Community Brag Posts

Build a Loft Bed (and win your daughters heart)

When it was time for a big girl bed for my daughter I was so excited because I had been WANTING to make the Hanging Loft Bed since first spying it on The Bumper Crop and Ana White. I'm a novice so this was the perfect first project for me and my daughter LOVES it. If you have unique space challenges in any of your bedrooms this is the bed for you.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200 (I needed to buy some tools)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
White Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Rob from Wisconsin (not verified)

Tue, 12/18/2012 - 17:17

What a great idea! I can't wait to make one for my little girl next weekend. Can I ask a few questions? How did you affix it to the ceiling? I will not be able to get on top of the ceiling so I will be finding he joists with a stud-finder. I assume you screwed in eye-bolts?

How did you make the rail and ladder? Any help is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much for the idea, my Daughter is going to love it!

Thanks,
Rob

britpatt2010

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 06:03

I just wanted to say that I just came across this and absolutely love it! My daughter and our new baby will be sharing a room and now I have inspiration on how to make it work! Can't wait to try this out! Love the ladder...how did you make the ladder?

Entryway Revamp

I had always wanted a bigger entry way at my front door. Last year my husband was gone for 3 weeks (military training) and I had the perfect opportunity to make it happen.

as you can see the original closet took up half of the entry way, and was not very functional as far as storage. It was always crammed full of stuff and there was just no good way to organize it.

With the help of my mom and sister (huge thanks) we tore out the closet, put in a new floor in the entry way, built a bench with nooks for my girls, shelves below for shoes, and shelves above for storage containers.

The new floor was added as we found after the closet was out that the oak flooring did not continue under where those walls had been, and after consulting with a wood floor specialty guy, I was informed that the flooring in my house has not been made for some 50 years now. We added new flooring (which has been better with wet shoes anyways) and moved on.

The bench/ shelf was built by us with the size of the space in mind, and the height of the tallest shoes also in mind (my husbands boots) there are two cubbies and enough bench to seat one at a time to get shoes on or off. the back of the cubbies is painted in magnetic paint. very helpful when the girls need to take notes to school with them, I simply hang them up and they stuff them in their back packs on the way out the door. we have found that friends pictures go up through the school year there too. The round black containers that you see are perched along the top two shelves. They are $1 discounted, plastic garbage cans that I spray painted black to match. They have recently been labeled, gloves, hats, scarves, flip flops, out door chalk, etc. the very top shelf which you need a step stool to reach hold the off season bins and the lower shelf holds the in season bens. there are also 2 bens below the bench seat to hold, flip flops or gloves and hats for easy access for my girls.

Over all, the overhaul (:) has been great. people can now actually get into my house and out of the weather more then one at a time. the storage is much more efficient, and I feel much cleaner looking.

and best of all, because I like to change things up all the time, I can change out the bins to square or rectangle and any other type of material, anytime I like, I wont always have to stick with the repurposed garbage cans that I am using now. although these suckers hold a lot more then I ever would have thought.

This was my first really big project. and I am pretty proud of it. - And my husband actually thought he was in the wrong house when he came home from training :)

Estimated Cost
$500.00
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Painted
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Sectional build

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 07/13/2020 - 22:43

Thank you Ana for all that you do! Me and my family are very thankful.

Enclosed Garden Beds

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/28/2024 - 12:31

Made a few subtle changes. Excellent plans. Clear and easy to follow. Thank you.

Cynthia Dinardi (Oregon)

Built from Plan(s)

mini farmhouse table

mini farm house tables

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60.00 for 2 tables
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
We used white semi-gloss paint and Minwax dark walnut stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Hallway table

Submitted by dmgraiser on Sat, 07/12/2014 - 14:57

My brother-in-law built this plan as an end table for my wife and I as a present. We wanted to build a hallway table, so I decided to modify the plan to fit in the long hallway. It looks great and is very sturdy. I listed it as a weekend project, but it was VERY easy and fast to build, but the finishing took a while because of so much surface area & drying time.

