Community Brag Posts

Organizer for knitting needles & crochet hooks

Submitted by Wendy KT on Wed, 06/24/2020 - 13:47

I used Ana and Jaime's desk organizer plans to build this, but I'm using it in my craft room instead for my needles/hooks/small accessories. This plan was part of Ana's Handbuilt Holiday plans found here: https://ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/desktop-office-or-vanity-bea…

Estimated Cost
10.00
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Duck egg blue chalk paint and clear wax.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Laundry Pedestal

Submitted by Kamoanui on Tue, 06/30/2020 - 09:42

This was quick build. First time for us using trim, so we wasted a few feet getting the angles right. We attached the legs directly to the frame, and did not use the metal brackets. We also did not build the floor frame. We measured how high/wide the laundry baskets ($3/piece at Target!) were, and made it to fit them. We added a piece of rubber mat to the top (bought at Lowe's). A few weeks later we helped our daughter and son in law build one for their new house!

Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
White satin paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Coop and run for Six

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 09/24/2016 - 08:10

We wanted our chickens to have plenty of room for when we ere not home and could not let them free range in the yard.  One of the six was a rooster-- and long story-- but we don't have him any more-- so 5 chickens now enjoy this coop/run.  It cost about $300 in supplies.  It is 16 feet long.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
unfinished
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Farmhouse Toy Box

Submitted by Samwise73 on Wed, 07/08/2020 - 17:13

Worked the farmhouse style toy box with two colors of stain. Try and square this up BEFORE you add all the sides. I made that rookie mistake and was 1/8” off; not a huge deal overall but it made for a super snug fit when I put the bottom board in. Overall, super sturdy and I like how it turned out.

Built from Plan(s)

Thanks Ana - Adirondack chair done

Now just to fill and stain (or paint)

Estimated Cost
$100 australian
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I will do a jarrah stain (I think) or white paint - thoughts anyone
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Rolling Pantry with Mini Fridge and Recycle

Submitted by vendo on Thu, 06/20/2024 - 08:29

My dad and other mother asked me to build them a rolling pantry to house a fridge, recycle, canned good organizer and sized to fit their existing dry food containers. Using Ana's free design tool, I was able to incorporate all of their asks making this little alcove much more functional! It took some figuring finding the perfect fridge and recycle bin that would fit the space. I left room at the top of the recycle so there would be plenty of room for larger recycle items. The heavy duty casters allow this unit to be moved around easily if needed. I built this in 2 pieces with pocket holes, added edgebanding to the front and added a hole for the power cord  placement. 

 

alcovehole

Floating Corner Entertainment Stand

This is a corner entertainment stand. I didn't have a plan to follow so I made it up as I went. The dimensions are 40" L xW and 27" tall. It has a base hidden underneath it help support the weight and is also screwed into wall studs to prevent tipping. The angle for the front cross section is 22.5 degrees. I made this for a friend. She is going to paint it unfortunately. Materials cost only around $120. 3 sheets 3/4" plywood, some 1x2s and a couple hinges and cabinet knobs.

Estimated Cost
$130
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Justin G (not verified)

Sun, 01/06/2013 - 04:49

This is REALLY a nice looking corner unit. In our living room, the ONLY place for the tv is in the corner. I have a prebuilt unit now that cost me quite a bit, and we hate it. Its all modern with glass shelves. This corner cabinet is EXACTLY what I want to build. I have a 1 year old so having doors to hide the electronics is a must.

I would VERY much like to build this. Are there any more detailed pictures or a plan I could download? Ive been searching for the last few days an just cant seem to find anything that catches my eye like this one.

Looks great!!

Wounded Marine

Sun, 01/06/2013 - 06:18

The shelves are made out of premium plywood. For the top, bottom, and the middle shelf, I measured and cut out on pieces of plywood. Then used plywood for the "walls" of the unit. I trimmed it with 1x2s. The doors are also plywood. I just rabbit jointed nice wood for the frame of the doors. Underneath the the TV stand is a 2x4 set back a little bit to give it that floating looking. It is anchored to the wall on the inside of the unit with screws going into the studs of the wall. I hope this makes since.

arod718

Thu, 09/05/2013 - 19:13

Is it possible to get dimensions of the stand and what you based the base from. I would like to build the Ana version for my wife because of the storage it has. Thank you, best site ever.

DIY Octagon Table

Why an octagon shape? I wanted a round table and my husband wanted square, so we met in the middle and built this! Very easy and fun to build!

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Stain color Dark Walnut and polyurethane in matte finish. I applied one coat of stain with a sponge applicator and worked it in with a cotton cloth. I applied 4 coats of poly on the top and 2 coats on the base and legs.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

booksnotbombs

Thu, 08/21/2014 - 07:40

Thank you for the reply! We have a beautiful old solid wood turned-leg farmhouse table (and matching chairs) that has been in my family since the 60's that needs to be refinished, but it just isn't our style. So we're thinking of building our own in our more modern style but would have to get chairs to accompany it. I LOVE these, so I think we've found our new chairs! I hope our table turns out as beautiful as yours.

I still have plans to refinish the old table and pass it along to someone who will show it as much love (aka abuse) as it received in my childhood...

The Caboose Bunk bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 20:03

Hi Ana,

My wife and I wanted to creat a caboose bunk bed for our boys.  When we saw the cabin bed plans we loved the look for the caboose.  We used your plans as a guide and made a few modifications.  We are really happy with how it turned out!  It just needs a ladder and maybe some train wheels.  Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas. They have inspired us!

 

Travis and Krista Lundell

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$250 - $300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Yellow latex paint for base color. Red paint for roof, stripe, and numbers. Dark walnut stain for antiquing (just apply and wipe off immediately).
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Skanda

Tue, 07/09/2019 - 19:32

Hey there. Do you have measurements or a description of how the top modification part was done?

my father wants to make a caboose bunk bed for my train   Fanatic Son.  

