Community Brag Posts

I have refinished wood, but this was the first time I ever built something from scratch with my own two hands. I have always loved ladder shelves and loved the idea of having a ladder style desk. I looked for plans and couldn't find any. I had to get rid of an old desk and the day I threw it out, I found Ana White's plans. For nearly the same price as the particle board ones sold at stores, I figured I could buy all the tools and materials to do it myself and customize it....and then i would have the tools to use on future projects. As a beginner with no technique or skill, working between overtime hours, it took me about 2 weeks to finish. I had to work on it in stages. Cutting the boards all the exact same length was by far my biggest challenge. I even had a Home Depot employee cut me two extra pieces and he couldn't even get them perfect. A stop block really would have made this a lot easier. I stuck very closely to the plans except I made my book shelves 18" wide to accommodate my printer. I also added a slide out tray under the desk shelf (not in picture). I made quite a few mistakes, but the finished project looks amazing in my living room. I should have taken another picture after it was all set up with my desk supplies. This picture doesn't do it justice. I love it so much, I may just build another one to serve as an entertainment center on the opposite wall.

These were made for a charity auction and ended up selling for much more then I expected.
I was suprised and how strong the chairs ended up being. I'm thinking of making another table chair set only with 4 chairs and a longer table.

With the new addition to the family it seems that most holidays everyone in the family will be coming to our house. So with that in mind we needed a new table to fit everyone. Ana you great website has pulled me out of a jam yet again. Finding the plans for this table was a life saver. Hope you all enjoy!

For the finish I found a website that showed me how to mix steel wool, vinegar and tea together to make a beautiful stain. It took a couple coats and a couple days to dry but I think it turned out great. Even though it was kind of scary at first when it started to turn shades of green rather than a dark color but after the stain soaked in and it dried it turned out the way i wanted it.

Oak Plywood and Oak Trim

We just love your work and detailed plans!

Hubby and I built the Console Unit and now the Base Units and plan to add on the hutches. We built the units only 30" tall vs. the 34-1/2" height from the plans. We used oak plywood and oak trim and finished it with a Minwax Fruitwood Stain and Minwax Polyurethane Seal. My hubby loves to make You Tube videos and made one of our work and posted it at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtB6LK1xEHg

Keep up the great work and we plan to post more pics!

A friend contacted me about building a custom sized desk to coordinate with a set of dressers that she purchased used (I refinished them years before). We started with the Simple Modern desk (more in overall look), but made some changes away from "Modern" such as the bases, overhanging and routed top and trim on the side aprons. The legs of the desk aren't solid 4x4, but1x4s and 1x3 furring strips kreg jig'd and sanded till nearly seamless. The support under the desktop was redesigned to create a large, single drawer faced as two. The top is made from pine boards edge joined together. The two "bases" combined, have 96 pieces of trim to create this look. It was alot of work to get some tiny pieces just right, but well worth it in the end.

There are two comparison pictures uploaded. the photoshopped photo is the inspirational photo that came with the "Can you build me one of these?" and the second is the side by side with one of the dressers I was asked to compliment.

At 4 ft by 2 ft, she says its the perfect size for her home office laptop.

Overall, I was pretty surprised about how different of a turn this desk could take in style as I went from bare to adding the trim. Perhaps it can inspire others as well.

This project was desperately desired and needed! We had old wire shelving which previous owners of the home had installed improperly and were falling off the wall. This took about 6 weeks from start to finish, but I am SO happy with the results. Unfortunately, here in south Florida, our homes are built with metal studs which are more often than not spaced all over the place. So, attaching anything to a wall securely is next to impossible. I believe I've gotten things as securely attached as possible and things seem to be holding up really well. The icing on the cake was my mother-in-law purchasing 100 Huggable Hangers for me for my birthday! The OCD in me was ecstatic! Anyhow, thanks Ana for the great plans and helping bring custom organization to our homes!

This project was a success!! I had a week of vacation that I dedicated to this great project! The directions were easy to follow...thank you Ana! 

I managed to get the slide from someone's outdoor play set that they were giving away :)  I secured it to the side of the upper level. It's been the kids favorite part! 

Did these last year! 

Mike Dvorak

I'm a father of 4 girls ages 6,5,4, and 1. So a regular bunk wasn't enough so I decided to add the 3rd bunk. Each painted in my girls favorite colors. The paint was Martha Stewart signature paint which was on clearance on Lowes. Think it was 3 or 4 dollars a quart. The cubby steps are basically just 4 boxes stacked on top of each other and nailed together and made from 3/4" furniture grade plywood.

It didn't come out perfect but I'm pretty happy with the results. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

PS, Ana...my wife is a big fan of yours. She's the one who turned me onto your site.

My first attempt at building an Adirondack chair. Ana's plans were easy to follow and very accurate. I would classify myself as a Beginner+.. Recently suffered bad thumb cut making cedar planters. Always think safety first. 

I needed a new bed and stumbled upon your plan for a bed frame. I love it and had so much fun building it!
 

We used cedar for these nice, little chairs and based the table on the chair model, only 24" tall, rather than the 18" of the chair seats. It took longer to cut than assemble these - total time: @4 hours for all.

Thank you, Ana!

Darin

Built this for a friend of mine and his fiancé. They just bought a house and thought I would help them fill it. This is my 2nd farmhouse table. I really like the thickness of the table. 

Toddler Stool for my granddaughter! It had two levels.

My wife has been wanting new patio furniture so here is my version of the simple outdoor table, I shortened it to fit our needs. Next is the chairs to match.

Super simple and fits right in!

ScottW