Community Brag Posts
Our Thanksgiving Family Project
My husband, step father and I built these Thanksgiving weekend (2010) and my mom got us a half bushel of oysters to snack on and made awesome steamed mussels with bread for dinner. This was a very fun family weekend.
I modifyed the plans a little to make the arms angle in a bit instead of being straight boards and also created the curved front. Then after building the first chair, Pat decided to make the second chair's back rest taller and cut angles to match the arms.
I picked intermediate because of needing a miter saw for all the different angles needed for getting the front right.
Also, It took one day for each chair
entryway bench and shelf
This was a little more difficult than we anticipated but totally worth it. We shortened the width to fit our space, and kept the sides straight instead of angled, just for simplicity's sake. The Kreg jig really came in handy here. We anchored the shelf with cabinet screws and will be adding small L brackets at the top into the studs. With a tall toddler at home we are being extra careful.
Brookstone King Size Headboard
I built this headboard to coordinate with the nightstand, tv console and blanket ladder I had previously built. We recently purchased a King size bed and found ourselves in desparate need of a furniture makeover. I modified the plans to fit our bed, and wanted a beefier look so I used a combination of twelve 1x6s and three 1x4s as opposed to only using 1x4s for the panel back. I also used 1x6s for the trim as well. Legs were made of 1x4s, doubled up at the bottom for additional support. I built it so that the legs could bolt to the bedframe using lag bolts. I also wanted it to be a bit taller so I increased the height to 56" tall.
Comments
Fri, 04/10/2015 - 23:19
I also wanted it to be a bit
I also wanted it to be a bit taller http://wp.me/p5ZUhY-1S
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Custom Dollhouse Bed
This was a custom build for one of my clients. It is a full over queen bunk bed. Scalloped trim on the top, and a balcony/platform from the top bunk. Access to the top via ladder and window! The pic with the messy bed is the FINAL finished product after I added a few more trim pieces to the front.
Tapered plant box
I was looking for an inexpensive way to dress up my deck and when I saw your tapered plant boxes I knew that was the gem I needed. I used pickets from a fence we took down and some 1 inch wood strips. I am planning on making more to line the new fence.
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Nightstands for Christmas
I made this pair of nightstands as Christmas gifts for my husband in 2010. They were my first project and I'm pleased with how they turned out!
Kids Adirondack Chair!
Over the last couple of summers I was attending a lot of my friend’s kid’s birthday parties. As a way to make something more personal I started making these chairs that I found on Ana’s website. They were a huge hit and pretty soon people were asking me to make more.
Sandbox with Benches
We altered the original plan by enlarging the sandbox (approx 5' x 6') which made for wider benches that can comfortably seat an adult. The benches and back rests are three boards deep instead of two. We added 2x12 supports under the benches for additional support, as well as another 2x4 support in the middle of the backrest.
Comments
Tue, 04/14/2015 - 20:00
Thanks for sharing!
I just love seeing pictures of these built! Makes my heart swell :-)
Outdoor bar
Outdoor pallet bar with sink I found in the garage. Just a dumping sink under cabinet,not hooked up to plumbing.
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Lawn Chairs
All made from an 8 foot packing crate.
Who's Afraid of the Simple Bed?
Building Ana’s farmhouse doll bed went so well that I felt ready to take on a full-sized bed.
Each project seems to come with its own set of lessons. I learned the hard way about the “Measure twice, cut once” rule with a couple of “oops” cuts that sent me back on another trip to the Blue store.
Sourcing untreated 4×4′s was also an issue. I ended up gluing and screwing 2×4′s together to use as the headboard and footboard legs.
The biggest issue, though, was my own fear. Sure I hit some stumbling blocks during the build, but resolved them and got the headboard and footboard all put together… and then choked. Who the heck makes her own bed? Is this really going to work? I delayed and delayed the final steps of screwing the siderails to the legs and attaching slats until I finally had to give myself a stern talking-to and a self-imposed deadline! Has anyone else ever been scared to push through to the final steps?
OK, here goes! I wasn’t sure that I understood the step about toenailing lagbolts through the end of the cleats into the legs until I got out the drill and tried it. Yup, it worked just fine! Next came the slats, and then when I hoisted the mattress on and saw that I had built a bed…. Well, I don’t even know how to describe that feeling of success and empowerment. Wow!
Ana, I wish I could thank you for all that you do.
