Thanks to Ana Whites plans, I made this beautiful wall table for our entrance way. My daughter said it looked like it was from Ashley furniture store! Haha! So she made me put an Ashley furniture tag on it! She also helped me and this project.
David Marks
This is the first piece of furniture I have ever built. I'm super proud. It was fairly easy. I can't wait to fill my house with all of my future creations!
This was quite a straightforward project. I added a shelf along the bottom and a small overhang with scrap boards. Both add a lot in terms of play, especially because I screwed little hooks into the overhang which my son loves to hang things on. This toy workbench can be a lot of things - fun for tools, nature play, art, an outdoor kitchen, or so many other options.
Rekourt dining room table with bench
I built this Toddler picnic table from reclaimed 2x4's
I still can't believe my husband and I built this. We have never built anything before. well unless assembling cheapo furniture from a box counts! It was scary at first but nothing you can't do trust me. It is not perfect but it looks awesome I think. It's about 2 inches too wide on each side of the mattress, not sure why but you can't really tell. I am super happy with it! Thank you so much Ana for this website!!
Mon, 03/12/2012 - 16:45
This looks great. I was wanting to make this (and paint it black) when we move soon. This was great inspiration.
I took this and modified slightly. My wife wanted it a little lower since our room is smaller. I took the original plan then just drew out a rough sketch with the dimensions I wanted. I modified the cut list accordingly. I prepped all the wood for cutting and had all wood cut and headboard assembled in just over 4 hours. The finishing of puttying and sanding, puttying and sanding, puttying and sanding, then painting and painting and painting took about 2 weeks due to weather and other time constraints. But the patience paid off and we have a nice looking headboard. We had no scraps so the cost for us was about $150. Already have had friends ask how much to make one for them.
Used the Ana White plans for the console table but omitted the 1x12 and used 1x4 45' for the perimeter and ran anothe 1x4 up the middle. We added cross supports under the top to attach the top to, eliminating the second layer on the top.
Ana's wood shelving plans are easily adaptable for whatever requirements you may have.
Apart from some of the cutting done on a table saw I was able to do this project on my own and assemble.
I'm a beginner and managed it OK. It's not perfect but my husband was over the moon to finally have hanging space and shelving in our new house.
Would look great painted or stained.
Saw this on Ana's site just in time to make it for a changing table for baby number 4. This was our most difficult plan to take on so far, but it turned out to be pretty straight forward. The details on the plan were a great help - using the spacers to make the drawer openings perfectly spaced, and attaching the drawer fronts on after attaching the rails were great tips. We also used dowel drawer slides for the top 2 drawers, which we really ended up liking.
Sat, 03/17/2012 - 01:15
Did you just use a router for the channels in the top drawers? If yes, what bit? If no, how did you do them?
Beautiful work! Your baby is very lucky! :)
Sat, 03/17/2012 - 03:04
Those grooves are probably made with a dado stack on a table saw, but your could easily do it with a router and a guide. Table saw is easier though.
If you don't own a dado set already, don't buy the cheapest one you can find. I made that mistake, and wasn't overly happy with the results of the cut. When I bought a better dado blade set, I was a lot happier with the quality of my cuts.
That turns out to be generally true: I'm always more happy with the result of a better blade. I also needed to tune up my saw to make sure the blade was properly aligned with the guide slots, and that my fence was parallel to the blade. If you don't do that then the best blade in the world won't help. Also, buy full-kerf blades, not the thin kerf blades they sell at the home improvement store. The full kerf blades wobble less and give you cleaner cuts.
Sat, 03/17/2012 - 05:04
clay,
kathy asked mollie a question, why don't you let her answer it?
In reply to clay, kathy asked mollie a by rob (not verified)
Sat, 03/17/2012 - 06:33
This is a community, there's no need to be rude. Sometimes the authors don't know there are comments, and it's nice to hear more than one solution to a problem. So let's please just appreciate the contribution from all the members, yes?
