Community Brag Posts

American Girl Doll House

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/06/2021 - 08:04

This was what I built for my daughter during quarantine! I had never used a Kreg Jig before and now I love using it!

Comments

Modified Easy Bench

Submitted by wkilmer23 on Sat, 04/02/2011 - 08:03

Sorry for the poor photo.  I will take a better one when I find my camera.  We made this bench for our little shih tzu but it soon became a bench for everyone to test out.  If I had to repeat this project, I would probably keep the legs from the original plan.  These store bought legs don't seem sturdy enough.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
My wife bought the fabric at Jo-Jos and the legs are from big blue.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Cabin dresser with shelf

Submitted by Budd0413 on Tue, 06/11/2013 - 13:54

I liked this dresser. I modified the plan to suit my needs and added some features to bring it up to my tastes. I dovetailed the drawers and used Blum soft close 18" under mount slides. The drawers were costly and time consuming but I am very happy with the form and function. I added some height and depth.

I also used some different construction methods. I built the legs first then three individual face frames that were attached individually, instead of adding one piece at a time.

This was a great project, I wish I haven't painted it but using brown maple is really best suited for paint.

Estimated Cost
300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Black enamel, lacquer on inside of drawers.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Barn Greenhouse on the Penninsula!

Submitted by klatz on Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:08

Super easy to follow and build! We went with treated lumber from Home Depot and have around $1500 into the project. Will be looking at adding an automatic fan and thermostat next year. Benches on one side for starters and a raised bed on the other side.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$1500
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

MartiB8

Fri, 06/12/2020 - 11:00

What a fabulous job! I love the red door for a pop of color. And the thermometer is a brilliant idea. I'm modifying this plan to better fit my yard. Thanks for sharing!

Farm Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 11/15/2021 - 14:06

Anna made it easy to build. I did change a few things to fit my dining room but I think it turned out great.

Thanks Anna

Shawn Roleson

Comments

Pallet Wood Coffee Table

Submitted by AlexWS on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 14:51

After my free drink station project I was going to swear off pallet wood for larger pieces, then I came across what may be a holy grail of pallets. 4 feet by 5 feet made with 4X4's and 2X6's held together with screws rather than nails. Yup, something had to be done with this.

so the sort of free comes from the lumber being free while I paid for the stain and poly. Of course, you could say we always pay for those, in this instance though they weren't leftovers from another project.

I say sort of Tryde because it shares the basics of the table, 2 by top pieces, breadboards, chunky 4X4 legs. However, given my wood choices the lumber sizes are all mixed around. Also because I was originally going to make the modern X leg kids picnic table but didn't have any good wood for the legs.

So instead of the breadboards being the wide pieces those are now 2X3's with 2X6's for the table top pieces. Another difference is that instead of 1X4's for the aprons boxed out I used 2X4's. This really wasn't a big deal because I had a Kreg Jig. By the way, got the master system and it rocks my socks off.

Compared to my last pallet wood projects these boards pretty much look store bought, I wish I had remembered to take a picture before I stained it. They're definitely a bit knotty but that's OK because even when I don't want an overly distressed look I still don't think wood should be perfect, if I wanted that I would use MDF.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$15
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Simple Minwax Ebony stain with a gloss spray poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Tryde Coffee Table

Submitted by bishop2001 on Fri, 06/14/2013 - 07:00

Tryde Coffee Table made of mahogany and stained used several layers of boiled linseed oil and a few top coat layers of wipe on satin polyurethane. It came out really nice. This is my first project.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
boiled linseed oil
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Poolside sectional

Submitted by Littlek8 on Tue, 05/19/2015 - 09:55

This was our first diy furniture project but definitely not our last. We were looking for furniture to put by our pool but everything that we liked and was comfortable was way out of our budget. I came across the post on pintrest and recruited my husband to do the woodworking for me. I the meantime I made the cushions and back pillows using outdoor fabric from fabric.com. The sectional is stained using Olympic Elite semi transparent exterior stain in kona brown.

Estimated Cost
$500.00
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Olympic Elite semi transparent stain in kona brown. Topcoat of Helmsman polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Afternoon Farmhouse Table Build

Submitted by Ahuff9103 on Wed, 12/13/2017 - 06:43

I got the plans from Anna White $50 beginner farmhouse table build. Changed from a 6 ft table to a 5 ft. Built in a few hours but took longer to paint than anything because it took 2 coats. 

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax honey 272
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Mike Mercer

Thu, 12/28/2017 - 16:23

Hi,

I really like the colour you chose!  Did you use "SPF" lumber or something else?  I am using SPF, so I am curious to see what the stain will look like once dried, etc.    

 

Thanks again, 

- Mike

My little side tables

Submitted by tdqueenroy on Wed, 11/24/2021 - 18:20

I have previously made side tables for our master bedroom but after two grown kids came back we had to move to the smaller of the two bedrooms we have. So here’s my 13” width version !

Nice easy build, thanks again Ana. Took longer to figure my new measurements for my cut list than actually building them!