Finishing Technique: Was stuck in indecisive mode for a while and sanded and stained and sanded and stained, which resulted in a kind of weathered looking finish. Not what I thought I was going for, but now I count this as a success story and I love it!
Fancy*farmhouse table and benches
Used pressure treated (copper) and will allow to fade to grey with sun and sea air. Built to enjoy PEI mussels, lobster and beer in the open air and not too worried about the finish or surface. The table took 3 hours, start to finish - benches x 2 took longer at about 7 hours. Am getting a little lateral movement with the benches so will replace the 1 x 3 spacer with 2 x 4 and may add a diagonal 2 x 2 support as well (to match the table). I don't have/didn't use a Kreg so that may be the issue...?
Plans on Ana White are fantastic - I made the see-saw this weekend too in about an hour....thanks!
bench
fun to make!
Chicken Coop
I have more pictures, but I've hit the limit...
The coop is 100% cedar except for the plywood sides/doors.
Fun to build.
The plans are great, but not prefect. Make sure you measure everything out before cutting. I had several problems with errors in the plans. Use them as a guide, and like I said, measure before making cuts.
This project could be done in a weekend, but I ended up putting a lot of time into it. Close to 4 weeks from start to end, probably 3 full time days, and a few hours here and there on odd days. It just depends how anal you are I guess, haha! The finished product speaks for it self.
All the plywood was painted with "HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Weathershield Tintable Satin Acrylic Exterior Paint" Color was Backcountry Green...
Outdoor sofa and table
Ana Whites easy to follow plans. Lake house. Love the way it turned out!
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Storage Daybed - Lessons Learned
Hello Builders!
I made this bed for my daughter right after finishing Ana’s Simple Bed for myself. This bed is great because it is cool-looking (the most important factor for my middle-schooler) and because it adds tons of storage space (the most important factor for me, the mom!). Ana has this bed marked as easy, and it was easy. After working on the Simple Bed with lots and lots of cutting and gluing and nailing, I was amazed at how quickly this bed started looking like itself.
As a newbie builder, I read and read and re-read Ana’s plans and the comments on the plans and any similar plans until I feel comfortable. The Storage Daybed is just three separate benches that sit side-by-side and the mattress just lies on top. Somehow, when digesting the plans, I was really confused about the divider in the middle of each bench, but eventually the light bulb went on (the divider is necessary to support and strengthen the top, but the end result is that there are three cubbies in the front of the bed and three cubbies in the back – perfect for storing off-season clothes).
So I went to the Blue home improvement store and decided on birch plywood. Special thanks to Jen for working up the plywood cutting layout that Ana included in the plan. I don’t think I could have figured out how to get the pieces cut without you. The associates at the large home improvement store were very nice, and they offered to make the cuts for me even though they said that they really weren’t supposed to make “project cuts”. The problem was that their cuts were oh, so bad! They marked out all of the cuts at once, which doesn’t account for the sliver that the blade takes out, and when measuring they didn’t even have the tape measure blade flush against the top in the first place.
On my other projects, I made plenty of mistakes. But they were my mistakes, you know what I mean? On this build, I spent so much time trying to fix bad cuts. But it’s my fault. I was concerned, but I second guessed myself and didn’t speak up while they were cutting. I ended up having to cut a thin strip of plywood to lengthen the side of one of the benches, and had to sand and sand and sand. Also ended up having to re-cut the dividers.
Oh, well. I got a little life lesson in assertiveness, and I got to add a circular saw to my toolkit! After all was said and done, this really is a great bed, and it made my heart glow to hear my daughter going around telling folks: “My mom is making my bed!
Puzzle Bookcase
My Hubby and I built this bookcase on the livingroom floor on mothers day morning! It was so simple and fun. I had all the wood cut at Lowes and we just had to put it together and paint it!
Bar with zinc counter top
I used the "how to build" from the Shepherd Kitchen Island plan to help me create my own dimensions for this bar... 60" long, 24" deep, 35" high. It has a space on the left for an under counter ice maker and the wine rack is built in inside the right hand cabinet.
The counter top is plywood covered with a sheet of zinc I bought from rotometals. Fairly easy to do after watching their videos on how to apply and how to patina.
Hand made and all hand painted!
I built them and my husband had painted them all the way down to the logos! Not a thing on them isn't hand painted!
Farmhouse Table
This was my first Farmhouse Table build. 8ft long with 2 benches. Distressed white with True Brown tops.
Comments
Ana White Admin
Mon, 10/04/2021 - 16:33
Neat project!
Thank you for sharing your build, looks awesome!