Community Brag Posts

My mother found this old end table in her mother's basement in the mid 90's and brought it home with her to refinish. The table was very flimsy and Mom just didn't know how to fix it, so it sat in her garage since then. I saw it back in March when helping clean out the garage. I asked if I could restore it for her. I think it turned out really nice. Thanks to this site, I have been given the confidence to tackle projects like this. Just wanted to share the project and say thanks to everyone here for making this site a great resource.

I fixed the table legs, sanded the table, used red mahogany stain, and about 15 coats of Poly to give the table a high gloss finish.

The additional photos are 1 of the original table and 1 of the table after staining and no Poly applied.

Mom was shocked with the finished project. Nothing more pleasing then see Mom smile!

This is my biggest project to date; I put it together with a few modifications to the plans on this website (as I'm sure everyone does!) It will be my wife and my bed for quite some time and hopefully I can pass it along in the future. Seems sturdy as a rock and the additional storage will benefit us as our home has minimal closet space. The finish is a waxed-stained-sanded painted surface.

I broke this project into 3 phases: headboard, benches, and footboard. Juggling two kids and a wife, its hard to be able focus completely on a project without some (often welcome) interruptions.

One final note: this website introduced me to and this project confirmed that my favorite tool in my tool shed is the Kreg Pocket hole Jig; bought it thinking I would use it on a buffett table I built and have used it on every project since!

Great plans!  I modified the bench by adding a slanted back (which enabled me to put the slats closer together), extending and curving the front of the arms and extended the seat to the outside of the legs.

My boy was sleeping on a queen box spring / mattress sitting on the floor; figured he needed a bed and the storage bed seemed just the ticket.

Found some beadboard on clearance for $16 a 4x8 sheet so picked up about 5 sheets. It was on clearance since it was prefinished. Not a big deal since I knew I'd be painting the bed (had to prime the stained wood first). I think the beadboard adds a nice touch on the ends.

Haven't built drawers yet, but the wife kind of likes the looks of the cubby bins so drawers can wait.

The headboard wasn't from any plan; just followed the same basic concept as the bed; sides are 3/4 plywood, but I rabbitted out the trim in order to insert the 1/4 beadboard. Used some scrap hardboard pegboard as a template for the shelf pin holes on the inside of the headboard to enable an adjustable shelf.

The bed sits up a little high for our liking, but eventually we will remove the boxspring and just set the mattress on the bed frame; just have to figure out where to store the boxspring . .

I miss the family when they're out of town, but at least I get a lot of projects done . . .

I wanted a farmhouse table look, but no too county. I think that this table accomplished that.

I debated a while with staining the entire table or staining the top and painting the legs. I'm really glad that I decided to paint the legs. I think it turn out great.

This was my first DIY wood project. I'm pretty much addicted now. Every time my wife wants to get a new piece of furniture, I always tell her that I can probably build it.

Fairly easy to make with a jigsaw and sander. I would suggest to whomever makes one of the Charlie scooters to use a hardwood as some of the section in the handlebar area can be fragile when weight is applied. 

These chairs were easy to build, although I modified Ana's plans a little bit. I opted for solid wood 2x2s for the legs (I wanted it to be sturdier), and a solid seat instead of a slatted one. I notched out the back of the seat so it would fit flush against the back legs. Because of my modifications, my chair was just a couple bucks more.

Also, I was so excited to find solid wood balusters for the chair legs - they're not only better quality, but cheaper than furring strips!

Check out my blog link for a complete play-by-play!

My daughter needed a chair that wasn't as bulky as our high chair but higher than a normal dining chair. This plan was perfect. I changed the dimensions to suit what I needed. The actual building took only a couple of hours but the finishing seemed to take forever. I probably spent about a week just on the finishing. I distressed it to help disguise the inevitable bumps and grubby handprints.

My kids needed a step stool and I had some scrap wood (2x10) left over from a previous project

I made this Seesaw for my 4 year old's birthday present! It was SUPER easy...and she LOVES it!

First of all, thanks Ana for the wonderful plans. I made this in full size mainly from the farmhouse bed plan with some modifications. The headboard is made of 1x4s with an upholstered pegboard. Instead of using 4x4 post for legs, i glued 2x4s studs together and later wrapped them with fabric instead of painting them.

This looks great in our second bedroom.

This was a pretty easy build, always a plus when you're looking for more storage. I'm not sure about the darkness of the stain though; I usually go with a walnut to match the rest of the house and wanted to try something different. This seems like a bit much. Might be easier to build an entire second set vs re-doing the stain though...

Replacing a trash bin for a friend whose cats could not get into. At the last minute I thought a little hiding area on top would give them some storage for bags and things. Had to go one size down on the Rubbermaid to allow for clearance when tilting open. They love it, the cats hate it.

This was inspired by your Flat Wall Bookshelf and made using a piece of 1x6, a piece of 1x4, and a smidge of recycled paint. We added towel hooks to the ends (the same ones that kept pulling out of the wall), and mounted the whole thing to studs in the bathroom. Thanks for the plans!