Estimated Cost
100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Finished using Verathane Kona stain w/ polyurethane. Two coats of stain & two coats of poly. I used steel wool after the last coat of poly to give it a super smooth finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

White King Size Storage Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/18/2016 - 06:04

Took be about 2.5 weeks to build this bed, working evenings and a couple full days on the weekend. I HIGHLY recommend getting a Kreg Jig. It made life so much easier.

To go from a queen to a king, simply add 16" to all of the width pieces. All of the length pieces will be the same for a queen and king.

 

I added one 2x2 support beam down the middle of the bed, with two 16 3/4 inch legs attached to it, for added support.  I screwed the slats into all 3 of the 2x2 support beams.

The drawers are the trickiest part. Make sure you follow the plan in order, waiting to install the drawers until after you have screwed the storage bins to the headboard and footboard.

 

 

Estimated Cost
$400 for everything (wood, paint, screws, drawer slides, etc.)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
white Olympic One semi-gloss paint
Miniwax polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modern Outdoor Chair from 2x4s and 2x6s

Submitted by gooch1775 on Wed, 07/15/2020 - 19:52

Stained with Minwax Early American, and sealed with Polyurethane. In the process of completing a 2nd to make a set

Estimated Cost
About $30-40 per chair
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Early American stain and sealed with polyurethane.

Applied wood conditioner prior to staining. Let stain sit for about 5 minutes before wiping off excess. Let dry overnight. Applied 2 coats of Minwax oil based satin polyurethane. Let dry overnight between coats.

I didn’t want to be poked in the rear when sitting, so I sanded everything to 120 grit prior to starting. (Reason why it took so long)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

six cubby shelf

Submitted by amyjeanae on Mon, 09/17/2012 - 09:45

This goes into the mud room next to the recycling unit that I just completed the other day. My first project out there was a wooden bench with re-claimed wood. Very simple. I finished all three pieces similar. I painted grey paint on parts of the pieces (two coats) and then used a clear polyurethane (two coats with sanding before and in-between) on the rest of the projects.

This project was easier then I expected, and I love the look. I almost bought one like this at Ikea last year. So glad I held off as this was way cheaper to build and now has more sentimental value instead!

I was able to find brown bins to fit at target.com for $6.50 a piece, and can't wait for them to ship here. 4 of the 6 will be used for shoe bins, and the other 2 will be used for hats and mittens (live in Minnesota). So much neater looking than the plastic shoe shelves we had before.

FYI: there is a cut missing on the cut list: It is the bottom piece. The cut is 28 3/4" and is not mentioned on the list or in the diagrams....

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
clear polyurethane (2 coats) - sanding before and in-between.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

SarahAnne

Thu, 05/19/2016 - 15:33

Hello! I'm new to woodworking. I recently purchased an 8v lithium-ion drill by Ryobi. It's taking forever to build my cabinet with six cubbies. I keep having to stop to charge the drill. Do you think a 12v drill/driver would suffice? 

Thank you for your help! :)

 

JoanneS

Thu, 05/19/2016 - 16:33

Hi Suzanne - this is a great drill.  The ryobi One + drill/driver uses an 18v battery which fits interchangeably onto the other One+ tools.  This one is on sale as a set from Home depot, which comes with a battery and charger.  

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-ONE-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Compact-Drill-Driver-Kit-P1811/205651590

 

Also you can get extra capacity spare batteries to switch out with:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-ONE-18-Volt-High-Capacity-LITHIUM-Battery-2-Pack-P122/204321540

I love mine and have purchased several other One+ tools and the extra batteries as well. (I especially love the AirStrike 18 gage finish nailer which doesn't need a compressor).    Happy building!

:)  Joanne

Small fire truck bed

Submitted by Meganerd on Mon, 07/14/2014 - 20:59

Made a smaller version of the fire truck bed for our two boys. The youngest will move "downstairs" when he gets out of the crib. It was fun, but lots of work! It took me about 5 weeks of weekend/late evening work.