Sat, 03/17/2012 - 14:56
Brookifer86,
I can appreciate where you are coming from, and I appreciate your kind suggestions.
I can also identify with Rob's comment directed at Clay. Which I did not find rude.
Clay tends to comment on nearly almost every post on Ana's site with a dismissive and know-it-all attitude, giving outdated advice and rude corrections. It has gotten pretty old. Obviously I am not the only one who sees this.
Remember, one person's authoritarian advice on how to do things isn't the only way or even the best way to approach a project. It is simply their experience and their own personal way of doing things.
Sun, 03/18/2012 - 12:16
I'm grateful for all the help on this blog! When it comes to woodworking, there always seems to be more than one way to do things, and I want to hear EVERYBODY'S ideas; it makes me a more knowledgeable woodworker and helps me overcome planning obstacles I would otherwise not get passed.
Clay, I've read many of you posts and appreciate the wisdom you share. And to the complainers: sometimes our thoughts are not always conveyed on Internet discussions. Some personalities can come across as abrasive/arrogant unbeknownst to the author simply because of their writing style. I've seen it time and again on blogs and forums. I know what I want to say, but it doesn't always come across *quite right* when I'm typing it out.
Either way, I want to hear more about these drawer glides! Clay, you posted a great link on the original plan that suggest always using hardwood for drawer glides or at least a hard/softwood combo. Makes sense, any other want to chime in?
Sun, 03/18/2012 - 12:39
Just because I asked him to let Mollie answer the question doesn't mean I was calling him rude. I just think it's common courtesy to let someone who is asked a question to speak first. I definitely appreciate Clay's wisdom and I agree that there are many ways to do something.
What if it were in person though? What if someone kept asking you a question but someone standing off to the side kept answering it before you? Sure they answer correctly every time and give credible insight but after getting cut off over and over, don't you think it might get annoying?
Don't you think the teacher gets a little piffed when that one kid in the back raises his hand and belts out the answer every time and doesn't let any of the other kids answer the question? Sorry for the rant...
anyway the issue isn't about good or bad insight. The issue is just manners. I'm sorry if that comes off brash, but let the person who actually built it answer first.
Sun, 03/18/2012 - 13:18
Lucky for us, we're not in person and we can just "scroll down," lol. I remember recently, one of the blogs I regularly read posted about just this. Her article was spot-on and amusing at the same time...partly because she describes these notorious commenters, and because I know I've been guilty of "thread dumping " myself. There are personalities that clash online and in the real world too. It's worth a glance for a little perspective-and a laugh. http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2012/02/how-deal-negative-comments.html
Sun, 03/18/2012 - 16:30
I seem to have stepped on some toes, and for that I'm sorry. I'll certainly take your points in mind in the future. I'm afraid that's distracted from the main point: this is a really amazing piece of furniture. Molly, your house must be pretty amazing if you're building furniture like this. I'll bet your children grow up to be pretty amazing if they've got a mom who builds their furniture.
Mon, 03/19/2012 - 12:44
Beautiful changing table! I have only been building a little over a year and I always appreciate the advice on this site. Thanks for sharing so much Clay:-)
Sun, 07/29/2012 - 21:13
I just saw there were comments here on my brag post. So, Clay, thanks for answering for me.
We used our table saw - although we don't have a fancy blade. We should probably get one. My husband just ran it through the table saw several times to get it the exact right width. The blade was lowered so that it would only cut 1/4 inch into the wood. And the slides were hardwood - square dowels you get get at a home improvement store.
Wed, 08/08/2012 - 08:08
I love the plans for this piece, to begin with. Great job on your build. I LOVE this in white! Especially for a baby room or a little girl's room. Thank you so much for sharing your pics and ideas!
Mon, 01/21/2013 - 20:45
Fantastic job on this piece! I think this would be perfect in an adult's bedroom also, with the bottom shelf for a blanket or quilt. I would love to make this.
