Community Brag Posts

Counter Height Chunky X Table Long and Skinny

This is an adapted plan from the:

Chunky X Base Table

http://www.ana-white.com/2016/02/free_plans/chunky-x-base-table-featuri…

 

I made it counter height, made it skinnier at 27" depth and really long at 72" long.

Estimated Cost
$100-$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Red Mahogany Oil Based Interior Stain. First using wood conditioner, stain than a semi-gloss polyeurathane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Headboard out of a door

I made this headboard last year. I got tired of my 5 year old shutting the door on my 2 year old, it was a large heavy old wooden door, so I took it off the hinges and had it sitting there staring at me forever. So I decided to make a headboard out of it. It was simple, just using the basics of the farmhouse bed around it. I love it :D

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
A can of mistinted semigloss paint from walmart
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Carolina Craft Table Modified

http://ana-white.com/2010/09/pb-kids-caroline-craft-table

 *** apologies for the missing baseboard in the photo- we are in the midst of a remodel ***

We wanted a high quality table so we researched the Parker Play Table ($1200) and the Carolina Craft Table- ($600). 

In the research i found the plans for the Carolina table on this site- and modified them a bit (we wanted the removable storage top). 

We painted the top with White board on one side and Chalkboard on the other. 

The table has 22" legs and they can be changed out with a second set of legs when our daughter gets taller.

There is plenty of storage for all the art supplies in the unit and a art paper dispenser on the end. 

The unit is made of poplar on the inside and the legs and facia are all red oak- a very dense and beautiful wood. 

All exterior screws are counter sunk and hidden under face grain wood plugs that are surface sanded.  i chose to do no finish as the wood grain is beautiful- although i may do a timber oil or tung oil at some point - 

the project took about 2 days total time- $150 in supplies (including paint) and the piece feels substantial..... like it will be used for my daughters children. 

you will want to have access to a table saw and some clamps, wood plugs and a countersink bit for your drill

Estimated Cost
150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
none- light hand sand with 180 grit sandpaper
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Just a beginner! Second Project

Submitted by Rifka on Tue, 06/21/2016 - 18:35

Great first project!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Annie Sloan chalk paint with clear wax.
Works great for outside too.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

The Carb Cupboard

Submitted by Booooozle on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 18:34

Anther creation of my own but this would easily be created from Ana's plans for this wall shelf. There isn’t much cupboard storage in our kitchen so when friends gave us a sideboard they didn’t have use for & it fit perfectly in one of our kitchen’s oddly spaced corners we were thrilled. It became our “Toasting Station” where the toaster & Panini grill are. I decided that we needed matching shelving to house our “Carbs” since it was much easier to make toast & sandwiches when the bread was right above the toasting implements.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar Flat Black Indorr/Outdoor Enamel
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Planked Wood Sideboard

Submitted by emilykay on Tue, 04/01/2014 - 18:42

This was my first build from this site! It took me about a month working on-and-off during my toddler's nap time. I thought this project was very accessible for a beginner--or, in my case, a distracted mom who is six months pregnant. I scaled down the plans to fit my dining nook, but I forgot to account for a half width of face framing when I subtracted so my third door hole came out a little narrow. I decided to just put open shelves in odd-sized middle opening. I used euro cabinet hinges instead of the butt hinge style because they are more adjustable for not-so-perfect openings/doors. I bought a 1 3/8" Forstner bit to drill the hinge mortises. I was intimidated by the hinges & drawer glides but that part went surprisingly well! I used a plastic template to locate the cup handles on the drawer faces--that purchase was definitely worth a couple of bucks! I wish I had borrowed a router to make a rabbet for the door panels, but I got impatient & just tacked them on. I also wished I had replaced or sharpened the blade on my circular saw because it chewed up the plywood making long cuts. (There's a lot of wood filler on those plywood edges. I ended up painting the shelves with leftover interior latex because they looked like a dog attacked them.) There are also a few shims under the drawer glides to correct the width, but oh well, you can't see them :) Before my next project, I am going to get a couple right angle clamps and make sure I buy the BIG box of pocket hole screws!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Pre-Stain Conditioner, Early American Stain (distressed after dry with 220 grit) & Paste Finishing Wax
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Leaning wall desk/bookshelf

Using only scraps from all my other projects, I modified Ana's plans to create this workspace in the house we just moved into. I changed the dimensions of the shelves to take advantage of the materials I had on hand. Additionally, though I have a lot of different things on the shelves in this picture, I'll be using the shelves more for books and reference materials, so I needed standard shelf sizes. Though this is a simple design, cutting some of the angles and installing the shelves was a bit tricky, therefore I think this is more of an intermedite project. I also added 2x4 legs to support my Mac. Can't have that tumbling to the ground!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
I used all scraps and left over lumber from other projects to make this. My actual cost was $25.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
I used an all-in-one Verathane stain+finish (ebony). I put on 3 coats, sanded with a fine grit sponge and put on one additional coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Tryed Side Table

Submitted by pekuhlers on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 11:42

This was my first project using an Ana White plan. I thought the plans were easy to understand and follow which made the project go smooth. I am a fan of painted and distressed furniture so I went with that look for this project. After painting the tables I used a hand sander to scuff up the corners and then added "worm holes" using a hammer and nail.

Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Ken's Salsa Console

First Project...Used pine for the base and oak for the top to match home counter top.

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

Side Street goes Shabby Chic

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/27/2016 - 21:14

We sanded, stained, painted, and distressed the wood before building. That was truly the most time consuming part. The plans were great and everything went together smoothly! We decided to take off the top 2 planks from the footboard, and used those as the side rail. We created the ladder from what we had on hand. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Stain- dark walnut
Paint- Paint left from our kitchen ceiling

Distressed with electric hand sander
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Seesaw

This was a pretty quick and easy project. My third one from this site, as well as being my third one ever. We rented a mitre saw to cut the wood (and cut wood for a few more projects we had on the go at the same time), and then it was just a matter of staining it and putting it together. The staining and waiting for it to dry actually took a couple of weeks, mostly because we don't have a lot of room to do that, so couldn't do it all at once, and it wouldn't stop raining. Once we actually had that done, drilling and assembling only took 2-3 hours at most. (Maybe even less, but hard to judge as I had two children helping the whole time.)

I've put a video of it in use on my blog as well. :)

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$25
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Some of the wood was finished with Behr natural cedar that I had a sample can of, but I ran out and decided I didn't like how orange it ended up being. I bought a can of CIL walnut semi-transparent stain that was on sale for the rest, as well as putting it over the Behr on the ones I had already done.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Atomic Credenza

Submitted by bethrose on Sat, 04/05/2014 - 19:01

My neighbor loaned me a shop vac and a palm sander to refinish a table, and I fell down a rabbit hole. This is the Brooke Mid-century Console Table from this site. I need to touch up paint the front, and it's not perfect, but this was my first woodworking project. I think the hardest part was wrestling with the drawer slides; I think I had to remount them three or four times. There was plenty of swearing involved with the Euro hinge as well.

I took a "Woodworking: Your Own Projects" class at the local community college, but this project was almost entirely self-taught (although I had plenty of adult supervision while learning to use the saws.)

I bought most of the materials from Building Materials Resources, a local reclaimed building supply store. And then took about a million trips to the local big box home supply stores for "just one more thing."

I had originally stained the project with Minwax Sedona Red and put some wipe-on oil-based poly on it, but the drawer fronts came out blotchy because I had used wood putty over the brad holes, so I painted those and the door brown ("Polished Mahogany" SW2838.) Then the edgebanding that I had applied on the front and stained was peeling off and looking terrible, and I didn't want to redo it.

I gave up and scuff-sanded the whole thing and painted the rest of it blue ("Still Water" SW6223.) I then applied several coats of semi-gloss spray water-based polyurethane, sanding lightly inbetween coats. I finished it off with a coat of Howards Feed N Wax and 0000 steel wool.

One tip that I have is that you can buy enormous (quart sized!) paint samples at Sherwin Williams for about $5 apiece. I used a paint sample for the brown portions, and a "real" quart of paint for the blue portion, and I cannot tell the difference in quality.

Skills learned:
Drilling pilot holes (believe it or not)
How to use the Kreg jig
How to use a miter saw
How to use a circular saw
How to use a table saw
Applying edgebanding
Applying wood filler
Staining
Building drawer boxes
Installing drawer pulls
Installing drawer slides
Installing euro-hinges (and how to use a Forstner bit)
How to use a brad nailer
How to attach table legs
Probably some other stuff that I forgot

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Paint + Spray semi-gloss water based Varathane
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Farmhouse table

Submitted by Shugh on Fri, 07/01/2016 - 16:01

Thanks for the plans!

Estimated Cost
$200 and 40 of that was a box of 1000 screws, and 35 for stain (not in image)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Still to be finished/stained
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Stand Up Desk

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/27/2020 - 09:41

Anna's recent design for a stand up desk system with paper shredder inspired me. I have 2 side by side Stand Up desks on castors. I have customized to suite our needs.
Thank you Anna for teaching me to build, my "She Shed" has become my sacred space - Cheers from Canada

Estimated Cost
100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Old Masters Stain - Dark Walnut
Black Wax for desk top
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

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