Community Brag Posts

I have been needing an entertainment center for so long. When this plan popped up, my husband and I went into action. We designed this piece a little differently though. For one, the plan is too narrow for us and our tv-so our console is wider but shorter-to save on costs. Another note-we needed a place to put our computer so it can charge without our twin boys getting ahold of the cord. You can see that feature on the lower left hand corner. I also used a picture in a very well known catalog and I used the picture to get the stain just right. This might just be my favorite piece so far. I will be adding the bookcases and hutch to this. I am also in the process of adding 2 doors to this console. They needed to be stained before I could add them though.

Recently I added a family member and his name is Myles. He needed a home so before we picked him up I built him one of these for him to grow into. The one pictured is actually the second one I built that was built for a friend. I followed the original instructions. I used a couple different bits of material. My table top is 1x4's and for the sides i used bead-board. I painted it an off white with eggshell finish. The table top is stained with Minwax Ebony stain. I love how it turned out and most of all my puppy enjoys it as well.

I left the bottom open. The dimensions in the plans make it so you can set the crate right on top of a crate replacement trey series 700 from PetCo. This makes it very easily to clean by just lifting the crate off the trey and hosing it off and also prevents the wood from absorbing any liquids.

I had to make the back legs longer, since I used all pallet planks for this, threw me off a bit. And I made the arms an extra 5" long to notch in wine glass holders. If I do it again, I'll angle the back a bit more, but as is its pretty great. Guess who picked pink?

I have resized the bed for European dolls, and adjusted the wood used to standard measures available in the Netherlands (18x27 mm). All connections are without screws.

My wife wanted a sofa table near our sliding door going outside to backyard / pool. She was looking online and found some cheapo "made in China" types at some of the big box store sites; yuck.

I had to come home from our family vacation sooner than the wife and kids which meant I had 12 days at home alone to make some sawdust. The wife got her sofa table which she really digs. My boy got a bed (different post) and daughter got her room painted.

I didn't add the "X" feature at the ends as I like the console better without them. Also spray painted some corner hardware; L brackets and lag bolts a textured black / copper spray, but didn't add them; wife liked the table without the added decor so it stays as is.

We were inspired when we saw Ana's Outdoor Sectional on Pinterest and after checking out the site we decided to build ours using the modified plans with 2 x 4s as it was much more cost effective. It was a really fun weekend project for my husband and I and not difficult at all. 

Under stairs dog house.

This table was super easy to build... it took me only 3 hours! I opted to use hardwood poplar 2x2s for the legs because furring strips frustrate me to no end (bowing boards, splitting wood, etc.) and the poplar also made it sturdier. Had I used furring strips, this table would have only cost me $15, but I opted for the more expensive route... but still, $35 ain't bad!

Also, I used the Kreg Jig for this project, set on 3/4" with 1 1/4" pocket hole screws - EXCEPT when I drilled the base frame onto the table top. I used 1" pocket hole screws for that, just in case the 1 1/4" screws were too long and came poking out the top of the table.

Click my blog link for the complete play-by-play!

A modified version with tiered areas. 2x4's tie layers together. Happy Mother's Day!

This is my second stuffed animal zoo tower.  This time around I used cheap 2x2 furring strips.  Not the best pick of lumber, but it gets the job done well. :)

Small shelving unit for a home office also used as a guest bedroom. Made by my husband.

My neice wanted a bed just like hers for her American Girl Doll. I did manage to find one, but I also found plans here! Thank you!! :) So I modified the plans a little bit to add the back of the daybed. She loves it!

Farmhouse table made from distressed (worm hole) maple.

My neighbor was able to get me the 5/4 distressed maple for about $2/bd ft - I ended up buying 100 board feet and had plenty leftover. The finished board feet for this project was about 60 if I remember correctly. So the $200 was the bulk of the expense. The only other costs were sand paper, I bought a Kreg Jig, screws, Minwax Marker, paint, stain and urethane (much of which I already had).

It came out better than I anticipated. The antique white finish was not difficult at all.

Tip - When following the instructions for the finish here, I applied the first coat of urethane with a brush almost immediately after applying the Minwax marker to all of the sanded edges. I did this in haste, but ended up with some unexpected results that really added a nice touch. The stain from the marker incorporated a bit into the urethane as I brushed it giving it an antique, yellow hue. At first I thought I made a big mistake, but it turned out to add a really nice look.

We took the loft bed plans and modified a bit for our daughters bed. We made it a little taller including the doorway. Instead of a ladder we did a set of carpeted stairs with entry to the underneath space through a door on the inside and added a light for a 'secret' hideout. Everything else were just some added features. We built flower boxes and added foam blocks with silk flowers. For the gable we used bead board. For the shutter we used small wood strips and the horizontal pieces are just the free paint sticks from lowes cut down. We then added wired in lights hooked up to her light switch. (she loves this part) Then he built a fold down desk that can be opened or closed for when they want to play in there. The school supplies we used the rod and tin buckets from Ikea kitchen area. Over it took about 6 weeks to do everything between watching the kids and working. Cost for materials and the extras came to a little over $600. 

Only medication - cut 8” off the headboard to fit in our Maverick for transportation to Dallas. Stain is half minwax special walnut and half early American with dark minwax paste wax finish.

This was one of my first, bigger projects. It was so easy! I still need to finish the trim, but my daughter loves it as is!