Community Brag Posts

Great plan - added to make it even bigger

The plan is great, I followed the instructions exactly.  Then altered the plan to build a second rack that would fit the bottom of the door, with foil, saran and bag storage at the bottom.  Consequently it was heavy and I was very skeptical of the hollow core door anchors, but I installed 3 at the top and 2 at the bottom of both pieces.  It's very solid and secure....would probably have worked fine with even less. This door is only 32" wide but has plenty of room for this project.  Thank you, looking forward to trying more of your plans.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Primer and latex paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Kentwood Bookshelf

Submitted by BeckySmith on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 05:11

This was one of my first bigger builds. I am so happy with the way it turned out!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Golden Oak. I applied the stain with a foam brush and wiped off excess after about five minutes.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

canadianlam

Thu, 05/19/2016 - 19:05

This bookcase wouldn't be out of place amongst the Pottery Barn's bookcases. In fact, it inspired me to go out this afternoon and buy some cedar boards so I can start building my own version first thing tomorrow. Thank you, Becky.

Pet Stairs

Submitted by alli2410 on Tue, 03/13/2018 - 06:26

I needed sturdy stairs for my 2 60lb dogs.  My bed is 33 inches from floor to top of mattress.  So, this is my very first project completed by myself!  Custom size pet stairs 24inx24inx24

Estimated Cost
$40-50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax polyshades Espresso gloss (3 coats)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Sliding Pet/Baby Gate

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/27/2023 - 20:13

We desperately needed a gate to keep our pets from accessing the rooms, with carpet, in our new home. We originally thought about building a full barn door but, the security system was in the way and it wouldn’t have allowed the light to pass through to our dark entryway anyway. We definitely wanted to steer away from the “barn door looking” gate we did at our last home and wanted to try something more timeless with the sprayed, black caning. We have a very eclectic style. Very vintage industrial, MCM, with pops of RH glam and a touch of BOHO. Sounds confusing but, I needed this gate to take the pressure off of trends we didn’t quite fit in and be easy to use for my teenager. The gate leads to her bed/bath and the guest rooms. The mechanism is not my design but, it’s brilliant, especially for the industrial element to our home. Took me close to 4 days from start to finish. Lost my Kreg jig in our move and was so thankful to a stranger-neighbor that willingly let me borrow his on the curiosity of what exactly I was building. NGL, it felt pretty good when he said how impressed he was with the build. 💞

Comments

Farmhouse Bench in 1 day

Submitted by vickitee on Wed, 06/25/2014 - 08:27

This was my first build from your site! Farmhouse bench.
I was a little confused with the miter saw instructions "bevel cut at a 10 degree angle off center". I had to google to figure out what you meant. In the end the bench looks awsome and I feel very empowered with my tools.
(still need to stain the finished project, bought all the wood and built in 1 day)
Thank you Ana for sharing your plans!! I love your site and I love my Kreg Jig!
Vicki
(Canada)

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
going to use walnut stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Great Patio Set

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/04/2021 - 13:02

I wanted sturdy seating for my patio. Ana White had the perfect plans for my L shaped seating and coffee table. It was simple to put together and we love it!

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

$40 Ping Pong table top game

With Father's Day rolling in, my sons and I needed a gift, stat! My husband thinks that Table Tennis is the quintessential father-son activity, so that was an obvious choice.
We needed something easy to make, easy to store, and budget friendly. With a 6, 4, and 2 year old helping out, I made a foldable mdf ping pong table that could easily be placed on our picnic table outside.
We had home depot cut the mdf in half, primed it, taped off some lines, spray painted it with chalkboard paint (bonus, you can keep score!), and screwed 4 small hinges to attach the 2 halves. We added a removable table tennis net, some paddles and balls, and have played nearly every day!

Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Chalkboard spray paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Large Garden Enclosure

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/19/2024 - 10:40

The enclosed garden plan.
I made mine 12x12 and added a middle The instructions were very easy to follow. I also had old paver stones, sand and gravel kicking around from a project from last year so created a floor to help with weed control. I used screws and fender washers instead of staples to attach the caging. I added two tiny beds to the inside for sweet peas to grow up the caging to attract pollinators. Let the growing begin!

