Community Brag Posts

Full size headboard

This was so easy and relatively quick. I think it took us an hour and a half. We had all wood precut at Home Depot at the time of purchase. There were a couple boards that weren't cut accurately, but I just went with it because I don't mind imperfection. And some boards were a bit curved. I think it just adds to the rustic, "reclaimed" look. I ended up using mostly pressure treated wood as it was cheaper. They also didn't have the lengths in the instructions so I had to buy more pieces which made the cost about $80. I only used nails to build this, not the screws mentioned in the supply list. I finished it with a quick slap job of white paint, leaving some wood exposed. Sanded some off before adding a steel wool/vinegar stain. I ordered a metal frame to attach to the headboard thinking they were all a standard size and would work with these plans. Beware, this is not the case. The frame is narrower than legs and could not be bolted to them. I ended up slipping a 1 x 4 x 10 piece of wood into the grooves at the bottom, screwing it into place. Then I bolted the frame to that.

Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint and Steel Wool/Vinegar Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Tabletop play kitchen

Submitted by Ericagrace on Mon, 01/01/2018 - 14:29

Modified mini kitchen. Side door has a magnetic closure. When hutch is inside, it fits under the couch!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Stain is danish oil
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Nightstand 3 different ways

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/26/2021 - 15:38

We took this plan and modified it a bit. The first photo is as a nightstand. We resized the red cabinet, made it deeper and a little wider, gave it a contrasting finish of chestnut stain on the drawer fronts and barn red on the body to make my sewing storage/desk (2 cabinets with a hollow core door on top). The green cabinet is higher and wider, with a cabinet at the bottom. This is used in our stained glass shop at a Renaissance Festival in a remote area, which is powered by hidden solar. The drawers house my paperwork and sales tools and a solar inverter in the open back cabinet at the bottom.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Black Walnut Farmhouse Table

I saw the farmhouse table plans on the site and forwarded them to my father, who was quite interested in what I wanted to build. We decided the specs for the 72" tabletop in order to fit my dining room. What I didn't know was that my father, Charlie, had already located some pristine black walnut to construct the table and had already begun planing the wood for the table. My loving aunt and uncle "donated" the wood to me and my Aunt Mitch & dad planed all the wood themselves. As you will see, the planks that run along the top of the table are not the same size however the overall size if the tabletop is the same. Charlie fit everything together and made it work. He cut all the pieces and did all the work! Therefore, we have a beautiful, unique and absolutely STUNNING new table for our family!
Thanks to Ana White for this site, to my aunt & uncle for their resources and
time, to my husband who meticulously and gingerly applied the poly and finishing touches - and thanks especially to my loving father, Charlie, for all of his hard work, talent & generosity. We will now have a beautiful table to share years of memories & meals with one another!!

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

Comments

Repurposed bed frame dog kennel

Used the inspiration of Ana-White dog kennel and made ours with an old bed frame that wasn't being used anymore. I'm very happy with how it turned out. I just need to paint and stain it. You can see the side is from the bed headboard and footboard.

Estimated Cost
$75
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Barn yard table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/26/2021 - 19:01

Built this for my daughter as a wedding present the top is mahogany, benches and base are oak stained pine.

Comments

Farmhouse Table~squared.

Submitted by Dinabu on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 09:24

I really really wanted a farmhouse table...but...we had a space that needed a square table AND I needed to fit 8-12 people (or more!) so we modified Ana's farmhouse table plans to not only be square, but really big as well. This table is 6 ft on each side. Since the table itself was so big, we reversed the breadboard ends and used a 2x4 on 2 ends just to even out the size a bit since is not rectangular...and the area is quite small but needed a big table. I didnt want it to be completely out of proportion. We did not use a stretcher because of the square factor, but each leg is a 4x4 post and reinforced underneath. It's HEAVY. It won't be moved anytime soon! I'm loving it:)

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Black semi-gloss with 2 coats of clear gloss poly for legs and table skirting, dark walnut for top with 5 coats clear gloss poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Tilt Trash Can

We used Ana's tilt trash can plans and antique/distressed finishing tips. It came out great! We love it!! Thanks Ana!!!

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Distressed finish using dark walnut stain and antique white.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

JoanneS

Mon, 07/01/2013 - 16:11

Love it! Your finish is awesome. This looks just like an antique - you've got an instant heirloom! :)

Laundry Basket Dresser

This took me about an hour to build. I used two coats of paint and bought the cheapest laundry baskets that Walmart sells here in Alaska ($3.77 each). I added some felt to the bottom corners as it'll be sitting on a hardwood floor. Very happy with the finished product!

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

Rustic Entry Bench

Submitted by Kravgirl on Sun, 01/07/2018 - 07:42

Sturdy rustic entry bench. 46”x17”x17” high with 

shoe shelf. Built with 4x4 legs and 2x6 seating for max strength. 

Estimated Cost
$75 - $100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Dark Walnut with semi gloss urethane on seat and matte urethane on rest.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Pallet shelf for less than $5.00

Submitted by stedders on Fri, 05/06/2011 - 19:08

This project was super quick, cheap, and easy to make. I created it using an old recycled pallet, vintage sterling silverware, and leftover stain from another project. I simply sanded and stained it.

Estimated Cost
Under $5.00
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Mahagony
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Simple Bed (Full Size

Submitted by rlsavard on Wed, 07/03/2013 - 10:03

Great first project I made for my 2 year old son. He loves his "big boy bed" and I thoroughly enjoyed making it. I made the headboard first, then waited a day to do the footboard. I was able to think the process through better during that period and the footboard came out much better than the headboard, although maybe I'm just aware of these differences because I'm the one that made it. All in all it was a great learning experience and a wonderful way to dive into wood working. Thanks for all your plans, Ana!

