The plan had excellent bones, though I modified the top to hold a sink for rinsing and cleaning. It is now painted "San Antonio Rose", and resides happily in the backyard.
Okay, I hope you like this... it was the second and third thing I ever built!!! The table is made from 2 doors hinged together with accent hinges screwed on top. In the middle there are locks (hook and latch) for design. The frame is oak. measures 81X 56 and fits a good 10 people around.
The bench is an old cherry tree slab that someone I know did not want. its about 72 inches long and it is slighly curved. I ushed a shilac and kept the same color.... I just sanded it down.
We stuck with th original plans, but instead of making table ends, we did full 2x10x8 boards and capped it with 1/3’s. We filled in the gaps in the wood with stainable wood filler. We also used a 1/2@ Forstner bit and recessed the screws and used wooden dowels to cover the screw holes. It gives it a beautiful finish. We also enjoy our pew pews, so we recessed .40, .45, .223, and .22 empty shells into the table. My husband wood burnt a message in the center of the table, then we sealed it all with one step minwax finish in mission oak.
5 kids, 1 bathroom, lots of waiting.
Not long ago I built the "waiting bench" and while it looks great, the space needed another little touch.
So I painted a sign saying, "Il Bagno", that's a prettier way to say "the bathroom" (in italiano).
My husband and I built this after the Rustic X coffee table won us over. The end table building plan is awesome, straight-forward, easy to follow. What we have learned from building the coffee table was that it is much easier to finish the frame and then mark the 2x2 against the bars for exact cut. We tried following the cut list, but turned out if the other cuts are slightly off, or the table is not squared, or the wood is not straight, then there may be a slight gap. So marking the 2x2 against the built frame was a much easier option for us. Of note, the end table is pretty big. So if you have a smaller living room, you may want to size down accordingly.
Tripled the dimensions, filled with mums for the fall. Now pine boughs and fairy lights! Love!
This was my husband's 3rd or 4th Ana White project. We also had to go back for mre wood as the shopping list was not complete.
Mon, 05/13/2019 - 15:53
This is gorgeous, can you share what you had to go back for? Also, what is the finish?
I built this toy chest out of some beautiful oak. I used brad nails to tack on a sign I painted with his name. That can be removed later with little damage to the chest.
This was a kitchen for friends daughters birthday. I used my nail gun on this, made it so much easier:)
Finished project for Mikey's bed.
Full timelapse and thoughts in the imgur album.
Modified the junior loft plan to add a house design element and storage stairs, by Amy Mott
We used Ana's farmhouse table plans. Everyone compliments us on it; even thought that we purchased it at Restoration Hardware.
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 06:20
I like the table, but how do you attach the breadboard ends to allow for expansion and contraction of the wood? How did you flatten such a large tabletop with all those knots? Did you use a super-industrial flatbed sander or did you just use hand planes?
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 10:36
Gorgeous table!
It turned out really nice. I have some of the same questions as above (for all types of projects large expanses of joined up wood).
Does wood expansion and contraction cause any problems with wood attached with the Kreg Jig?
How do you get things smooth when joining up several pieces of wood? Are you using a belt sander? Just letting things end up where they may? Hand planes?
A big industrial planer is out for us. We don't have the room and I don't have the expertise. I'm hoping the planing/sanding is simple and easy, since I am way new to all this!
I'm not sure, but I *think* there is going to be a Kreg Jig and some wood coming my way for my birthday next month! I am so excited I could just scream (but I'll still act surprised LOL).
OK, sorry to just go crazy with a long post here. Your table looks wonderful! You guys did a great job!
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 18:48
There are no wood movement problems along the long pieces, Those will expand and contract together. You can get problems with the cross piece on the ends.
As far as leveling the pieces, it's generally not done with this kind of furniture. But if you decided that it did need to be level, hand planes are the only good solution. I just did a table top, and it was moderately strenuous, but it didn't kill me, and it's very nice now.
If you want to learn how to do it, there are good books and videos on hand tools that discuss it. I grabbed Hand Tool Essentials as well as looking at a couple of good online videos from Chris Schwarz.
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 19:38
Hey Clay,
Thanks for the information. I will go do some research to see what I can learn about hand planing for when the project demands it. I'll also go look for some Chris Schwarz vids, too.
I appreciate the input!
Sun, 10/30/2011 - 13:52
Thank you for the kudos!
To answer some of the questions - there is a small gap at each end where the breadboards are attached that should allow for some expanding and contracting. As for finishing the top, we did not use a planer, just a palm sander. We were going for the rustic look, so the small imperfections give it some of that character we were trying for. After sanding we just put a couple coats of poly - the color of the natural wood with poly perfectly matched the chairs we had, which made it easy!
Sun, 10/30/2011 - 14:54
Thanks, Nicole!
Your table really turned out beautifully. I love a bit of a rustic/cottage-y vibe, so I'm glad to hear that a palm sander did the trick. I'm not too intimidated by a palm sander, so that's another bonus.
You guys did a great job!