Barb

Built from Plan(s)
Seasonal And Holiday

Pallirondack Laundry Basket Dresser

I showed my wife the Laundry Dresser featured on Ana White's website and she asked if I could make one for her, but not quite so tall. I also turned the orientation to fit our laundry room space. I used primarily oak from recycled pallets to build the Laundry Basket Dresser. She wanted a work space on top, so folded laundry, empty baskets, etc. all have a temporary resting place depending on the day. From start to finish, it took me about 6 hours. She plans to stain the piece at some point, but its already in use, so I'm not 100% sure that will ever happen until we move or something. ;-) Great idea and laundry room organization!

Estimated Cost
Half a box of screws
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Kathy in Pittsburgh (not verified)

Mon, 09/10/2012 - 10:22

I love the open sides, plus it makes it much more feasible to build with scraps repurposed wood, which I love. Thanks for the inspriation

payne.kj

Mon, 04/08/2013 - 08:48

Hi, do you have any kind of plans for how you did this or atleast dimensions? I think this one fits more of what my wife needs, but I'm pretty new to making anything.

nicholas_ftm

Sun, 06/14/2015 - 20:16

Soooo I made this according to the measurements and no laundry basket I find fit. Kind of dissapointed in the fact that this cool thing I just built doesn't have any baskets that will fit it. Any advice on finding a basket that fits?

jkread

Fri, 07/10/2015 - 20:56

I think the idea is to build it to fit the baskets you have or buy some and build around them.

Outdoor Sectional and Pallet Coffee Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 11/20/2016 - 17:56

Hi Ana! 

My husband used your plans to build the 2x4 outdoor cedar sectional :) He did it in 1 day and it couldn't have been easier! He even tried first time working with pallets to make a small table and it came out perfectly too! Can't wait to enjoy family time on our new back porch.

Thanks Again & Love From Austin ❤️

Kathleen 

Estimated Cost
$350
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

meredithl

Thu, 10/24/2019 - 16:35

Hi, your furniture is beautiful.  May I ask:   Where did you find your cushions?  And what color/ brand stain did you use?  Lovely job.

Seasonal And Holiday

Adirondack Chair

Watts Built on Wolfe Way

Estimated Cost
$150 for all 4
Finish Used
Behr Transparent Weather Proofing all-in-one Cedar Naturaltone No 501
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Outdoor end tables

I made these two Ana White outdoor end tables for my patio. Next up will be the matching coffee table

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

2x4 outdoor couch

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 07/18/2020 - 18:46

I used cedar and added the extra boards so the cushions would stay put. We also made the arms 2x6 boards so we wouldn’t need end tables for the couch. The plans were super easy to follow. I mostly used pocket holes so the screws wouldn’t be visible. Love how it came out! Thank you for the plans, Ana!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Nothing yet. Deciding on whether to let it grey on its own
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Compact Potting Bench

Submitted by vendo on Wed, 02/01/2023 - 12:43

I used Ana's Farmhouse Potting Bench plans and modified it to be more compact and left out the x detail. I built it for under $40 in material. 

Modifications for Shopping and Cut List - Construction and placement is same as Ana's original plan, so make sure you look that over.

Shopping List 

3 - 2x6x8

3 - 2x4x8

1 - 2x2x8

Cut List

FOR 2 Legs
4 2x6 @15.5"
2 2x4 @34.5"
2 2x4 @54"
(cut the 34.5 and 54 out of 1 board and repeat)

2x2 Cross Supports
3 2x2@28"

2x4 Cross Supports
2 2x4@28"

Center Tabletop Support
1 2x6@15.5"

Bottom Slats
4 2x6@15.5"

Tabletop Boards
3 2x6@36"

Top Cap Board
1 2x4@37" leaving 1/2" overhangs

VIDEO OF THE BUILD PROCESS

Built from Plan(s)

Modified Willy Bookcases

Submitted by AhmaNaz on Thu, 09/17/2020 - 09:57

2 bookcases for my family, storage and organization. Left raw for them to customize. Current vision is purple and pink or maybe an ombre stain like we saw on Good Bones. Hopefully I can add update of final decision.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Raw
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Spa Side Table

I completed this table with my 5 year old daughter as my assistant. My husband requested a table to put next to our new hot tub to set his drinks on and this is perfect. We only put one board on the top because I felt since it would be outside, I wanted a smooth top. I just screwed it in diagonally from the bottom. I also used spar varnish since it would be outside.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Rust-o-Leum Ultimate Wood Stain in Kona
Semi-gloss Spar Varnish (3 coats)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Playhouse - Drew Gaffke

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/26/2021 - 14:46

I combined a couple of playhouse plans for this one. The framing is 2x2 treated pine. The front is real stone. I tried to match our home the best that I could. The floor is made out of composite decking.

