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Not only was this my first furniture project from an Ana White plan, it was my first ever furniture project. I discovered this website and Ana's site through Pinterest and was inspired to build a table for my wife's craft room.

Leafing through "The Handbuilt Home," I found plans for a modern craft table, but decided I'd better get my feet wet first with a "smaller" project. Our front hall console table was a cheap, particle board piece from Target which seemed like the perfect candidate for replacement.

In retrospect, with drawer slides and hardware to contend with the craft table may in fact be an easier project than the console, but I found the plans straightforward and easy to read. Expecting to be intimidated by my own lack of experience, as the table came together I was, instead, continually inspired by my ability to actually build beautiful furniture for my home.

The most challenging part of building the console table was finding lumber, particularly straight lumber. Here in New Jersey, the local Home Depot and Lowes stores did not have a large selection of wood, virtually nothing beyond pine and most of that was visibly warped.

I eventually found boards that were relatively straight, though not perfect. As a result, getting the table perfectly square was an impossible task. For future builds I have already discovered some local lumber suppliers that offer a broader quality of materials than the big box stores.

The other part of this project that was really challenging was applying spray-on polycrylic. I never got a protective coat I was particularly happy with and decided to stop fussing because I feel like I was making things worse trying to correct my application mistakes.

In a few weeks I plan to add a layer of wax, which I hope will give the table a finish a more satisfying finish.

All things considered, especially as this was my first furniture project of any kind, I look at the beautiful console that now graces my front entry, dumbfounded that it's something I built from a small pile of wood. Many thanks to Ana White and her website and book for the inspiration!

Laundry sorter with 3 tilt out bins and 3 drawers.  Made to fit a recess in laundry so it looks like a built in cabinet.

This was so much easier then I thought it was going to be. 

Here are some frames I made for my sons dirt bike themed room. I love DIY because I'm able to match everything up. The bed, frames, and mini media wall under the bed are all painted to match a dirt bike jersey that I will be make a frame for soon.

Made this vegetable cupboard for a family member this Christmas.  It turned out really cute.  The knobs were half off from Hobby Lobby, and I used ORB hinges.  I bought L-shaped magnet clasps so that there was a better way to mount the magnets to fit with the doors.  The stain is a mixture of driftwood and walnut stain because the driftwood has almost no color to it.  It ended up giving a kind of country rustic finish to it, which is something different for me.  Pretty easy project and if you measure carefully and dry fit, the doors aren't too bad to fit in the openings (rare for inset). 

I have been working on using my cad skills to make somthing using a CNC router so this is what I came up with. I designed it a a flat pack with minimal assembly. Very comfortable.

This project was actually completed last year, but I am late getting it posted. I had been asking for a board and batten bathroom, and then luckily Ana posted pictures of one, giving the handy hubby a better idea of what I was wanting.

The cabinets, built-in medicine cabinets, mirror frame, and toilet paper niche are all custom designed and built by the hubby. The counter top and sink were custom ordered through Home Depot to fit the space.

The bathroom didn't originally have a shower head, so after removing the 70s gold flecked tiles covering the walls up to chair rail height and repairing/replacing drywall we purchased shower walls and then he tiled around and above.

This was a major, months-long undertaking that included gutting the entire room, and then the building began. Everything in the room from the popcorn ceiling down to the yellow linoleum flooring save for the toilet and tub had to be replaced,the toilet we had bought since we moved in and the tub is metal and was in great condition.

Did so many "firsts" with this project. My daughter/grandsons moved in just before Christmas. They needed space for their toys in their bedroom. Soooo, without tools, or paintbrushes, or..... anything, I opened my mouth and out came the words - I can make them some cubbies!

These took me 10 days to build, because I had to keep running to the store to get tools, paint, screws, circular saw.....

Then I decided to make a cut out at the bottom, tried to use a hand tool, chucked it, went to the store and purchased a jig saw. Completely happy with how little time it took!

I figured out the bottom shelf was missing from the cut list/shopping list. I made a ton of mistakes, figured out how to fix them, and am pleased with my first project.

A friend asked me to make a headboard for him as he couldn't find anything online or in store that he really liked. 

I was up for the challenge and always love working with wood to make new and exciting things so, challenge accepted. 

This was my first attempt at a headboard and I think it turned out pretty nice. 

Knotty pine face with a cedar frame. 

Looking forward to my next project! 

Built this mostly out of scraps I had in my garage. I had to get a few pieces but it was an easy build. I left out the x but I will probably be adding it soon and putting it out on my front porch once it warms up. For now it's filling a big empty wall in my living room!

This was a super fun and easy project to do! Everyone LOVES this sign and wants to make one for themselves. Great cheap and easy wall art!

This is a pretty challenging little puzzle that is relatively easy to make.

There are three puzzles to be solved.

• Puzzle 1 - Arrange the cubes inside the enclosure so there are 4 different colors in each side.
• Puzzle 2 - Pull the cubes out the enclosure and form a 2x2 square out of the cubes. For this puzzle, you must have 4 different colors on the top and bottom, and 2 different colors in each side.
• Puzzle 3 - Again, this one is outside of the enclosure and makes a 2x2 grid. For this puzzle, you must have 4 different colors on the top and bottom, and same color on each side.

Note that you will also find this puzzle under the names, Four Cube Puzzle and Stop or Traffic Light Puzzle.

See Link for Build Instructions: https://www.instructables.com/id/Instant-Insanity-Puzzle/

I saw this plan a couple of months ago, and knew right away that this is what we need for our kids - their old table was always filled with papers, crayons and they never had enough space to store whatever they did.

I made the table longer so that it would be enough for both of them, and added foldable legs to support the table top.
Since I didn't find the right hinges for the legs, I used a piece of 1x1 with wood dowels which are attached to the inner side of the legs when unfolded.

Had someone ask me for this side table but in a smaller size. I subtracted a board from the top and adjusted the width to 22 inches. I also used 2x3's for the legs because the 2x4's mad the shelf look too cramped in the sketches I did.

Adjustable sawhorses for outfeed of tablesaw and temporary workspace counter

My family and I really enjoyed camping last year and with the addition of another child we will not be able to get out this season. So, I modified the simple bench plan to create a comfortable seating area while we "camp" in the backyard. With the money I saved building vs. buying, I was able to purchase a new miter saw and sander and still save a ton of green. I plan on building a couple side tables to complete the set. Thanks for the site Ana, it helps make our home more warm and affordable.