Comments

A cottage bench with shoe rack

Only slightly modified cottage bench - I made the storage area bigger and added shelves to put my shoes. Only my second project so it's not perfect (especially the paint job) but I loooove it! Sure, the shoe rack I had was perfectly functional and bigger, but this is waaay prettier.

Found a perfect red oops paint at Lowes and I even added a little birdie stencil. I have a few more pieces I'm working on and hope to finish soon. Thank you Ana for the plans!
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Primer and two coats of paint, lightly sanded in between. I skipped the top coat because I want the red color to naturally fade with use.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

King storage bed

Submitted by Ken Kelly on Sat, 06/15/2013 - 22:43

This King size storage bed has 6 large pullout drawers. It's made by the plans we got from Ana's queen size and Twenty five to life's plans we found on this site(THANK YOU). Just like they say in their plans I'm not sure how much I actually spent because I made some mistakes and had to rebuild my bottom piece. But I loved putting this together, and it's worth every penny and beyond. The compliments from visitors and the swollen chest pride I get when I hear my wife say, "My husband built this for us." Can't put a price on that.

Estimated Cost
Around 200-250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Min-wax stain and polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

2x4 garage shelving

Submitted by mjberger85 on Sat, 05/23/2015 - 15:07

I built this to fit inside a closet that I have in my garage to store all my camping stuff. I built it 5 feet long so I only had to buy 2x4s that were 10 feet long. I also built the bottom shelf closer to the ground to allow just a little bit more space between the first and second shelf. All in all it was a very easy and fulfilling project. I was a little worried about how sturdy the shelves would be but they are very solid. Thanks Ana!

Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Scooter for Christmas

Great plan! I curved the edges with a French curve and a bench sanding disk, and then used a router on all exposed edges. I used a dremel router table with a small bit for the small pine pieces and a full sized router for the two main platforms. If I were to do it again I’d be far more careful with angle accuracy.. I think my miter saw is a little off. My table saw was spot on for the plywood cuts. I also used smaller wheels and only have spinners on the front, preventing collision.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Barn Door Console Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/09/2021 - 19:57

This is my 1st wood project and I wouldn’t have tried it without your plans, thank you!

Took about 3 weeks between work and 3 kids. (My 2 year old wanted attention and pulled down what I put up in one pic) I also made some planter boxes in the middle to complete something and a side table that slides under the couch to test the finishes on before I completed this massive entertainment console.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Maple/Cherry Coffee Table

Submitted by tctaylor79 on Mon, 04/11/2011 - 07:02

This has been a work in progress for about 4 years.  My wife and I started this project before we were married.  Between a wedding, moving into our first house and having our first child we've had a real hard time getting in the shop to finish this project.  I'm proud to say that's it's finally together and just needs a few coats of poly. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
None yet, Poly will be applied in the near future.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Mid Century Modern Changing Table

Submitted by Mizthng67 on Tue, 06/18/2013 - 08:54

I had been looking everywhere for an antique Mid Century Modern buffet table to use as a changing table for my daughter but found that these vintage pieces ran about $1200 to $3000 and still needed refinishing. That was out of my price range so I came here and found plans for a console table that had the look I was going for.

The plan I found was too short in length and height so I reworked them a little to fit my needs. I just added a second cabinet in the same dimensions as the first onto the other end of the drawers to increase the length and bought 12" legs instead of 6" ones to increase the height. I used the same hardware that was recommended in the original plans but added a magnetic door stopper to make the cabinet doors flush with the frame when closed. I also added dowel rods in the cabinets because my daughter doesn't have a closet and I needed a place to hang her clothes.

It is great to have 2 cabinets because the left side holds clothes that are too big for her and the right holds all of the clothes she wears now. The drawers are nice and deep so I can put all her changing stuff like diapers and lotion in the top and fit all her socks, diaper covers, and pajamas in the other drawers.

I will say that I used 1x6's to make the drawers first but found that I am really bad at picking straight boards as there were a lot of gaps between the sides and the bottom of the drawer. I went back and used scrap pieces of 3/4" plywood for the drawer sides and they came out much better with no gaps, plus, the exposed top of the drawer sides look better.

This was a fairly fast project. I put it as a weekend project due to the down time between staining and poly coats. It was my first time working with edge banding and I loved it. It was super easy and kind of relaxing! Over-all, this project was easy and fun! This table meets all of my needs AND it looks great! Thanks Ana for the plans and thanks Brooke for the inspiration and tips!

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
1 coat of Rustoleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Kona followed by 3 coats of matte poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

dyank021

Tue, 09/23/2014 - 11:05

I am so impressed. Where did you get the beautiful hardware and gold rimmed midcentury feet?

Parsons desk

I added an additional detached shelf so we can change the setup anytime. I also increased the space between the two main shelves to 30 inches and extended the depth to 22 inches overall. I left one shelf off to make room for the computer tower. The top is made from maple with a gunstock stain. This desk will mainly be for my kids gaming station. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$130
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax gunstock and Pro Finisher crystal polycrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Outdoor Sectional

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 13:18

Built this for my daughter in law for Christmas. Turned out awesome. Plans and directions were great!

Comments