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Fire Pit Swings

My wife saw something like this on Pinterest and desperately wanted one. The one she saw was hexagonal in shape. We didn't need as many swings so we went with just a plain square shape. We used 6x6s for the legs and posts across the top and used 4x4s for the angled support pieces. We built the swings using the plan from this website. All the materials can be picked up at the blue and orange stores. However when it came to the springs for the swings, the blue store was 1/3 of the price of HD. The legs are 12' long and buried 4' under the ground and cemented in for strength. Luckily I am retired military and was able to rent an auger for 1/2 the price of HD or the blue store. You could do it by hand but it saved us hours and lots of back pain. We found our dimensions for the size we wanted and spray painted dots on the ground where the posts were going to go. We dug the holes and stuffed the 6x6s in them. Using a post level we made sure they were plum. We braced them and added the quickrete and left them to setup over night. The next day we had to make sure all the tops were level with each other. This is where having some knowledge of physics paid off. I took clear tubing and screwed it above the height that I wanted on one post and then screwed the other end to another post. Fill it with water until the water level on the first post is where I wanted it (8 feet high) and it will automatically fill it level on the other end. There is a picture of this above. Water will always level itself out. I had to do this because my yard is at a slight down hill grade. We marked it and cut the tops off to make it level. After attaching the 6x6s on the top with 8" lag bolts it was time to paint. After painting was done we built 3 swings from Ana's plans. We shortened them by 6" to give room to walk between the legs and the swings. All in all it was a great project that only took two dedicated weekends. My wife still has to paint the swings though.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$600ish
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
We used an oil base Black Barn Paint from the blue store.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

jkread

Wed, 05/27/2015 - 22:38

It sounds and looks like the top 6x6s are mitered and sit on top of the end of the vertical posts. I'd say at least one lag bolt each way to hold the mitered corner together and then at least one in each piece down into the vertical to hold it in place.

carewarner

Mon, 04/27/2020 - 10:24

WOW, LOVE!!! This is simply gorgeous! What a warm and welcoming addition to your yard. And thanks for sharing your method of finding level for your posts on your sloped yard. I absolutely love it!

lakidog

Mon, 03/17/2025 - 04:51

Macau is actually much bigger than Las Vegas in terms of gambling revenue—it’s been the world's top casino destination for years. While Vegas has more entertainment options, Macau is focused almost entirely on gambling, attracting high-rollers from China and other nearby countries. The games are different too—Baccarat is king in Macau, while Vegas has a mix of slot machines, poker, and table games. One major difference is that Vegas thrives on tourism, with people coming for shows, restaurants, and nightlife, while Macau is almost entirely about the casinos. The laws are also stricter in Macau, with fewer options for casual visitors who just want a fun experience. If you’re interested in how Macau compares to Vegas in terms of revenue, gaming trends, and visitor demographics, this article breaks it all down: https://www.tellyexpress.com/online-gambling-in-east-asia/ . It’s a great read if you want to understand why Macau dominates the casino world!

Seasonal And Holiday

Outdoor Sofa - Front Porch

Submitted by mclaudeg3 on Fri, 11/06/2020 - 16:47

This project was quite easy and did not require many tools. The plan allowed me to adjust the measurements easily so it could fit in that space. I used regular 2x4’s and treated the wood with Mountain Ash colour in a semi-transparent stain from Sherwin Williams, I just love the colour! I build 2 - 2 seaters exactly the same. The one side has no arm, as I wanted it to look like a lounge chair. I love to sit in the corner and stretch my legs 😊. I bought the cushion covers from IKEA, and got good quality foam.

Estimated Cost
Wood ~$300
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
2 coats of semi-transparent Mountain Ash stain from Sherwin Williams.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Chicken Coop and Run

Submitted by Klombers1 on Mon, 03/24/2025 - 08:47

We started with a commercial coop. I used your plans to extend the run, and after the chicken math happened and we moved to the farm full-time, I built a much larger version of this plan (painted to match our actual barn), and created a removable center divider in the run to make introducing new chicks easier, while giving them protection until they reached mature size. We are fortunate to free-range our chicken (we have 2 Great Pyrs in the pasture with them) and have an automatic coop door on the blue coop that allows them to go out onto the top of the run. - Robin K.

Email Me
Free Plans

Get new plans sent right to your inbox for free!

    We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    Back