Sun, 03/31/2013 - 16:01
Hi,
I was wanting to do the same thing...make this for using as a changing table. What are the dimensions of your dresser? Did you change the size of the drawers (did you use something different than a 1x8)? At what measurement did you place the lower shelf relative to the ground and how much space is there between the top of that lower shelf and the bottom of the 1x2 that frames the bottom drawer?
Any help / details that you can give would be so appreciated!
Thanks!
My daughter, like most other 2 & 3 year olds, love playing dress up. Over time we have collected a large selection of princess dresses and various other dress up clothes. Where do you put this stuff? My wife went to Pinterest for ideas. She came to me asking if I could make her a closet. A closet, what? She then showed me a picture. I said "that looks like a box. I can do better." the idea of repurposing a dresser sounded like a much better and time saving idea. So I set off to the second hand stores in search of a sterdy, decorative, not too expensive dresser.
Once the dresser had been procurred ($30 at Goodwill) and transported home, the project began. I first removed all but the bottom drawer and drawer supports. Next I removed the hardware from the remaining drawer and deglossed the entire dresser and drawer. Once deglossed, I put down a single coat of white primer. The next day I came back and put down two coats of paint. The outside I used a cream color to match the playroom where it would be housed. On the inside of the dresser I painted it bright Pink; Bear Paint calls this color "sexy Pink". We'll call it bright pink since its for my 3 year old.
After two coats of paint the project was pretty much complete. Then I had the bright idea to add lights. I went to the hardware store looking for under cabinet lighting. I was unimpressed with the lighting options and price points. To Amazon.com I go. I found 16 feet of LED Strip lighting for $4 and a power supply for a couple extra bucks. The lights came with a remote control. When UPS delivered the package of lights I couldnt wait to install them. This was going to put the closet over the top. I cut the strip to the size I needed and installed using the provided 3M tape. It could not have been easier to install. I was able to cut the strip into the size strips I needed (64 inches total).
The final product with the lights on can be found on my youtube page:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE1soeC2OaE
My daughter was THRILLED! She loves using the remote to turn the lights on and off as well as changing the colors of the lights.
This project was super easy!
Made these for my both my daughters and they love them. I think I may make some to sell as so many people seem to like them. I used a routered edge on my tops which deviates from plans a bit. I also used a biscuit jointer and glued in some biscuits to create my top made from 1x6 and 1x4 boards. Great plans and thanks for doing what you on this amazing website.
Fri, 10/21/2022 - 05:44
These are really beautiful. I love the white wainscot (?) in contrast with the natural wood top. I wonder if this design can be stretched upward and elongated into a cat little box cabinet enclosure? My mom could use one that's easy to open up to clean tall enough for a bit of enclosed storage, and a table top height for a place the cat can relax away from the dogs.
We love our new can storage!
Shayla Shumaker
I made modified the plans to make the bed a full instead of a twin. This was a little tricky, because the full bed is bigger then a 4x8 sheet of plywood. If you are interested I can get pics of the extra support I had to build to suport the plywood seem. I also used redoak, which is why it cost so much. The extra money was well worth the cost when you use the finish. The headboard I used is from my wifes great grandmas' house in Southern Louisiana. It is 125 year old cypres storm shutter.
Sun, 03/18/2012 - 23:19
I especially love that headboard! It is just beautiful!
Sun, 05/06/2012 - 08:25
Do you have the measurements you used? I'm planning to build a full size next weekend for my son. Thanks!
Tue, 06/11/2013 - 19:38
Showed this bed to my daughter for her son and would also like the full size measurements. Pictures of how you supported the seam?
I really wanted to have a raised bed garden to grow organic veggies for my family but was so discouraged by the cost of ready-made planters that I almost gave up. While searching for options on Pinterest I came across these fabulous, affordable and untreated wood planters and after a trip to the home store, we built 10 according to the plans. I couldn't be happier with the results; thank you Ana!
Thu, 01/09/2014 - 08:00
I really wanted a raised bed veggie garden but was discouraged by the high cost of ready made planters - especially since my dream garden required 10! I was about to give up when I discovered Ana's amazing plans while browsing Pinterest!
