Community Brag Posts

My first project using Ana White's plans.  Love how easy the plans are and how great the bench turned out.

A Playhouse Under the Stairs for the Grand babies! A really fun space :) A fun project for me to build ... It lets the creative thoughts take shape. I had the perfect space for a playhouse under the stairs in the basement and thought that since we live in a cold climate it might be good to have an indoor play space. Inside I put down carpet to keep that area warmer since it is on the cement floor. I also installed bead board, chair rail and plywood with wall paper on it. I didn't use any plans from this amazing site but did see other plans that inspired me! I will be using some plans on this site soon. Look for a Murphy Bed soon from me :)

Fun day project. Had toddler mattresses left over after my boys moved to big boy beds. Used the mattress and upholstered it to look similar to a couch. Now it lives in their playroom complete with throw pillows from target. I built some of this with scrap wood on hand to save cost. All in all, a very fun project!

Choose the equivalent of 4 x2 here in Australia but as you can see the Depths were different. Painted in Dulux outdoor paint in Vivid White

We needed space, display space as well as gadget space. The Workbench Console and Rustic Hutch fit in well with the dinner table I modified from Ana's Farmhouse table. Instead of adding the 2x6 on the front and towel bar, I opted to leave the face clean with just a 2x4 and add some reclaimed antique drawer pulls on the side for decoration.

Instead of plywood or 1x4's for the back of the hutch I used the ever handy bead board. Same feel, but cut to size. We also raised the shelf up 12" from the bottom so that I could easily vacuum under it and it would be a great place for a basket or 2 just to hide linens.

Thank you Ana...my house is transforming one project at a time...

This took me for-ever to build but mainly because I have an infant plus two other children. I think the actual time in hours was about 15 for the build and about the same for finish work. We modified the plans to fit my sons full size mattress. We also spent a lot on lumber because, initially, I thought I would stain but ended up painting.

This was my first woodworking project and I really like how it turned out. The instructions for building the unit were pretty clear and I only deviated from them in two ways: 1) Since I am using this as a tv stand, I added a port (pictured) for xbox / cable box HDMI cables. I painted the port the same color as the unit so it blends in well. 2) To attach the top two stained pieces of wood, I used pocket holes instead of drilling down from the top. That way I didn't need to use any wood filler. I think I used 7 or so pocket holes per board and it seemed to be held pretty well. For the paint color, I copied kbdesigns' unit and used 'Intellectual' by Behr. I don't remember the stain for the wood but the stain is a darker color than it shows in the pictures. As far as the hardware, I modified those plans as follows: 1) I used a vise to bend the aluminum flat bar to provide stopping points for the doors, so they don't just slide right off the bar. I think I bent about 1.25-1.5 inches at the end. I just used a hammer and a vise and the metal bent fairly easily. 2) I drilled four holes instead of three for more support. 3) For the bar pieces on the doors, I made them 4.5 inches instead of 8.5 inches. I liked the shorter look in the original Grandy examples. 4) I used the clevis pins from the pulleys I bought to attach the wheels to the bars. Note: her instructions for the pulley wheels seemed very difficult. I was able to find pulleys on clevis pins that could easily be removed from the wheel casing, or whatever it is called. I found them at Home Depot. I think they were 1.5 inches.

When my husband left he left behind an entire tier of our yard that he'd used to throw sticks, branches, clippings, dead plants, you name it for years. I cleared the mess last spring and am excited to make it beautiful this season!

rustic bench, modified length and omitted x detail, painted numbers

My sister wanted a step stool for her grand-daughter via her daughter-in-law. Like our mother and grand-mother before us, we stood by the sink with our hands in the wash water "helping" with the dishes. She asked it I could build a stool. After searching through several plans, I came across this vintage step stool and changed it up a little for the personal touch. I added the cartoon characters to fit with my great-nieces theme and she now has something that she can "brag" about as she grows.

These desk sets were made from scrap wood and left over finishes, and are the inspiration for the desk bling accessory set plan, the cedar 1-board desk accessory set plan, and the 1-board cedar 2 drawer desktop storage cube plan. I had a ball planning and building these 4 sets over the summer, and gave them to the girls at work today as Christmas gifts. They were a big hit!

The cube sides and drawer fronts are made from scraps of wainscoat paneling.

The gray set is a distressed finish (not shown - the matching cube storage included pulls painted in oil rubbed bronze). The Espresso painted set received pulls spray-painted in silver. The Onyx set was stained with Minwax Express color, with pulls spray-painted in silver. The blue set received 2 coats of paint, and a Walnut glaze. Those pulls were done with a gray paint wash, with sea glass pebbles glued on the fronts.

The pulls are all made from pieces of S4S moulding, sanded and then painted. These also received a poly topcoat before attaching with super glue.

Total time for each set is about an afternoon each. Each set received multiple coats for the finishes, but was well worth the effort.

For some added "bling," I raided my stash of sticky-back felt scraps and applied to the bottoms of each piece, along with the drawer bottoms.

I loved making this bed. This was my first experience using a Kreg Jig and it was great! We added three inches to the height of the bed so that my daughter could stand up for the next two years or so without bonking her head. We opted for rungs instead of stairs to save more space. We also used 2x4s cut to width for bed slats instead of a bunkie board.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the finished product, but these are the table tops I built for couch tables in my basement. First time working with resin, I learned a lot!

Buildermomma

Have you checked out prices at framing stores lately? Since I didn't want to pay $250 for a frame, I decided to make one out of some spare 1x4 Douglas Fir that I had. It's a single board with a router cut at the edge for detailing. I routed a rabbet onto the back, and kreg-jigged it together. I distressed the wood by beating it with a hammer and chain.

Prior to completing the frame, I took a sample piece to the framing store (who would be matting it) to make sure they could work with my rabbet size. I ended up having to make it deeper and wider to accommodate them, so I would advise doing this if you're taking it to a framer.

I never dreamed I could actually make a frame, much less a piece of furniture. Thanks so much to Ana for sparking all of this. I've found my creative calling thanks to her!