Community Brag Posts

Basement Storage

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 12/27/2016 - 11:44

Thanks for the instructions! Here's my version. I haven't built much of anything before, but I needed it in my basement to handle kids' stuff. My version is 18 feet long. I combined a 12-foot and 6-foot 2x4 to get that length, which meant less cutting, which I had done at Lowe's (for free). I used the 6-foot 2x4s throughout the shelf to ensure it was strong (in other words, I didn't want a 12-foot "section" and a weaker 6-foot "section" added on).

 

I was able to get everything in my car but the ride home was slow. I also had to use my egress window to get the 12-foot boards in the basement.

 

Total cost for me was about $170 including a couple boxes of screws and wood glue. I could've easily spent double the cost on store-bought shelving. Thanks for the plans!

Estimated Cost
$170
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
None
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Hall Tree - Shiplap and Old Growth Fir

Loved doing this project. Used the Ana White plans with a few mods. Made the back removal so that I could easily transport. This was for my daughter's apartment that had no entry closet for her shoes and coats.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Benjamin Moore Ceiling Flat White and Wipe on Poly for the seat.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Charlie's Personalized Highchair

A few days before Thanksgiving, my mom told me she wished we had a restaurant style high chair for my daughter. The old one was so large and bulky, and was hard to reach food on the table. I knew just where to look for plans! I spent $6 on the lumber and used scraps for the seat and back. The chair is painted in three coats of lime green paint. We used my mom's Cricut to cut the vinyl letters and stuck them on the back. Then three coats of polyurethane for easy wiping and it was ready for straps! I picked up $3 worth of 1" webbing from Hobby Lobby along with a parachute snap clip. I used two small cabinet screws for each strap on the bottom to attach. I decided to loop the front strap over the 1x2 front bar to prevent any risk of splitting by drilling into that thin side. Instead both ends are screwed down on the bottom.

We absolutely love this new highchair! It perfectly fits under the table and Charlie has no trouble eating (and throwing) food now. And for $10, you just can't beat it! Solid wood, perfect color, personalized name. I really love DIY

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$10
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
three coats of lime green latex paint, followed by three coats of polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Console X

Submitted by linwoods on Tue, 09/09/2014 - 18:11

I modified the plan so that that I had a 48" table top and 4 legs only.  I didn't need such a long version in my entry.  The picture frame is from left over wood from the project.

Can anyone guess where I took the photograph in the frame?  Somewhere in the lower 48 states.

Thanks Ana for the design!!

Daren

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I followed the rustic Yet Refined Wood Finish Pretty closely, except I let the special walnut sit a little longer.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Side board with hutch

Built from scratch looking at a photo someone sent me that cost $5200. I built for $500

Estimated Cost
500-550
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Special walnut and poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Truss table

My husband built this table for me as an 8th Anniversary present.  It came out absolutely beautiful! For the first time,  we can host  family and friends with plenty of room. I paired it with some chairs that we already owned. He will be building the matching bench soon.

He left out the 45 degree diagonals,  may add them later.  It is so sturdy, they are basically decorative. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Min wax golden pecan for top
Behrman Roman plaster paint, satin finish
Satin poly on top.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Scrap wood heart collage

Submitted by kristen on Sat, 12/01/2012 - 09:12

I have a hard time throwing out any scrap I have after I finish a project, so I had accumulated a fair amount of 3/4 and 1/2 plywood. I used up every last bit of it putting a scrap wood heart collage in my daughter's room! This is the perfect project for getting lots of practice making cuts on a miter saw for a beginner and hanging it is a breeze if you follow the steps I took in the blog post I wrote up about this.

Easy and free. Love those kinds of project :)

Estimated Cost
Free, if you use scraps
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
I used s small bottle of craft paint for the finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Doll high chair

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/03/2017 - 05:33

A delight for our daughter. We added an extra rung to the back rest, and kept the seat pretty high for her small babies. Otherwise, we just followed the free plan. Thx!

Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Brookstone Desk

Changed the top of the desk size to 24” x 36” to fit my tiny space.

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

Matching dog crates

Submitted by lwitte on Mon, 12/03/2012 - 23:50

My wife told me she would like a pair of matching dog crates built to fit the space between the wall and the dryer in our laundry room. I built her two crates (25L x 17W x 18H) and painted them to match the colors in the laundry room. They fit the open space exactly and sit on top of each other. The entire project took about 2 days to finish and set me back around $80. They seem to work perfectly for our dogs, both of whom are on the smaller size of medium. They really tie the space together and add a wow factor to an other wise normal laundry room.

Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
White and Teal satin paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Kid adirondack

Just changed the back a tiny bit.  My nieces and nephews love these!  Thanks for the great plans.

Estimated Cost
About $25.00 each.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paints and stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Kitchen Island

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 09:24

Basic  kitchen  island

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Sturdy Workbench

Submitted by AhmaNaz on Thu, 09/17/2020 - 09:43

Did a couple builds for my family out of state and quickly realized that working without a station is CRAZY. Addedd wheels for mobility as I left it there.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
60 to 75
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Raw
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Cedar Compost Bins

Submitted by AmyJM on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 18:27

For this project, I used 6 foot cedar fence posts and 8 foot cedar 2x4s. I used a pencil to space the boards and allow extra air flow. More space between boards is acceptable - even to the extent of dropping off one full board and putting an inch between each side rail.

Another option is to make your sides interlocking layers, one or two boards high - http://cedarstackingcompostbin.blogspot.com/

Since I am composting large amounts of leaves and grass clippings, mine is made in one piece. I don't turn my pile often - when I do, I can either lift the whole thing up or move the pile from side to side. I cut the 2x8x8 posts - cut a 3 foot length off of each end. Save the 2 foot center piece to brace the long sides. Affix your 1/2 (3 foot side) and full fence (6 foot side) boards to the 2x4, leaving the desired gap between each board. Affix each board with 2 weather proof screws - I used coated deck screws.

Attach the vertical posts to the inside of the cedar fence boards, including the short 2 foot boards that are just long enough to brace the long sides. I alternated the dog eared sides, so that each corner had one flat and one notched board.

I used 24 cedar fence posts and 16 feet of cedar 2x4. Note, I was able to do this all along. The trash cans acted as supports - no clamps or saw horses needed.

Estimated Cost
$70
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Light sanding, no stain
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

AmyJM

Fri, 12/07/2012 - 18:43

This is a little heavy when finished. I can easily flip it over to turn the compost, but after building it and tiring my arms out with the cutting and drilling, it was a long haul to the back yard to position it. You might be happy with a 3x3 bin, in which case, I suggest making it 1 board shorter and leaving wider spaces - if you think through the math, you can probably get it down to 10-12 cedar fence posts and 1 longer 2x4. Cost would be about $35 that way - cheaper than most compost bins.

Tile-top Coffee Table

Submitted by asharke1 on Sat, 09/20/2014 - 10:34

Combined a few different plans from Ana White and made a tiletop coffee table and matching end table.

TV console is next :)

 

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Classic Gray, Dovegray Grout, Tried and True Linseed Oil Natural Wood Finish
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Woven back bench

Submitted by Pauline M on Sun, 01/08/2017 - 12:09

I built this as a memory bench in honour of my father who died on 27th January 2016. Because of you Ana you gave me the confidence to start building furniture. But because of him I had the skills and desire.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
€150
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Out door wood paint cupernol
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Emersen-Inspired Nightstand

Submitted by keribeth on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 06:46

I modified the Emersen nightstand plans to use edge-joined 1x6s instead of 3/4” plywood since I didn’t have a great way to cut 15 1/2” widths of plywood. I eliminated the face frame, used a 1x8 for the drawer face, and used 14” euro slides for the drawer. This was my first time making anything with a drawer and I was a little nervous about it but it works perfectly! One nightstand down, one to go!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$70
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax in Golden Oak
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Tryde Console Table

Submitted by fanofana on Wed, 12/12/2012 - 18:08

I needed to do something with the empty space at the bottom of our stairs. I was browsing Ana's site and the Tryde Console Table caught my eye. The next trip down to the farm, I scavenged for the wood I would need to build it. I found some beautiful old brigde timbers that were 9 inches wide so we modified the plans a bit to use 2 of the 9" boards instead of the 4 smaller ones the plans call for. The dimensions were close but we needed to tweak the rest of the project a bit as well to make it all work. For the finish, I just rubbed it with Tung Oil as to not cover up the beauty of the old wood.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$20! I used reclaimed wood so I only had to pay for the finish.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Tung Oil
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments