Community Brag Posts

I thought I'd wait and take these glorious after photos once I was done - but nevermind that idea.  Here are some pictures of progress, start to finish.  I still plan to build some shoe cubbies for the towers so that my wife has a little more shoe-room.

We have a 5th bedroom directly off the master with a double door entrance where the 5th bedroom's closet would have been.  The room had been an office for the previous owner and my wife decided it would be a perfect closet for her.  I followed the plans quite closely for the towers.  I wish I had considered my 8+ foot ceilings and just built the towers taller because 1) storing stuff on top will look messy, and 2) The hanger rods aren't spaced quite well enough for longer clothing.  Because of this, I had to build her another hanger on the other side of the wall, which increased the complexity of the project (corner shelves, more wood, more staining, more finishing, etc).  In the end, I think it turned out great.  I will walk through the process very quickly.

• Bought premium birch plywood, had them cut it down in the store.  They did a good job.  If I were doing it again, I would buy Aspen or Pine in precut boards, and I estimated it would have cost less than $100 more with a much higher quality and more workability, especially considering I stained instead of painted.
• Built Towers - used my kreg pocket hole jig a TON on this project.  For boards across the top, I put the pocket holes on top, where they will be out of site.  For bottoms, I was able to use finishing brads to nail down my boards to the frame.
• Stained wood.  I used an oil stain.  After letting it dry 24hours+, I used finishing wax to turn make the plywood very smooth.  I painted on the wax real heavy and then buffed with an electric polishing wheel.  *tip* no matter what you are thinking, stain your wood before cutting and assembling.  It will save you hours.
• Built 2x4 bases for the frame of the system.  I used my bases as a template for cutting back the carpet.  I then fastened the bases into the wall studs and sub flooring.
• Installed towers, played with spacing until it felt right and then fastened them into the walls and into the base.
• Cut wood down to size for the top and bottom pieces and installed and nailed down.
• Cut down scraps into strips to support the corner shelves and nailed them into the wall.
• Cut down scraps into corner shelves.  I used 2 pieces of wood for each shelf and added supports on the underside so that they can bear decent weight.  I should have just done more pocket holes.  It would have been stronger and cleaner.
• Installed mini crown molding along top border.  Installed 1/4 inch trim on all facing edges (rather than mess with laminating strips). Installed baseboard trip to cover frame and clean up border of frame and carpet.
• Built drawers using scrap plywood from the project (via the drawer plans on this site).  I didn't mess around, just cut my wood down to the right size and brad nailed the heck out of it.  They are very sturdy.  A thinner bottom and back would have decreased their weight, but I don't see any issues the way they are built.  I opted for the 1/2 inch gap around the border of the drawers.

That is pretty much it.  I think I have about $500-600 in it. Probably 60-70 hours.  If I did it all over again, I could do it better and faster and on the same budget.  As noted in the plans, SQUARE is the most important thing.  I had to fix all the tower shelves once I had them mounted to the wall because they just were not level/square enough.  

My son chose this system for his room (minus one bookcase - the room wasn't large enough!) and even painted a few of the pieces himself! he's very tall so I lengthened the bed to 92" which is the length of the extra-long mattresses. For the time being, I added 6" high-density foam to the end of his mattress. I also used plywood with edge banding instead of 1x12 boards.

Got this idea from the blue cooler project - but decided to deck it out with vintage trimmings. Everyone who has seen it loves it! Very fun project.

Super easy project. My space is smaller so I modified to 6ft instead of the 8ft used in the plana. I plan to make the white board crates to finish the project. 

Chevron table made with Knotty Alder inlay and pine frame.

This was the first woodworking project I have undertaken from this site and it is simply wonderful!
very easy to follow plans, and easy assembly.
I have this daybed hanging from my back deck across from my hot tub and it is the most wonderful creation I've ever attempted!
I included a twin sized bunk-bed mattress instead of a traditional twin so that it would be thinner.
I zipped a vinyl cover over the mattress and then added sheets, decorative pillows, a throw blanket, and some lanterns to the platform.
I plan to hang a canopy that will drape over the ends.
The backdrop in the picture is comprised of two cloth shower curtains that hang from eyelets along the edge of our deck.

My very first furniture build! Followed the construction plans and my bench turned out great! Thank you for helping others enjoy this craft!!

This was super easy to build and I love the way it turned out. I painted mine to add some color to my kitchen and did a concrete countertop.

We have really been enjoying our new Weatherly Sectional that I built with Ana's fabulous plans! I love the way it fits perfectly in the little corner of our deck.

I only made a few simple modifications:
1. I added an arm to the loveseat, as we wanted an "L" configuration and not a "U"
2. I added at least twice as many 1x3's for the seat slats, as I wanted to be able to sit on the furniture when the cushions were stored inside. I put about a 3/4" space between the slats for water drainage.

I made a 36" x 36" ottoman/coffee table out of scraps & it fits perfectly.

I bought the cushions from the Improvements catalog and they fit great. They are not as nice as the ones from RH, but they were about $40 each and were 20% off with free shipping. Here is the link: http://www.improvementscatalog.com/deep-seat-chair-cushion-24-1-2f2-22x…

Weekend Project :)

For my first grandchild.

Grace Y.

After posting about my 20 Second Tidy Up table I built on my blog, a local reader commissioned me to build one for her too! I used a Kreg jig for the top and sides, as well as the 2x2 frame supports. I also added some L-brackets to the sides for added stability. This thing is solid! Since Lowe's doesn't carry fixed-wheel 1 5/8" casters I used an epoxy putty on them so they only roll in one direction. It keeps the trundle from bumping into the sides and being hard to open. Love the table, and so does Christine!

I have always wanted a farm bed and didn't think I could make it but here it is
Thanks for posting this great project.It took about 5 hours. I used a Kregg Jig to build it and I love it. I have built a lot of other things with it sense.

I took the Rustic X Console plans and used some rouch sawn pine and hemlock from a reclaimed lumber yard. We left some of the character (nail holes, saw marks, imperfections) in the table top for a more rustic look.