 

Thanks,

-Amanda

Camp loft bed with animal zoo storage

I made the loft bed for my 6yr old back in March. This weekend we took care of another issue, stuffed animal storage. So I added 3/16 bungee cord I found on Amazon. I bought 100 foot spool and it was plenty. Also found on Amazon 50 count of the 1.6 inch eye screws and had 2 leftover. I had to add 3 boards to the existing bed to complete this project.

It took some practice to get the cord threaded the way I liked it. I wasn’t overly concerned with the cord going straight up and down but I knew I didn’t like the diagonal look. I also wanted the stuffed animals off the ground to prevent a spider haven.

We used a drill to start pilot holes for the eyelet screws 1 inch from the edge of the board at 4.5 inches apart. Then the kids used small screwdrivers to twist the screws in. It was a real hand saver.

I hope this motivated someone to take care of that stuffed animal storage for good!

Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Square Farmhouse Table

Submitted by eddingsr on Sun, 01/08/2017 - 13:17

I built this table for a friend who wanted a rustic, plank-top kitchen table. She wanted a square table with 4x4 legs. Since I don't have clamps, I used pocket holes and wood glue for the table top. Also, I only have a 7&1/4" miter saw, which means the 4x4s were too thick to cut. So I made one cut in the legs, then flipped them and made another. It worked! :) I sanded down the sides of the table top with 80 grit. They needed to be evened up since some of the planks were a little longer than others. I back braced underneathe the top with (3) 1x3s. Then, I sanded all over with 120, vacuumed, then wiped it down with a damp towel. Fun build!! 

Estimated Cost
~$100 for lumber, screws, wood glue, sandpaper, and finishing products.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
For the finish I used Minwax wood conditioner, then a coat of Minwax stain in Provincial. I went back and put a second coat of stain on a few of the premium pine pieces, because they soaked up the first coat really well, and I wanted some darker pieces on top. I let those soak for about 15 minutes. Afterwards I did 2 coats of Polycrylic all over, then a third coat for the top only. I dry sanded between coats with 600 grit sandpaper.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Benchmark TV stand

My wife and I wanted a nice TV stand for our new living room. Like always, we did not want to spend tons of money and I thought about building something anyways. My wife found the Benchwright series at Pottery Barn and loved it, but for almost $1,000 that was not in our budget. Of course I came straight here and found these plans! I had a great time building this. The measuring and cutting took only an afternoon, and the staining took a long time as this was my first real staining project. I also wanted to get nice glossy coats of clear coat, which took time.Overall we are thrilled with how it turned out! The biggest headache was the euro hinges. I followed the directions that came with them and they did not turn out right at all. It was trial and error to finally get this placed correctly.

Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used miniwax pre-stain for most of the project (although I couldn't tell much of a difference honestly). We used miniwax Dark Walnut for the color. I put on 2 coats of stain followed by water-based clear coat. 5-6 layers of clear coat were put on the gorgeous top and about 2-3 coats were put on everywhere else.
I tried out both oil based and water based polyurethane on this project to try them both out. I highly prefer the water based clear coat over the oil based. The water based is almost twice the cost, but it goes on much thicker so it is easier to apply and took less coats to get a glossy finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

spiceylg

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 05:24

Really great job! Isn't it nice to have options rather than dropping so much money in over priced stores?!

Buffet Table / Hutch with Wall Collage

Submitted by JD Corey on Sat, 10/25/2014 - 19:08

My wife wanted something to fill up a large wall in our kitchen so I designed a collage centered over a buffet table. I used the plans from the Salsa Console that I found on this website for the table. I had to modify the plans quite a bit in order for the table to fit the space that we had. After I had the design the way I wanted it, my wife and I found the frames that we needed and painted them with a black, brown,  and terquoise theme. I built the hutch using pine that I bought from the hardware store. I used quarter round moulding strips to accentuate the drawer faces and the cabinet doors. I added glass to the center of the cabinet doors and then backed the glass with the material from one of those cheap ceiling light panels to give the glass a 3D frosted appearance. I then painted the interior of the cabinets with that same terquoise color and ran lights inside the cabinets so that the terquiose color would show through the forsted glass. I finished the table off by staining it with a dark red maple stain (to match our kitchen table and island) and then added a few simple drawer/cabinet knobs. Everything came together nicely when we hung it all up over the table. Now all we have left to do is add our pictures to the frames.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Red Mahogany
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Just My Size Closet

Just My Size Closet!

Built this from Ana's plans with a few modifications.

Started with a big empty box after ripping the old stuff out and finished with this look.

Adjustable shelves and all !

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Whatever white paint my wife bought !!
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Large Porch Bench with X Backs to highlight feature wall

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 11/09/2020 - 16:29

Using the Ana White plans of Large porch Bench with X backs I was able to create this amazing area in the entrance way of our home. The bench was part of a larger project where I added the modeling and shelves to the wall. The plans were great, I just made the bench a bit smaller, as the original size was a bit overwhelming inside the home.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Farmhouse Table (wooden pallets)

Submitted by dak1ne on Thu, 01/31/2013 - 20:36

Hello, I'm doing furniture with wooden pallets and I found your awesome website with nice explanations and plans so I decided to make this nice farmhouse table but with wood from shipment wooden pallets.
Thank you very much for all your work and plans !

I will make other furnitures from your plans with wooden pallets :D and post the brags here soon.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
mahogany wax
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Joe Shape

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/15/2017 - 21:19

Fun and easy project. I couldn't be happier with the end results. Great plan from Ana White. 

Estimated Cost
$83 for coffee and end table.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Waterlox on top and Sherwin Williams furniture paint on frame.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
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