In reply to Thanks, Nicole! by Cindy from Indiana (not verified)
Tue, 06/19/2012 - 20:01
I was recently diagnosed with Vibration Induced White Finger (yes it is a real malady) caused by over use of vibrating tools. I think the culprit was the palm sander. If you are concerned choose a rotating sander that has vibration control. I got one for Father's Day and it is great. I have not had any problems sanding surfaces down to smooth and level with 60 grit paper even with knots. Then I just go to 100 grit and then 150 grit and the surface is great.
Fri, 12/20/2013 - 07:20
First of all, this looks great! I am going to attempt to build one. Two questions at least for now....
1) How long is your table? Unless you have narrow chairs, I don't see how 4 chairs would fit comfortably on the sides.
2) Where did you get your chairs? They also look great with the table.
Again, Great Job!!
TC
This is the first wood working project I took on. My husband thought I should start with, like a birdhouse or something, but I'm a "go big or go home" kind of person (plus I hate birds), so I thought a seven piece sectional was the way to go. After a few lessons from him on the miter saw, I got the clear to work on the project solo. (My husband builds a lot of our furniture but I insisted I wanted to do this 100% myself...and he surprisingly agreed).
The first section took a really long time for me to do (maybe 4 hours), but considering I've never even so much as drilled a hole for a screw, I considered it a success. After that (and after I decided to go out and buy a Kreg Jig - best invention ever - and ditch the "knock off" I tried to buy/use), it was pretty smooth sailing from then on out. Aside from being time consuming, I was surprised at how easy the plans were to follow. Ana it truly amazing for publishing these.
From start to finish, it probably took me a month to complete (and THANK GOD we bought a paint sprayer in anticipation for painting the outside of our house, or I think it would've taken at least another week to finish). But that's also because I stupidly decided to sew all of the cushions/pillows myself. I just couldn't justify ordering pre-made ones for seven individual pieces (the price quote I was getting for that and what I wanted was close to $1,000 in itself).
Overall, I'm VERY excited/please with how it turned out. I priced out the West Elm sectional of this size and it would've cost us about six times what it cost us to build from scratch. I can't wait to take on the next project (after a much needed break...)
Mon, 10/21/2013 - 10:40
I am so impressed, what a beautiful space you created!Thanks for sharing!
Mon, 10/21/2013 - 15:02
I stumbled upon your site a couple of months ago, and I'm a bit obsessed. I have a laundry list of projects I want to do now...more to come!
- Nicole
Wed, 10/23/2013 - 10:04
Looks awesome! To bad cushions are so flippin expensive.
I LOVE this bench. It's simple and rustic, yet absolutely beautiful. I modified the plans slightly to exclude the long support board along the bottom of the bench and found that the bench is still very sturdy and stable. I love that this bench is a relatively easy and quick to complete project, with such a gorgeous end product!
This is the 5-board bench and project #2 mirror from Ana's "The Handbuilt Home" book. The bench was shortened to fit the space that I wanted it for.
A Montessori (full size) bed made for my grandson Jack’s 1st Birthday.
A bookshelf to help with the everyday clutter in our kitchen.
Sat, 11/05/2011 - 12:07
Glad to see someone build this plan--have been considering it, but wanted to see a finished photo. Thanks!
Sun, 05/26/2013 - 11:04
The plan shows a total width of 39" but that's a bit too much for me (I'm mostly just wanting to store reference books next to my desk and don't need that much space). I like the proportions on your build, can you say how wide it is? (I'm assuming it's not 39", unless you have some massive countertops!)
Thanks.
Fri, 06/21/2019 - 13:44
Love this in the kitchen! Great job! So glad you sent in a brag post! Thank you!
First build and totally happy with result . The excitement and smiles of our 18 months old grand-daughter was worth every effort !
Thu, 10/24/2013 - 01:42
Thank you Ana for sharing your resources and providing the encouragement to try new things .
Thu, 10/24/2013 - 13:20
Love this bed! What a super cute room for your grand-daughter! Looks totally professional, would never guess this is a first build -- Great job!
Great project . Easy plan to read .
I fell head over heals in love with Ana's Smiling Mudroom Project... but alas I have no mudroom in my home and no available closet to transform. *Sad Face* I do however have exactly the depth of a 1x10 between my front door and entryway wall. *Happy Face*
I modified her plans to fit a more narrow profile... (much more narrow) and also shortened it to about half the width.
I couldn't be happier with the finished product and I'm happy to share the modified plans with any of you who also lack a mudroom or any sort of entryway organization whatsoever!
Modified Mudroom Plans for an Entryway Locker System can be found here! Yay
Wed, 11/09/2011 - 17:47
I just love it! Wish I had a spot for even THIS. BTW, Can I steal your boots? PLEASE?! :-)
Mon, 11/14/2011 - 05:37
It looks amazing! I love the shelves on the bottom for the smaller baskets. I'm still working up the courage to build this one!
Comments
law0103
Sat, 01/02/2016 - 07:34
tools
Don't cheap out on tools! This piece did not come out square, and I accept that as it is an outdoor work bench. Good tools never go out of style!