Community Brag Posts

In our new home there was a 46" wide coat closet at the entrance. My wife wanted a place to sit down, take off shoes and put our coats and backpacks when we were home. I found Ana White's plans for this shoe bench and modified it to fit our space. The project took 3 days to complete due to the painting, staining and polyurethane, construction of the bench itself was quick. Previously I added a light switch and two 3" LED recessed lights in the ceiling. The project came out wonderful and I am very pleased. Thank you for the inspiration!

-Mike

This table is pretty easy to build, i added a couple inches the the 4x4 for height but tested it yourself before following their height and see if you can sit under it with a chair 

Built it for our recently arrived baby !

Modified Ana's plans to omit the chalkboard and make larger.  Measures 75"h x 36"wide.  All 1x2s, cuts are 2 @ 75", 2 @ 34 1/2", 2 @ 73 1/2", 2 @ 31 1/2".

I built this above toilet cabinet for my son and his wife for Christmas.  They needed a little extra bathroom storage.   Turned out pretty good.

I combined two plans to make this and added my own touch to it as well. I am 6' 4" and wanted a taller table but I really like the farmhouse table. I found 35" turned table legs at Lowes that worked perfectly. I also found these really cool 2'X4' butcher block style spruce panels that worked great for the table top. I pocket holed 3 of them side by side to get the size I wanted. I built the frame out of 2X3's and trimmed them out with some molding. I had seen people blowtorch tables before and I thought it would look really good. I added the stain afterward to darken the color and it came out awesome. I painted the legs and frame white to match the trim and cabinets in my kitchen.

This spring, my neighborhood started a community garden.  Five families came together to break ground, sow, tend, and give away our produce.  The local church close by allowed us to use their front lawn for the "Lakeside Community Garden," located in Duluth, MN.   Every Saturday during harvest season, we gave away our produce to the community.  I took on the project of building a farm stand.  One of our neighborhood families donated re-claimed lumber to the cause, and I started building.  I had research many farm stands on-line, and knew I needed two large boxes to hold the veggies, as well as a sign to indicate what produce we were giving away.  

I was looking to make my foyer a bit more kid friendly while still being coze and practical. I came across the modern farm bench plans, and I knew it was the perfect fit!

I have done a few other plans, but all with help. This project I started around 9 pm (after bedtime) one night, and by 11:30, it was completely built and stained. My son was climbing all over it by the next morning :)

I love it - I think it adds the perfect bit of rustic charm to my foyer, while still giving my little guy a sturdy spot to get his shoes/coat on. I have since added baskets underneath for winter storage.

This will definitely not be my last build! Thanks Ana!

DIY lemonade stand with awning

These were inspired from a few different projects of Ana’s, great fun to build and have transformed our patio area

We recently decided to turn our bonus room into a Den/Play room for our energetic 20 month old son. It quickly became apparent that we needed storage... and FAST for all of those little toys that toddlers love so much.

I loved the idea of the 5' x 5' room divider cubby, but needed something that would accommodate the sloped roof. I modified Ana's plans to allow for a tiered storage option that would work with the roof line.

Cutting/prepping and assembling went quickly with the Kreg Jig. I prepped all the materials and assembled the unit in the room as it is quite heavy completely assembled. Cutting and Assembly took about 1 and 1/2 naps for my toddler (so about 3-4 hours). Sanding and Painting the following day took about another naps worth of time (2-3 hours).

The unit is still 72" tall at its highest point- and I modified the plans slightly to ensure that all cubbies would be a minimum of 13.5 inches tall/wide. After 2 coats of paint, it was ready to be mounted against the wall for safety. I installed 2 L brackets on the top and middle rows and screwed directly into the drywall- can't be to safe when it comes to toddlers and their love of climbing!

Cost Breakdown:

1 x 12 x 8 (6): 65.00
1 x 2 x 8 ( 3): 10.00

Low-Voc all in one Paint/Primer (Valspar) (Quart)- $2.50 (a paint department return area find!)

Total Project Cost (estimate) $80-90 (including screws, wood filler and supplies)

Quick build for the garden swing.

Your potting table is/was a hit and is used weekly with great love.

Darren S.