Community Brag Posts

This project has been a long time coming and I'm so excited that it is finally finished. We modified the plans to better fit our media center opening, so it is about the same dimensions as the original Pottery Barn Benchwright TV Stand. We also used true dimension lumber, so we adjusted the measurements based on that. This is definitely my favorite project to date!

We were shopping for bunk beds for our 5 and 3-year-old kids, and everything I saw was overpriced, mass produced junk. I'm not kidding - we were looking at $800-$2000 for anything that appeared to be remotely stable, let alone well-designed.

Naturally, I started searching for plans (it's the right thing to do), and naturally, I found my way to Ana White. This project began in earnest when I found the Side Street Bunk Bed plans here:
http://ana-white.com/2012/03/plans/side-street-bunk-beds

I figured I'd give it my own twist. I needed to practice using my DeWalt compact router (and the new trim router table my wife had given me months before), and any excuse to bust out my Kreg Jig is fine by me. I also had different ideas for the ladder and guard rails...so I printed out the plans, sketched out my variations, and proceeded to suffer through the indignity of lumber shopping at Home Depot.

I know what you're thinking - WHY would anyone even bother trying to find a straight board in THAT place? Well believe me, I suffered for the convenience of driving to the HD two miles from my house. I had to work each and every board like crazy, but eventually I got em all into fine shape. Wood wants to be good, even the crap they sell at HD.

About halfway through the build, I started to worry that what i was building was TOO sturdy - total overkill. But now that it's in use, I can tell you I'm glad I built with these plans. I can still climb up on top of the bed with both my kids if I want to and this thing doesn't budge. Not an inch. Not a creak. SOLID. Exactly what any parent wants.

Not a lot of complex tools involved here; my trusty Delta chop saw, my DeWalt 18v cordless drill, a DeWalt palm sander ( I spent hours with this), the Kreg Jig and a couple of clamps (of course), and the DeWalt Compact Router and table. The router really made a difference in the overall design – and I wasn't afraid of screwing up the lousy lumber I was working with. In the end, it all finished rather nicely.

I treated every piece with Minwax wood conditioner, then a single coat of Minway Polyshade in Pecan. Nothing fancy, but after sanding it down and giving it a polish, I gotta say it looks just as good as your average IKEA finish. Not bad at all.

This is the largest piece of functional furniture I've ever built, and my kids LOVE it. They talked about it for days after, and you can't buy that on Amazon. It was a real confidence builder, and I'm PSYCHED to move on to some nicer lumber and more complex projects!

We decided to build this a bit bigger and taller. I will caution you to be careful as we came inches to not making it through our doorways. We expanded the depth 15" to make it a full bed and we extended the length of the legs to allow for 48" clearance underneath.

We also went with a rock wall instead of a ladder. I 1st built the angle too steep; recommend at least a 30 degree angle on a wall. Kid's love it; mom not so much when attempting to make the bed! :)

We went with military theme - green rope lights, camo netting for a roof, and sandbags filled with old clothes from my high school years for a bunker underneath.

Still working on a sign for top of the door.

Great project! Thanks for the idea!

Made tis twice. First one was a mess, Bought more wood and started over aware of problem areas and built more carefully second time.

Wood Stocking Stand built by Nico

We needed a guest bed in a hurry and this fit the bill.

Modified the Round X Base Table plans a bit. Made the table 25 inches high, 38 inches diameter. I glued 4 poplar 1x12's together using a biscuit joiner. I then rough cut my circle with a jigsaw. I then made up a quick circle cutting jig to cut the perfect circle with my router using a straight bit. Then i rounded over the edges with a roundover bit.
Another adjustment i made was making the legs straight as opposed to being on an angle as it was intended as a children's table.
The table was stained using Minwax Chestnut Gel Stain, which is so easy to use.
I finished it with 3 coats of Minwax water based Polyacrylic.

The chairs were something i saw for sale on a website, so i tried to copy it. They were selling the chairs for $150 each, i made mine for about $15 for the pair. They are made out of pine stained the same as the table.

Did this project over the span of two weekends.

only tough part really was the X sides. Had to source from a friend.

Farmhouse Desk

Built desk for larger room but in hindsight should have shortened the length by about a foot. Great solid sturdy desk and easy to build.

For my son's 7th birthday, I promised him a new lofted bed. I poured over different designs, drooled over all of the different things I could make, worried about whether or not I could actually do it. Nothing in the market fit my requirements or my budget... I was determined to make this for my son.

Over the long weekend, this bed was constructed... a little "Loft Bed", a little "Claire", a little "Cabin" and a little inspired innovation and ta-da: The Fred-enstien Bed :)

Claire guardrails and bookshelf supports
Modified Claire Desk (work in progress)
Cabin Headboard
Custom built storage shelf stairs (he didn't want a ladder)

Next weekend will be touching up the paint and installing the remaining bookshelves

I was in mood for a while and made a few wall decor pieces this was one I put in my room

I made this extendable triple pedestal table based on Ana's orginal plans.  I had to "engineer" the extension system - which was fun - and it worked out nicely.  I also added a threaded rod through the pedestals (towards the top) to give added support in addition to the pegs through the centerboard.

Thanks for the inspiration and the plans, Ana!

Our very first project. Both Ana White projects. Loving it! Thank you so much for free plans!

I found the William Vanity on Pottery Barn and loved the look, just not the price. I recreated it with a top sink and a drawer for a fraction of the cost.

I made the locker cabinet and resized it to 80 inches to provide a little more locker height, and changed the depth to 16 inches. I haven't installed the last coat hook because I'd like to make a charging station on the top shelf using the outlet under the cabinet. Went really well!