Thanks for the great plans and inspiration.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$500
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Adirondack Charis

Submitted by djp33d on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 14:54

Connected Adirondack Chairs from Spring of 2015

Estimated Cost
Used reclaimed pallets and two boxes of screws. So really only cost were the screws.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

2x4 Outdoor Sofa & Left Facing Sectional Piece

These plans are super easy to follow! It took me about 4-6 hours to assemble the sofa and the same for the one arm sofa. However, filling screw holes, sanding and more sanding and did I mention the sanding...and the staining because we all love to watch paint dry. The weather here in Ohio was very cooperative, there was either a heat advisory or it was raining. Now that I’m looking back on it, hind site and all that I would have taken the time to sand and stain at least some of the pieces prior to assembling it was quite an under taking saving it all for the end.

Estimated Cost
$120-200
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Olympic Maximum Semi-Transparent Stain & Sealant in Cinder after the stain dries I gave both pieces a worn and distressed look by sanding lightly. I then topped it off with a spar urethane in clear satin to make sure all the exposed would was cover because I didn’t get treated lumber.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Shoe Bench Planter

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/04/2024 - 08:09

Built this planter bench and added a removable shoe storage rack!!

A.S.

Outdoor Sofa & Chair

Submitted by slyerly on Wed, 09/19/2012 - 07:51

I loved every part of this project! I did it all by myself except for having the nice man at Home Depot cut all of the pieces for me (thank you tony! :) ). I had to buy all of the tools and found what I needed at a local flea market, and spent no more that $15 each tool. It was great. I have enough left over scrap lumber to build a coffee table of some sort next. Thank you so much for the plans, they were super easy to read and follow! I was able to find cushions at Home Depot as well, although they are not displayed in the picture since i love the stained wood so much. Since it is fall they were marked down to only $25/each which is a HUGE discount from previously being $90. The cost of the cushions will be the most expensive part of this project for sure, so make sure you can find what you want first before you get into this project if you have a strict budget for it!

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Aged Oak
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

chirp219

Tue, 10/23/2012 - 09:49

you did an awesome job, and love the stain! I myself cant draw a sraight line... i was interested in having someone build this for me, curious if you would be interested in building sofa, 2 chairs, 2 endtables and coffee table? Located in texas.. thanks

Herb Garden

Submitted by jennylynne on Thu, 07/17/2014 - 13:23

I made this from the Ana White Build a $10 Cedar Tiered Flower Planter or Herb Garden plans. It was a quick and easy fun project to work on.

Estimated Cost
$12.00
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
chalkboard paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Walkin Closet for my Wife

Submitted by Indy69 on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 09:52

I built this closet system based on the plans here.  So easy and so basic, just putting them all together to make a very nice looking closet setup.  I used 12 sheets of birch plywood, and premium select 1x2 pine.  All stained in Minwax Jacobean and satin clear througout with semi-gloss clear on the drawer fronts.

For the rods, I used chainlink top bars, which cost $6 for a 10' piece, and used #0000 steel wool to buff them out and then polished them.  For the 45 degree corners, I used 1" electrical conduit, and placed two 45 degree bend in each piece, and again steel wool and polished them as well. 

For the drawers, I used soft-close slides.  When using these, I highly recommend installing the rear brackets as well, as they make installation so much easier.  16 pairs of soft-close drawer slides with brackets cost $120 for all of them on Amazon.

 

   

 

Estimated Cost
Under $1,000
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Jacobean in satin and semi-gloss
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Amazing Beginner Project!

Submitted by ccrites on Mon, 07/20/2020 - 07:00

What a great 'Beginner' project. Little mistakes or imperfections only add to its charm! This was a real confidence booster for me. I am so delighted with the results! I had most of the wood leftover from when our fence was built, so I only needed to pay for the screws, stain and hardware which made the whole project cost less than $50!

Work Bench

Submitted by MonetB56 on Sun, 09/23/2012 - 10:13

I figured the first thing I should make was a bench to work on :)

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Did not finish
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner
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