Community Brag Posts

Tilt-out recycling sorter --Modified Build

I attached the tilt out portion using a Kreg jig and eventually removed the brace (it wasn't necessary and removing the brace gave it a cleaner look.

I used 2 x 2 as a trim around the outside which also allowed me to hide the hinge.

Other than that -- followed the build pretty closely. I used a cable on either side to stop the tilt out from falling to the floor (which allows me to leave it open as well.

This was my first project and it was a battle to figure out how to install the hinges and I did not love my jig saw work with the plan feet so I bought and installed furniture replacement feet which turned out much nicer (IMO).

Good luck!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
General Finishes Java Gel
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Library console table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 11:09

My husbannd has built a handful of things using Ana's plans, but this was my first time doing everything on my own (aside from asking where to find the wood filler in our messy garage).  It was super easy to cut and put together and turned out perfectly for my girls nights stand/book shelf.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

New work from home desk!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/30/2020 - 09:13

Thanks to the pandemic I needed to whip up a quick (and cheap!) home office. This desk was the perfect fit! I made the top out of an 8-foot rough pine board...Just cut it in half and attached it lengthwise with wood glue and pocket screws. Finished the top with a dark stain, and the bottom with some white trim paint we had laying around. The whole thing cost about $20, versus the $200 I would have had to spend. Very happy with how this turned out!

Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Camp Loft Bed

Submitted by jnfase on Sun, 08/26/2012 - 18:25

A bunkie board needs to be added to the shopping list. I used one from a bunk bed that I used to have as well as some metal slats that I used to support the bunkie board. I would imagine you could use boards as well. Also, I would add that 2" screws would be helpful. There were times when 2 1/2 were too long and 1 1/2 were not long enough. It's a very sturdy bed. Definitely recommend using lots of wood glue for reinforcements. I also added L-shaped brackets under the 2x6's to add support.

Estimated Cost
$100 - $150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Modified Hailey platform bed - king

Submitted by Syra_87 on Fri, 06/20/2014 - 13:33

We didn't want a platform bed but liked the looks of this bed. We used a 2x10 for the vertical frame. The 'rail' around the top of that is a 1x4. We sunk the supports slightly to hide most of the box spring. I also wrapped the box spring so that it matches our bedroom and isn't so apparent. The legs we did were two 2x4s as we couldn't find a 4x4 in pine. We did two twin beds to support the twin box springs and did a 'footboard' that brings them together. They wouldn't have fit through doorways otherwise. It turned out very well. The headboard is somewhat our own creation.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax dark walnut (1 coat) and Helmsman Spar Urethane satin finish (two coats)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Bench Right Coffee table

Submitted by Nick862 on Wed, 09/21/2016 - 00:07

This was my first real project and I am happy with how it turned out. 

Estimated Cost
80.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Children's Table and Chairs

Submitted by Mommasus on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 14:05

I made these for my granddaughter. I was using fours colors instead of three so used 1x6's instead of 1x8's on for the table top and just added one more back slat to each chair.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Used exterior satin enamel paint and exterior screws so it can used inside and out. Painted all the chair slats and underside of the table top prior to assembly of the table and chairs. Required some sanding after filling screw holes but it was easy to touch up. Painted the chair and table base after assembly but before slats and top were attached. Attached table top and then sanded from 60 to 120 sandpaper so it would smooth for drawing and coloring and then painted the top of the table top.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Custom Desk

Submitted by RARAtlanta on Tue, 08/28/2012 - 18:07

I built this custom desk for a customer's 6 year old son. I started with the Modular Office Small Desktop. I had to make changes to the plans because I was using 3", posts, 1.5" solid wood top and the entire desk was made out reclaimed lumber. I also added a cross beam on the bottom to make it more secure. Once we settled on the basic idea my customer said if I found something unique to go ahead with it. They were thinking a cool piece of wood or something like that, however when I found an old boat instrument panel at the used furniture shop where my wife and sell furniture I had to have it. I then pulled all gauges from the panel and installed them in a wood "back splash". I rewired the gauges to work on 120V power so one switch will turn on the gauge lights and the other will make some of the gauge neddles jump.

Finish Used
-Once built sanded everything with 100 then 180 grit sand paper
-Painted it black with oil based paint
-Once paint dried hand sanded with 180 grit sand paper
-Applied paste wax with cheese cloth in small sections then wipe off within 5-10 minutes with a clean cloth
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Adirondack Chair

We just built our first set of Adirondack chairs and after sharing with our friends, we have sold a few. We are now building other stuff too!

The only change I did to the original plan is place the 1x3 on the top in the back. Makes it look more stout and clean finish.

We painted it 3 times with a nice red and bought some great cushions at a good price.