Estimated Cost
$300 (materials and new tools)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Toy Box/Nightstand

Submitted by AK1013 on Wed, 06/24/2015 - 12:08

This is the 2nd thing I've ever built in my life. I had a ton of trouble with the angle cuts because of an old miter saw and my lack of skills with a protractor but it turned out okay.

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

Rory’s Treehouse

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 12/28/2021 - 08:51

Recent projects:
Treehouse for my 6-year old granddaughter
Desk for my 6-year old granddaughter

Comments

{mini} ten dollar ledges

I knew I wanted some of these shelves in my daughter's room but it seems bedroom sizes in Australia are quite a bit smaller than the US! I couldn't spare a long wall to fill with books so chose this narrow space to the side of the window.

The length of time I took for this project was for several reasons:
* I was a total beginner!
* I had to cut all of the lengths of wood with a hand saw & sand with sandpaper wrapped around a block of wood.
* It took about 5 coats of paint to cover the wood properly.

I adjusted the measurements from Ana's plans to fit the smaller space & while daunted at first at the prospect of attaching things to walls, I was so thrilled with how they turn out. I'm looking forward to challenging myself with something a little more complex next (perhaps with some power tools this time to assist!).

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Birthday Kitchen

Submitted by katrinaj55 on Sat, 06/27/2015 - 00:01

This was a pretty good and at times challenging project but it was fun and totally worth it when I saw the look on my daughter's face

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Natural Pine

Enjoyed making this queen sized bed frame. Thanks Ana, for the great plans! I am adding some lights to it in the next few weeks, that I'll wire through the 4x4's, to add individual reading lamps. I plan on complimenting the bed frame with your farmhouse style nightstands, that I am going to modify with a hidden power supply and some rollers for the drawers. Once done, I'll submit the brag post! Again, thanks Ana, for your great and inspired plans!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$175 (4x4's are expensive where I am, and I went with KD Whitewood instead of just regular pine 2x4's)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Natural
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Fancy Laundry Basket Dresser

This has been on my to-do list for a long time. We have not had a dresser for years, and have used our closets for our clothes. In our old house, I had built a storage unit for our closet, and we used clear plastic storage bins for our smaller, non-hanging items. Then we moved to our current house. Which had nice closets, but the bins didn't work so well. But we made do, fully intending to change it when we had time. Six years later...I found the time. LOL.
When Ana posted the laundry basket dresser, I knew it would work for our current bins! But I wanted them out of the closet, and I didn't really want to look at them. So I thought about doors. Finally worked it out, and here are the changes that I made.
I made it to fit my bins. Added some legs. Added 1x2 trim all around to help hide the plywood and beef it up to help the doors. Added the doors(gotta love that kreg-jig!). I used Ana's plan for the basic glass doors for those, same as the ones I did for my kitchen.
When it came to the inserts, I knew what I wanted, but it just took a bit of time to get everything together.
The inserts are plastic-plexiglass. I LOATHE cutting that stuff, and we won't go into the detail and language that was involved with that part. Finally got two workable pieces. Used my xyron to make circular stickers, and laid them out in my desired pattern. Then sprayed with frosted glass spray paint(awesome stuff!). It gave it that modern edge that I wanted, and disguised the stuff inside.

Estimated Cost
~40
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar glossy black spray paint, valspar aqua
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

My workbench

Thanks for the work bench plans! Mine measures 3 feet by 6 feet. We have a single car garage so I put locking casters on mine to enable me to move it. Easier to clean, easier to access all sides then put it back in the corner. The frame is 2x4, the top is leftover ash flooring. The lower shelf is leftover 2 by (4s, 6s). I may add another layer of ash to the top but it's functional as is. Stands 36 inches tall.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
unfinished as of now. Planning a clear coat for top.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Owl Love It!

Submitted by dynoboy on Tue, 06/30/2015 - 19:46

I built this as a birthday present for my sister and niece, she loves owls so I figured out a way to enlarge and image and stenciled an owl onto the top of the cover. Super happy with the way that it turned out. I used some retired climbing rope for the handles and screwed them in on the underside. I am going to put some rock around the outside so there is a buffer for the weed whacker.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
~$650
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Exterior Latex Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

A Simple Modern Doll House x 2!

I spent a couple of weekends making the knockoff West Elm Doll Houses using these free plans, as Christmas gifts for my 3 year old honorary nieces. The plans made building the doll houses quite easy! I opted to add trim pieces on the door and window openings, which saved me some headache, since they didn't need to be cut perfectly straight, and I also decided to cut the door and window openings out before attaching the front side to the rest of the house, just in case I messed up. The furniture was a bit harder without any plans (it's noted that the plans will be available soon, but they weren't when I did this build), but I just looked at the photos and made things up as I went along, using scrap wood and wood glue, which was pretty fun. Total cost was about $75 for both of these doll houses, the furniture and spray paint. For the finishing, I used Minwax Wood Finish Oil-Based in Ebony for the roofs and exterior window and door trim, which I stained before attaching. The rest of the house is Benjamin Moore Advance in Chantilly Lace, since that's what I had on hand, followed by two coats of Rust-Oleum spray paint in Satin Clear Enamel. For the furniture I opted to spray paint it all in satin white or black, also followed by two coats of the enamel spray. I used acrylic craft paint on the faucets, to give them a pop of silver. And I added some scrapbook paper for wallpaper and some cut up rug samples, for a little color! Both of my friends' 3 year olds are a little on the young side for these, but they've been enjoying learning how to play with them!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments