Community Brag Posts

This table was quite simple to build. The hard part was the sanding and the painting/staining. It is sturdy. I also like that I can sand or touch up stain if it is ever damaged. Most store bought tables don't have that ability since the table top is usually a veneer.
Step by Step Summary on my blog - http://thequaintcottage.blogspot.com

We needed a Dining table to fit our growing family and our friends. Combined ideas from the iTable, Farmhouse and Big Ur table plans. Used 8ft boards so with the breadboards it measures roughly 8ft 7in long. Rustoleum Kona stain. Only took the weekend to build. Thanks Ana!

I built these doors to save some space from my old swinging door and to add some visual interest to the hallway since this is the first thing you see when you walk in the front door.  You can find full details and tutorial plus alot more pictures on my blog post:

https://chasingadreamblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/dress-up-the-mess-sliding-doors-to-laundry-room/

This project started with our older girl wanting sleep in the same room as her younger sister once she was out of a crib. Since it meant no more sneaking into Mom & Dad's bed I was happy to comply. The only problem was all the plans I found were for one bed not two. Both girls love storytime in bed, so I had to make it strong enough for the whole family to be up in bed. To not turn her room into a construction zone, it was made in sections that could fit up the stairs & through the bedroom door. 

All together we have a twin bed, a crib-size bed, three removable railings (to let me put them in bed when they fall asleep elsewhere), a slide anyone can use, a secret tunnel to crawl through underneath (and strong enough for adults to use as a step-ladder), a spiral stair for the kids to climb, and enough room for adults to sit up underneath. There is a flag pole next to the slide, but neither my wife nor I have gotten around to making them a flag yet. 

I moved from a big apartment to a small house and I needed more horizontal space. Shelves look great in use and are very stable. All the newbie mistakes in picking wood, cutting and sanding fade into the background.

What did I learn? - This is one time when getting the nice dressed lumber is worth it since they laminate better. I spent a lot of (useless) time applying wood filler trying to get the gaps invisible. - Get the scraps out of the way ASAP so I don't keep confusing them with the cut pieces. - It's hard to set the miter saw to the "same" 10 degrees more than once since its not a preset on the miter saw, so do all the angled cuts at the same time. -For some reason, one shelf was shorter than the rest.

Used the plans to make a desk for my girls!

I based these off of the mini farmhouse bedside table plans, but changed a lot of the dimensions, added sides/back and chose to use plywood for the top, sides and shelf. The plywood did not stain very nicely for me- I learned my lesson! The drawers were definitely the hardest part!

I built these floating shelves to put in my kiddo's bathroom.  They come together easily and add a ton of charm to his bathroom!  These are a great beginner project.

These beds were the very first thing my hubby and I ever built! We had an old hand saw with a dull blade and a hammer and nails! It took us 7 full Saturdays to complete these beds and that includes all of the finish work. We had a great time and a not so great time building these beds but the memories we built together are priceless! We are so proud of the blood, sweat and tears that went into these beds! We love you Ana, well, mostly I love you! You changed my life and I am officially addicted to building! If you have time, check out my very long but very entertaining post about building these beds!
http://isteppedoutofmycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2010/09/and-built-bed.ht…

In need of a new coffee table and having a budget lower than what would allow for similar looking store bought tables, I decided to build a variation of the Rustic X coffee table. I used the modified plans by Pete Sveen which included the bread boards on the table top. We used a solution of white vinegar and steel wool to age the wood and used a clear furniture wax to finish it.

This is the 2nd step stool I built, the first was for my daughter and I just followed the plans. Built this for my friends son Hayden, decided to add the H for his name. It was a tag team build, I built it and painted it and my wife did the sanding, distressing and wax sealer. 

I made this for a friend who has two little ones that are less than two years old. Although I enjoy the ease and convenience of the Kreg jig, I wanted to try something more difficult for this. So for the sides I used mortise and tenon joinery for the ladder rungs and top arches. The only screw I used we to place the hinges and attach the feet. I also didn’t like the gap in the platform that would have been caused by my 1x8 actually only being 7.5 in wide, so I made my own platform by joining the edges of two pieces of wood (one was 11 inches and the other was 6 inches wide). After clamping and lettting the glue dry, I trimmed up the platform to size. Due to the modifications the project took well over 20 hours, but was a fun challenge. 

I still need to build a matching chair so we have a pair of adirondack chairs for around the fire pit. More pics of the build at my blog.

This bed was made as a Christmas present for my parents. At the time, there were no plans for a king-sized bed so I modified the queen plans to fit their mattress. I added a 5th leg to support the center of the bed and also added some plywood sheets underneath to better support the mattress.

This was a super fun build for me!    I have been wanting to do it for a long time, but was a little intimidated with the hardware.   I bypassed the expensive kits you see online and built my own from aluminum flat bar, carriage bolts, and sliding door pulleys.  I am very pleased with the overall project and wish I would have done it sooner!   Shortened down to 6', and I opted to make 3 "openings, with the middle being the same as the outers, doubled, to insure the doors matched up.