Tue, 07/08/2014 - 00:24
Thank you Ana, I used your plans and ideas for a raised bed vegetable garden. I did change things a bit and it has worked out real well for me. I hate weeding and well I am a bit lazy. So mine are 6’x3’, I had a problem with the pickets splitting when I used screws to fasten them down. I ended up using a pneumatic brad/nail gun to fasten things together. I also used weed block under the bed and over the dirt and mulched over that. I have almost no weeding to do, about 10 minutes every three days or so. I also put in an irrigation system using ½ inch pvc pipe and 2 liter soda pop bottles. That way I water the roots and not the whole area, it cuts down on my water bill and it goes directly to the roots. The other thing I ended up doing is putting down 6 mil black plastic between the rows of raised beds and putting straw over that( I have 3’ walking/working paths between each bed). I have built 20 of them and plan to add another 20.
I eliminated the bottom floor and created a shorter storage area instead. To make the project more manageable for one person, I chose 1/2" birch plywood, however, I think 5/8" would have been a bit more sturdy for this project. I love the plans and found them very easy to customize to fit my project.
My daughter desperately needed a new loft bed for her small bedroom as she became a teenager. After looking a long time, I finally decided to take the plunge and make something custom after we couldn’t find a bed that met her needs (she’s VERY tall for her age). Thank you for posting the loft bed and bookshelf plans to this site, as they were great to work from and customize! This is my first woodworking project of any kind, and it came out great with these plans.
We followed the Loft Bed and Loft Bed Bookshelf plans pretty closely, but we did make some changes as we went...
First, we tweaked the guard rail design to make it removable by adding back vertical posts. This way, the front and back posts slide over the front rail and it no longer needs to be screwed in place. This is a nice tight grip for safety, but it’s much easier to make the bed by removing the guard rail and dealing with the mattress. If you do this, just make sure the back vertical posts are shorter than the front ones to make room for the cleats and slats on the inside of the rail! This also means the top of the rail is made with a 1x3 instead of the 1x2 in the instructions.
We also decided to use a vertical ladder design rather than an angled ladder. We did this for space considerations in the room; it’s a bit harder to get up the ladder, but not that much. This also helped avoid any weird angle cuts with my basic tools. We also made the ladder about 3” wider than the one called for in the plans.
One of my favorite features was adding a 3/4” plywood “ceiling” above the desk. We did this by moving the long side cleats upward by 3/4” of an inch in the plans, and using pocket holes roughly every 10 inches around the perimeter of the plywood. We used this to hide the bottom of the mattress and all the bedding from view when sitting at the desk. It also provides for LED strip lighting above the desk, which is installed by routing out a pathway in the board and installing the lights within an aluminum channel for heat dissipation and to allow installation of a plastic diffuser over the lights. The wiring for the lights lives in the ~1.5” gap between the board and the slats thanks to the 1 x 2 cleats.
In the shelving, we made the upper shelf in the wide bookcase adjustable with the help of a Kreg shelf pin jig. We also ordered a 3/8” tempered glass shelf for this area to let more of the LED light strip we installed in the top of this shelf shine down as well. Again, this was installed in a routed-out pathway that holds an aluminum channel, and the wiring goes up through both the bookcase top and the plywood bed “ceiling” panel to join into the power. We got the strip lights, aluminum channel with diffusers, power supply, and controller from Amazon.
To get power to the LED lights, I routed out a channel for 5-conductor wire in the middle board of a rear leg assembly. Before gluing up the leg, I coated the wire with silicone spray to avoid the glue adhering to it so I could slide the wire around as needed. With a little bit of chiseling, this wire is able to come out of the slide-in joints for the upper and lower wide rails on the back of the bed. On the top, these wires go into a splitter and then to the two sets of LED light strips. On the bottom, the wires to into the LED controller which is mounted to a scrap board along with the power supply that stands on end in the 3/4” gap between the back side wall of the bookshelf and the bottom bed rail.
