Community Brag Posts

Pottery Barn headboard with barn wood finish

Submitted by Abentley10 on Tue, 05/19/2015 - 02:31

Pottery Barn inspired headboard was created by using a modified version of the Reclaimed Wood headboard. I turned the planks vertical and cut them 32" long. I added a piece of rope ceiling trim. For the finish, I spray painted the whole piece black. After it was dry, I dry brushed cream paint on top. I finished it off with polyurethane.

Estimated Cost
Around $50. I used wood from the 70% off rack at Home Depot.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Barn wood faux finish. Rustoleum black spray paint, cream latex paint, spray polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

RenoRustic

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 09:04

I was thinking of running planks vertically for the Reclaimed Headboard too but ended up doing a different headboard all together at the last minute. I really like how yours turned out. Great job on the cost too. I don't think I've ever seen a 70% off rack at Home Depot. Now I want to run up there real quick to find it!

Abentley10

Fri, 05/22/2015 - 22:23

Thank you. Home Depot usually has a cart in the lumber aisles with stacks of wood with minor imperfections. We have scored big when they included the specialty wood.

Dress up Center

Submitted by Kassidy_D on Wed, 11/24/2021 - 09:50

Project #2 in the bag! I haven't personalized because I am still considering making another at 36" wide to better fit her room and giving this one away. Very pleased with how it turned out! Still learning!

Comments

Kids Adirondack chairs

Submitted by redhead_61 on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 13:39

This was admittedly a little harder than I thought.  The first one turned out short of perfection trying to get things looking great.  The second one was better using a level and being more careful.  However, the fact that my nail gun totally went out halfway through made the project a long one.  But my kids LOVE them and they look so cute and luxurious out in my grass.  I love it. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$10
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
off white paint and poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

King storage bed

Submitted by Ken Kelly on Sat, 06/15/2013 - 22:43

This King size storage bed has 6 large pullout drawers. It's made by the plans we got from Ana's queen size and Twenty five to life's plans we found on this site(THANK YOU). Just like they say in their plans I'm not sure how much I actually spent because I made some mistakes and had to rebuild my bottom piece. But I loved putting this together, and it's worth every penny and beyond. The compliments from visitors and the swollen chest pride I get when I hear my wife say, "My husband built this for us." Can't put a price on that.

Estimated Cost
Around 200-250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Min-wax stain and polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Turned leg table made in India

I loved working on this project and my sincerest thanks to Ana and Elisha for this design. The picture is missing one drawer handle, because, erm, I lost it. I didn't want to wait to find it before posing this brag :).

Built from Plan(s)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Doll cradle

Submitted by JBachelor on Sun, 12/17/2017 - 20:14

My husband and I used your plans to make this cradle... He built it, and I painted it.  I’m so excited to give it to our granddaughter for Christmas!!

Estimated Cost
We used wood and paint we already had, so it was basically free.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

JBachelor

Sun, 12/17/2017 - 20:52

I put that it took 10-20 hours... that was mostly the painting and drying time between each coat, and doing the A for her name.

Fire Truck Bed

I started this project several weeks ago, and I am very happy with the outcome.  Please see my Blog since there is so much information.  www.atouchofarkansas.com

 

Estimated Cost
$500
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
I used red & white paint & primer in one.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Mid Century Modern Changing Table

Submitted by Mizthng67 on Tue, 06/18/2013 - 08:54

I had been looking everywhere for an antique Mid Century Modern buffet table to use as a changing table for my daughter but found that these vintage pieces ran about $1200 to $3000 and still needed refinishing. That was out of my price range so I came here and found plans for a console table that had the look I was going for.

The plan I found was too short in length and height so I reworked them a little to fit my needs. I just added a second cabinet in the same dimensions as the first onto the other end of the drawers to increase the length and bought 12" legs instead of 6" ones to increase the height. I used the same hardware that was recommended in the original plans but added a magnetic door stopper to make the cabinet doors flush with the frame when closed. I also added dowel rods in the cabinets because my daughter doesn't have a closet and I needed a place to hang her clothes.

It is great to have 2 cabinets because the left side holds clothes that are too big for her and the right holds all of the clothes she wears now. The drawers are nice and deep so I can put all her changing stuff like diapers and lotion in the top and fit all her socks, diaper covers, and pajamas in the other drawers.

I will say that I used 1x6's to make the drawers first but found that I am really bad at picking straight boards as there were a lot of gaps between the sides and the bottom of the drawer. I went back and used scrap pieces of 3/4" plywood for the drawer sides and they came out much better with no gaps, plus, the exposed top of the drawer sides look better.

This was a fairly fast project. I put it as a weekend project due to the down time between staining and poly coats. It was my first time working with edge banding and I loved it. It was super easy and kind of relaxing! Over-all, this project was easy and fun! This table meets all of my needs AND it looks great! Thanks Ana for the plans and thanks Brooke for the inspiration and tips!

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
1 coat of Rustoleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Kona followed by 3 coats of matte poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

dyank021

Tue, 09/23/2014 - 11:05

I am so impressed. Where did you get the beautiful hardware and gold rimmed midcentury feet?

Small Dresser - Barn Wood Drawer Face

Submitted by CustomPulp on Wed, 05/27/2015 - 06:25

My son needed a dresser that would fit a small space (no more than 40 inches wide). I modified the Cabin Collection plans to fit the small space. Looking at the plan, I wanted to brighten up the wood and opted not to stain. Instead I purchased an airless sprayer and was very pleased with the finish. For the drawer faces, I found old barn wood. The barn wood was a little tricky because some of the boards were warped. I brushed the wood with a stiff nylon brush to bring out the deep grain texture of the wood. Finally, purchased bronze finished drawer handles. Very pleased with the outcome. Thanks for the plans. Can't wait to start my next project.

