Community Brag Posts

First time building set of planters from cedar lumber (not fence planks) and fairly pleased with outcome… Lumber was a bit mismatched for thickness and it wasn’t S4S … Sanded and cut pieces then double coat stained all sides before assembly… All joints were glued and exterior screwed … Floor is free floating (we’re using potted plants) and has 2 hanger boards to accommodate different sizes of pots…

You can see the final project here: http://crabandfish.blogspot.com/2012/10/lil-archers-bed-its-done-its-do…

It was time for our son to move to a big-boy bed! We looked at tons of plans, but none were quite what I wanted. In the end, fish modified plans for Ana White's Camp Loft Bed with Stair. We wanted to make it a bit shorter because we only have 8' ceilings and there is a ceiling fan in the room. We spent about $80 for the lumber and invested in a kreg jig as well. The bed is stained with Minwax Golden Oak. We bought a 10" deep twin-sized foam mattress for the bed - if you are adding a coil mattress and boxspring, the bedside rails would definitely need to be higher.

Our son LOVES it! He is almost three and is easily able to navigate the stairs, which I don't believe will become too "baby-ish" as he grows older. If they do, the steps can easily be removed from the frame without losing structural integrity.

The underbed area has a great "cool" factor - we hang blankets to create forts, and it has become a place our son gravitates to for reading, playing, anything!

I live in a small northern town that has very little choice for affordable furniture. After scouring kijiji for months I decided to make my own.

I was very happy with how my bookshelf turned out - using 2 pallets. I used wider shelves than this post said because my books won't fit on 4" shelves, and it was next to impossible to remove the pallet slats for re-use without splitting them. I used 4 - 6" and 2 - 8" shelves.

Power sander was my best friend.

Buying the shelving and stain cost me $20 for this project!

Good, sturdy pedestal is a nice addition to the laundry room.

I used the plans from Sausha’s Washer/Dryer Pedestals and added a pull out to place the laundry basket on.

Modern cedar rocker.

Over the last several weeks I’ve built a few different variations on the Easy Jewelry Box plan:

A narrow tower style one for my Hubby to use in the office at home, using 1x6 and 1x3 for the drawer sides, and 1x10 for the dresser box sides (no overhangs on this one) measures 10 ¾”wide x 24 ¾” tall. The drawers are not lined. The bottoms on these drawers don’t have felt – I used wax on the bottoms of the drawers, and also on the shelves, and they slide just fine.

The wide tower – this one is wide enough to hold paper and office supplies, and was made to the same height as the original narrow tower. The drawer sides are 1x3 and 1x6, with 1x12 as the dresser box sides (measures 16 ¼” wide x 24 ¾” tall). These are unlined, and also got wax on the bottom of the drawers and on the shelves.

I’m going to make a top to go across both of them so it’s the same height as the keyboard/mouse, and paint it to match the desk surface (BTW – the desks are a variation on the Rustic Table).

Distressed storage – the drawers for these are some strips of ½” plywood that were left over from another project. The dresser boxes are from 1x8. Also for these I left off the overhangs, and used the Minwax stain pen on the edges for a painted distressed finish. I liked the first one, and ended up building another to match. Each one measures 8 ¾” W x 10 ¼” T x 7 ¼”D.

Also, one of the easy jewelry boxes made exactly to the plan, with a weathered gray finish and the optional drawer divider. I’ve built more of those in different finishes, but they will be gifts, so I won’t brag those just now.

I used up a lot of my scrap wood, and the paint was what I already had on hand. Most of the knobs are from Target (the multi-packs were cheaper than buying the single knobs).

This was really my first build and it stemmed from not being able to find the kind of beds I wanted for my girls. My brother helped me cut the wood and assemble the first one and my husband and I did the second together. It was so rewarding to make them and I love how they turned out! You can store so much and they are sturdy pieces. My girls love them too. (bedding is from Pottery Barn) I would stay this is a beginner's project. You don't need any specialized tools. it was a lot of fun and now I'm it itching to buy a Kreg Jig so I can complete many more projects!

My husband made one for me and we loved it so much that he made a second one that we sold just a few hours after it was finished.

He is now working on a set of console, coffee, and side tables; and later he will attempt to buil a round dinning table for our house... wish us luck!

This project was easy to follow! Always love Ana's plans. I did add feet because the 23" legs made the table too short for my couch, which was my fault for not paying attention to that. Other than that, fantastic project!

Even though this project is not made from a specific plan, I'm posting it because it is made with the knowledge I gained from reading hundreds of plans from this site. I actually saw this at a shop and loved it, but they wanted almost $400.00 for it! Using all the skills Ana and the rest of you on this blog taught me, I went home and wrote up my own plans. Note the weird giant drawer....custom build for my purse.
The door is wonky, can't seem to get the hang of doors, but I'm proud of it and for my house, this is good enough!!
BTW, the farm bench next to it is from Ana's farm bench plans, just used 2xs instead of 1xs and added a shelf.
Thanks Ana for teaching me the skills I needed to build this fun tall hutch!

I wanted a good flat and level workspace to continue projects. This workbench folds up to the wall in my garage so I can still park when not working on anything. I made it pretty stout with 2x4s and 2x6s since it would need to support fairly large pieces of furniture without deflecting. It is very heavy as a result though (good core workout folding it up and down :) )

I used two folding shelf brackets on the legs to keep them from accidentally being kicked out from under the table while it's out. (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2001690/2615/Folding-Shelf-Bracket-8-P…)

I used four heavy strap hinges to connect the table to the 2x6 (which was lag screwed into studs). Two gate latches were used to secure the edge of the table to studs when the table is folded up.

I cut the legs approximately, and then when the table was hung I cut and shimmed them to get the table level on the uneven surface of the garage floor.

As soon as I saw these plans I knew we had to build it.  We have six grandkids (all 2 and under) and they have a playroom at our house so I wanted something that they could sit on if they are watching TV and also something they could sleep on when they stay the night.  This definitely fits the bill!  This is our second build from Ana's website and it was pretty easy. 

We followed the plans exactly.  The only thing we added was a middle board to the back and the arms of the sofa.  I didn't want them to get stuck between the top rails and and the mattress.  We used dowels instead of screws to attach the slats to make it easier to move.  We did not screw the two couches together.  Since the room it is in has thick carpet, it is not moving at all.  The kids love it and it is so sturdy.  They could jump on it or off of it (which they have already done) and we don't have to worry about it breaking. 

I sewed the crib sheets and I bought 5 standard sized pillows and some pillow cases.  I so love this sectional!

Modified this slightly, as our space is a bit tight. Found perfect sized cushions on Amazon.

Lloyd

I've been dying to build this Rustic X Console since Ana posted the plans. I raided my dad's stash of lumber in his barn (does that make it "barn wood"?) and built it out of 2x4's and 2x6's. I subbed the 1x12 for two 2x6's and love the planked look on the shelves. I also ripped the 2x2's from 2x4's on my table saw. After sanding and staining, I decided it needed a little something extra. So I stenciled it! I used a grey sample Valspar from Lowes and used a small roller over the stencil. It was so easy! Afterwards I coated the piece in furniture wax, though I plan to coat the top with polyurethane. Latex paint over oil-based stain doesn't stick very well, so an oil topcoat will help seal it on. I love this table and can't wait to fill it up with goodies!

Thank you so much for this so easy plan!  This was perfect!  I shortened the overall length to 48" to fit our entryway.  I got to make use of my Kreg Jig & was able to make use of upholstery fabric samples I had collecting dust.  Used 3" foam covered with 2 layers batting, then put together the several samples into a color block setting.  Stitched with french seams & squared off the corners before nailing down to the base.  I didn't have a guide other than my eyes for the nailheads & chose to spread the 128 nails out every inch rather than closer...served to hide any waivering off & I preferred the look.  I also found out that using a 2-sided tape like binding tape or Wonder tape for the cover was very helpful in keeping everything straight.  The base is stained a dark walnut & finished with 2 coats of clear semi-gloss Varathane.  The seat bottom is 5/8 MDF.

Tools used:

Circular saw

Sander

Pockethole Jig

Sewing machine & serger