We created a custom-designed file drawer unit as the pedestal for the desk opposite the wide bookshelf. This was modeled roughly after Ikea Alex drawers with three narrow drawers and one file drawer. The carcass is about 14 1/2” wide by 21 3/4” deep by 29 1/4” tall and made of 3/4” plywood. The drawer boxes are approximately 12” wide by 20” long made of 1/2” plywood with 3/4” plywood fronts. We used full-extension soft-close drawer slides and positioned the cabinet so they have nearly full extension behind the ladder. Four wooden dowels are used on the top corners to align and secure this end of the desk surface.
Speaking of the desk, it is a piece of 3/4” plywood approximately 24” deep by 64” long. One end rests on the file drawer cabinet, and the other end is flush with the middle shelf of the bookcase and attached using two 6” by 5” 14-gauge galvanized T-straps usually used in framing applications. These are screwed upwards into the bottom of the desk and shelf from below, and are holding up quite well. This avoids the need for desk legs by the bookshelf.
We then adapted the techniques used for the wide bookshelf to build a narrow bookcase (79” tall, 14 1/2” wide) out of two more 10-foot long 1x12 boards. This bookcase sits between the end of the bed and the corner of the room to finish out the look and provide more storage. The top, middle, and bottom shelves are fixed and there are a total of four adjustable shelves (two in the top half, two in the bottom half). We also cut a door and installed it using a pair of full-overlay euro hinges. With these dimensions, the tall bookcase is also capable of working with 11” x 11” x 11” storage cubes just like the wide bookshelf.
The finishing touch was to create a shelf that attaches to the guard rail and provides a place for my daughter’s alarm clock to sit and be within easy reach. This shelf is made around a piece of the scrap 3/4” plywood that is approximately 21” long and 9” deep. I used leftover 1x3 pine that I glued and nailed to the outside perimeter of the plywood flush with the bottom to hide the layers in the plywood while providing walls around the shelf. I also glued and screwed another 1x3 piece to the front of the plywood, this time flush with the top, as the first piece of a U-shaped grip to slide over the top of the guard rail. Another 1x3 scrap was then positioned, glued, and brad nailed to this front piece to finish the grip. I then cut a triangular piece of wood from a 1x6 to provide additional support under the shelf against one of the vertical pieces of the guard rail. This piece is held in place with counter-sunk screws that go through the top of the plywood shelf down into E-Z Lok threaded inserts in the top of the triangular wood support. The whole shelf assembly is only attached to the guard rail so that I can still easily remove the rail to change bedding on the mattress.
The whole project is constructed out of Home Depot select pine boards and birch plywood. Throughout construction, I used a 3/16” round-over bit in a router to eliminate sharp corners pretty much everywhere on the bed itself (legs, rails, ladder, etc.). I didn’t use this on the bookshelves, the file drawers, or the desk. Edge banding was used to hide any exposed plywood edges. I used 200-grit sanding discs and an orbital sander to sand the various pieces during construction and before finishing. The entire thing is finished with two or three coats of Minwax Polycrylic water-based polyurethane, sanding between coats, which gives this a nice smooth finish and lets the richness of the wood grain come through.
Hopefully the pictures I’ve posted can help understand the write-up on modifications to the project. I enjoyed building this a lot, and my daughter really loves what this did to her room to make it much more usable! That was worth all the effort and time right there.
Ana, thanks a million for the plans!!
This was my first ever piece of furniture that I made and it was so much fun! I’ve got the furniture making bug now!
Melissa Pilcher
Wed, 08/02/2023 - 10:42
Thank you for sharing, so happy you went for it! Can't wait to see what you build next.
After discovering Ana White, my husband and I have been slowly creating our dream guest room. I had the vision of a modern striped bench at the end of the bed and using the Easiest Upholstered Bench plans, Ana made it easy! I love how this turned out. It was actually my first sewing project ever and I love how it turned out.
The foam is what spiked the price in this project.
Wed, 03/21/2012 - 11:54
You guys did a great job! The sewing looks very neat with clean lines.
