clothes basket. This was the perfect solution and super inexpensive and easy to make.
Fri, 01/04/2019 - 12:16
This is perfect for your daughter! I'm so glad it worked out. Thank you for sharing a photo!
Had so much fun with my first woodworking project and obsessed with the grey/black stain!
Mon, 10/03/2022 - 16:31
Love the finish choice! Now sit back and enjoy your first build, can't wait to see what's next:)
I was inspired to create this after seeing an article somewhere where Ana created her own old "laundry" sign. She used the same idea using the Numbered Cubbies plan. We just purchased a second home in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and it has 4 bedrooms. I'm decorating each with a season in mind. I wanted something to go across the top of the windows.
So, off the the landfill I went. I was looking for an older piece of wood. Low and behold, found one that was perfect. It already had a weathered stain, so I just added a cream paint and then a light green paint. I sanded it off in areas to distress it. Next, I found a quote that I liked ("Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush") and changed the font size to fit the board. I printed out the quote (on 8 pages) using only the outlines as not to waste ink (Ana's tip). I put the pages up to a window and traced over the lines with a soft lead pencil. Next, you line them up on your board and then rub the pages down so the pencil lines show up on the board. Next, I hand painted the words in. I really should look into the paint pens. :) Finally, I did a very light hand sanding of the words to make them look aged.
I love it. :)
Thu, 03/08/2012 - 07:26
I have a washer and dryer in my bathroom. The faucet for the washer shows and it looks terrible. Can anyone help me find someway to hide these and still look good.
This is the prototype build for the Pirate’s Treasure Trunk Plan. This build was made entirely from scrap wood and left over finishes on hand. The only items purchased were the angles used for the hinges, and the decorative hardware. This really is a great project for scrap wood, since it really doesn’t use much at all. I used the miter saw to cut down some pieces of 1x12 scrap to the 1x4 and 1x6 sizes to build this.
For the finish on this one, the first coat is a gray paint wash (just regular gray paint watered way down and then wiped off), then a Walnut glaze (Minwax Express Color in Walnut + clear mixing glaze) brushed on and then rubbed off. I didn’t sand after the paint wash coat, because I wanted the glaze to stick to the texture of the paint on the wood. The goal was for the weathered wood look of a trunk that may have washed up on shore from a pirate ship. Then it was top coated with clear poly. The hardware was spray painted with Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. The decorative nails were left natural. I think they hint at the big chunky bolts that might have been seen on pirates’ treasure chests. Originally I was going to paint the “keyhole” on, but then it occurred to me to use a little scrap of foam shelf liner, cut to shape using the painting template from the plan. Last, a coat of mod-podge was added over everything.
When I was doing the plan I added a couple of alternatives for the decorations (painting all of them on, or adding with mod-podge), since everyone might not like the actual hardware. But, I’m very happy with the look and glad I tried it!
This was a super simple build which took less than an hour to build and sand. Finishing took a few minutes at a time throughout the course of a day. I think the longest part was being patient enough to wait for everything to dry. I let the glaze dry overnight before adding the poly and hardware.
Overall it was a fun and very easy build.
Sat, 09/14/2013 - 15:15
I love this! My husband has already requested one for himself and I'd love to build two for our bathroom. This will be soo much fun!
Sat, 09/14/2013 - 17:04
Many hearty thanks for the comment! (Yes, I've been out on the "pirate speak" website - yo ho ho!) So glad you like this, can't wait to see the ones you build. I had such a great time doing this one, tomorrow I'm going to start another! :)
This table was made following the Ana White plan for the 8' table. I stained the whole thing Dark Walnut. I the rubbed Vaseline on the edges and anywhere else that I wanted distressed. I painted the table with a light coat of white chalk paint and sanded it to distress it after it dried. After getting the look that I wanted I applied a clear wax.
I made these adirondack chairs out of scrap 1 x4's I had left from another project. Along with the 2 x 4's. They came out beautiful. I plan to put them on my patio but they look so good by my shed. Thanks Ana for the easy plans to go by.
Our daughter is fast approaching 2 years old and had learned the word "chair." She wanted her own, clearly.