Estimated Cost
Lumber $90.00. Barn wood drawer fronts were free (driving around in the country looking for barns that have collapsed. Farmer agreed to give me enough lumber for 3 dressers). Promised I would mention his name in the post. Thanks, Jerry Parker!!!
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar interior - Dove White
Minwax Clear Polyurethane - Drawers
Drawer Fronts were not finished
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Christmas Tree Wall Shelf

Submitted by PhD_Phil on Wed, 12/20/2017 - 10:44

Christmas Tree Wall Shelf

Stockings hung using cabinet/drawer pull knobs that I found on Amazon

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
<$20
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farm House Table

Submitted by tedwarm on Fri, 05/29/2015 - 05:50

I used local Colorado beetle killed pine. I based the table on Anna's Farm House Table plans. I used the bread ends to create pull outs for 11 inch extensions on each end.

Estimated Cost
$350, not counting the planer that burned out during the milling of the wood.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
seven layers satin wipe on poly, two layers finish wax using steel wool
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Last minute Christmases gift. Bunny hutch.

Submitted by jlsomers on Sat, 12/23/2017 - 14:27

Thank you Ana for the plans. Our daughters dolls needed some pets and this project was the perfect home for her New bunnies!  I can't wait for her to open this gift Christmas morning. 

Estimated Cost
Used all scrap wood
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

4 in 1 Entrepreneur Stand

Submitted by jkjackson on Thu, 12/23/2021 - 19:55

I LOVE the hot cocoa stand but wanted to make it “year round”. So I also created accessories for lemonade, fireworks and snow cone stands. The signs are reversible. They are made of metal and attach with magnets. The banners also attach with magnets. There are hot cocoas, gingerbread cookies, peppermints, lemonades, iced cookies, a cake plate, fireworks, smoke bombs, bottle rockets, sparklers, snow cones and a snow cone holder that flips over to become a crate.

Comments

Side Table with Pallet Top

I wanted to make a custom sized side table to fit just right between our two recliners. And I really wanted to make use of some pallet scraps. So I built this frame the same as Ana's plan (adjusting for my size), and then came up with a layout for the top to make use of my small 15 inch pieces of pallet wood.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
I screwed the top on, filled the holes, sanded like a mad woman, and stained with a gel stain. I then applied two coats of shellac. It accidentally purchased the shellac but I really like the way that it turned out and it has held up quite well so far!
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Cedar Table/Stool

Made with western red cedar from Lowes. So pretty!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
none
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

KennyBoy

Wed, 08/21/2019 - 09:00

Did you use any kind of finish on the cedar? I’m making one as an indoor end table. 

What grit sand paper did you use? 

Looks great by the way. Excellent job!

Bunk Bed plans

Submitted by mgibson on Tue, 06/02/2015 - 13:23

Easy project for making bunk beds. Plan was very easy to follow!

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Love these end tables!

Submitted by TheMrsS on Wed, 12/27/2017 - 22:48

I loved this project! I had been wanting a new set of end tables for a while and I came across these plans and was in love! I altered them just a smidge by raising the bottom shelf a little so I could fit a vaccuum/broom under it more easily, but other than that I left it as is! For the decorative hardware, I used L brackets and large upholstery nails/tacks...you can find them in most craft stores...I picked mine up at Hobby Lobby.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used a coat of pickling stain, and then a watered down latex paint to 'wash' over it to give the finish a subtle layered effect. I used Varathane Matte Poly on top.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Queen Platform Storage Beds

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/26/2021 - 13:01

My husband and I made two Queen Platform Storage Beds for our "Carriage House" apartment. They are a beautiful and functional upgrade! Thank you Ana for sharing your plans!

Comments

Single Simple Modern Outdoor Lounger

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/22/2011 - 12:18

Modified the double lounger plans into 2 single loungers. I liked the idea of the boards running the long way rather than from side to side like the single lounger plan. These were pretty easy to build. All assembled with a Kreg for hidden screws. Made with Sanded and super polyurethaned cedar (3 or 4 coats). turned out beautiful with the matching boards running from head to toe!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Multiple coats of polyurethane with sanding between each coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
Seasonal And Holiday

Rustic X console

Submitted by dsteinberg on Mon, 06/24/2013 - 06:55

This was my first project from ana white. Thank you for making such great and easy to follow plans! I will be making the matching coffee table next!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
120
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
- brushed on black tea
- Stained with steal wool #0000 dissolved in vinegar for 3 days.
- Sealed 3 times with Vermont Natural Coatings wipe on polywhey satin

Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Sypher2109

Mon, 07/08/2013 - 10:16

Was the color of the table brown like that after just the oxidation process or did it turn brown like that because of the Vermont Natural Coatings Polywhey?

The reason I ask is we're trying to decide between the wax finish, which we love, or the more protective and durable PolyWhey.

dsteinberg

Mon, 08/12/2013 - 12:43

Sorry for the late reply. I hope this advice is still useful for you. I figured I would have got an email if someone replied to my brag post. I just changed my settings so I will get emails in the future.

After the oxidation process It was a fairly dark brown. At this stage the colouring was not even everywhere so I used 220 grit sandpaper on a sanding block to lighten the colour and even it out. I sanded fairly lightly. After applying the Polywhey the colour did not change much. It is hard to describe as I am not a very artistic person, but it definitely made the colour richer and more pleasing to the eye after applying the Polywhey. As for the Polywhey, it is oderless and very quick and easy to apply. I put on 3 coats. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.