Estimated Cost
75.00
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Red Paint w/primer
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Custom Dresser/Armoire

Submitted by sgilly on Thu, 08/30/2012 - 11:53

I like building things for others, especially when it's something that they can't find anywhere else. In this case, my friend has lived in her home for 20 years and never could find a storage piece to fit in this niche in their bedroom. When she asked if I could build something I was ready to try!

Because the dresser is 83" tall, 14 inches deep, and 33 inches wide, I didn't use one of Ana's plans. But, the Madison Dresser could be used as a jumping off point.

My friend is thrilled with this, and I hope they can use it for many years to come.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax stain, I think it was English Walnut. three coats, sanded between coats. Minwax rub on poly in a gloss finish. three coats, sanded between coat one and two.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

birdsandsoap

Thu, 08/30/2012 - 14:47

great job. It looks beautiful. You have the best of both worlds; not only is it a custom piece, the finish makes it look like professional quality.

Bedside table

Submitted by madoss on Wed, 06/25/2014 - 18:22

Reclaimed wood nightstand

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
White paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Little Boy's Version

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 09/26/2016 - 11:23

Thank you for the great plans!  I modified it a bit to fit our needs.  I made the footboard identical with the headboard; added feet from Osbourne Wood and finials I found on Etsy.  To accomodate the feet, I made the vertical corner posts flush with the siderails and head/foot boards.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

YellowKlondike

Mon, 09/26/2016 - 11:28

I forgot to mention that I went to Ikea and bought slats for their toddler bed to use as the mattress support for mine.  They were $9.99 discounted to $5.99 and it was a lot cheaper and easier to just use that as the support.

Farmhouse King Bed with Drawers

Submitted by jpad067 on Mon, 07/06/2020 - 15:55

Inspired by the Queen Size Farmhouse Bed with Drawers, my father-in-law and I converted those plans into a King size. This was quite the project and took us a substantial amount of time to complete. We used a modified French Cleat to make the entire bed modular, so it can be easily (still very heavy) moved. The entire storage capacity is roughly 30 cubic feet, so we will have ample room to store our linens and other items not regularly used. This entire project was modeled from an antique door that my wife found in an antique store. Enjoy!

Estimated Cost
$1300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel (Snowbound)
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Rustic Wood Coffe Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 05/03/2024 - 14:00

Farmhouse Coffee Table with a bit of Rustic "X" Coffee Table. Thank you so much for the plans. This was a nice build. I opted for pocket holes and panel glue up so for me, it wasn't a one day build. :)

WRH

Built from Plan(s)

Storage Bed

This is my most ambitious build so far. I wanted to make a really nice piece of furniture and I needed a bed so this is it. I wanted drawers and I wanted to make an upholstery headboard so I this is what I came up with. The headboard was so simple and took only a day. I searched youtube and found a video walking you through the process and was surprised at how easy it was. I built the bed with oak but I would do it differently next time. As it turns out I don't like the grain of oak and its so porous that I spent A LOT of time on the finishing part. I used wood grain filler to take away the porousness and used a series of stains and glazes to get the finished look I wanted. All in all I'm happy with the result but I think I could do it better next time.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Aquaponics Garden

Submitted by Chris 1975 on Sun, 06/29/2014 - 08:11

The better way to garden! I built the original, and then the fish got too big for the 55gal tanks below. Had to upgrade to 2 300gal IBC containers. Now I have 50 tilapia that are ready to eat, adn enough vegatables to feed us for the year.... awesome!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
thompsons sealer
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Double Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2016 - 06:34

This was my first Farmhouse bed!  I am totally in love with how it turned out!  These plans were very detailed and easy to follow.  I added some fancy trim like in the Mom's Fancy Farmhouse bed. I also changed the way I attached the side rails.  I used siderail supports from Lee Valley as I wanted to be able to dismantle the bed for easier moving if needed.

I am also thinking of adding a trundle to it.

 

Thank you so much Ana, for these wonderful plans.

I have made numerous items from your site and will continue to do so. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
150-200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Varathane Triple thick one coat stain-Expresso
Varathane Triple thick one coat clear finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Easy Workbench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/07/2024 - 07:44

Easy to put together and quick! A great set of plans which produced a very sturdy bench. Some adjustments were made, as we had spare 1x3s which we used to expand the bottom shelf.

We pre-cut everything to specification. We only needed 6 2x4x8s. We only broke into the 7th because our cuts for the cross bars on top came up short once it was together and we had to recut. Just save the 12 inch boards to cut when you need to add them to ensure the measurements are accurate. The top was glued and nailed together with brads, a bottom layer of 1 inch pine with a top layer of 1/4 oak plywood on top. It was what we had on hand and it provides the strength needed with girth yet the hard exterior of the hardwood ply.

S Walker

Built from Plan(s)
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