In addition to being my first brag-worthy project, this is the last thing I built before I got my Kreg Jig, but even without, I'm quite satisfied with the end result, and it will support me sitting in it (at over 200 lb) so I did something right.
I ripped down some 1x8 to make the lumber required, so it's not exactly per the plan, but it's pretty close. I also made the back legs of out ripped 1x4 because I felt it looked nicer, and added the brace between the front legs only in order to maintain stackability. (For I will be making a few more of these.) My favorite personal modification is the accent heart in the back slat.
3 chairs- Love that these are strong enough to hold even me. I placed these in the bedroom as lounge chairs in front of the TV (see http://ana-white.com/2013/09/mini-media-center)
I built the 4x4 Truss Beam table and bench and followed Ana White's instructions along with Shanty2Chic.
Instructions and design were easy to follow and was a lot of fun to create.
Here's my take on the Tryde Coffee Table. The only modification that I made was in the legs. Instead of untreated 4x4s, I used a 2x4, 1x4, 2x4 sandwich.
I also made the legs detachable for easy transport. This was done by drilling holes in the side piece and then screwing in these magic "screw/bolt" things [picture 5] into the leg. To assemble, I just pushed the legs through the holes, and then put a washer and nut on the bolts [picture 4].
[Candlesticks are made from logs with a hole bored in them and the coasters are coiled sisal rope held together with hot glue]
Tue, 04/17/2012 - 06:17
I remade all the trim work on my old house (it was tiny :) ) using pine, a router, and a stain very close to what you used there. Love the color!
And great job on the candles! Very original, might have to borrow the idea for my woodworking brother when he gets his own place. Great work!
I built this cooler box using the plans posted here by "Jenny from Birds and Soap". Great plans, easy to follow. Thanks Jenny. As you can see, I made some cosmetic changes. The clock and "rare earth" magnets behind the front panel to catch the bottle caps. I also added a hook for a towel on the side. Turned out pretty cool looking.
plans and instruction were perfect. I made it for my son and daughter-in-law.
Thank you
I made this for my boy who's turning four tomorrow! (Sep 1st) He loves building forts and I don't mind rearranging the furniture, but set up and clean up is so time consuming, we'd both rather spend more time playing. This is an indoor tent, but I took it outside for pictures. Aside from the obvious difference of adding doors and a back, the changes I made from the original plans are: using an 8 foot 1x3 so the tent is 4 feet deep instead of 3. Instead of stapling the fabric on the 1x3s at the bottom, I wrapped the fabric around and used velcro so I could remove it for washing. I sewed a tube of fabric and attached it at the top to make removal easier. Time Investment is so long because of the sewing involved for the tent. If you have an Ikea near you, they've got this stuff called glaze paint (more of a stain, I think) in all different colors - it doesn't need a top coat (unless you want it shiny), it's solvent free and, are you ready? $6 for 12.something ounces, MORE than enough for this project. To make it even easier if you're using fabric instead of curtains like me and you've got the room, cut a 8ft 1x3 in half so you've got two 4ft pieces. Most quilting cotton at fabric stores is 44-45 inches wide selvedge to selvedge (the ends that don't fray) and if you follow the plan according to where to drill for the top bolt, you'll need 4-4.25 yards of fabric, depending on whether you are going to use velcro or staple. I would use 4.25 if using velcro, the fabric can go right over the top bar and over the other side if you don't want to sew a tube like I did. If you don't want to sew at all, use iron-on hem tape on the cut edges and iron on velcro. Make sure of placement of the velcro before ironing on. More pictures on my blog =)
I made this desk for my niece, and I am really happy with how it turned out. The bookshelf was really easy to make and came together well. My sister wanted a smaller sized desk, so I shortened the top and decided to make one of the sides a bookshelf instead of both sides. I think that made it a little less stable than it would have been if both sides were bookshelves but it still holds up well.
Mon, 01/06/2014 - 20:34
Hi this looks about the length I want for my four year old son. Can you provide the dimensions for this desk. I know I will have to alter the height as well.
Comments
Ana White Admin
Sat, 09/24/2022 - 11:10
Sweet!
This looks amazing, thank you so much for sharing!