Community Brag Posts

Sofas for our patio

I adapted these from Ana's plans for the one-armed sofa a couple years ago and they have held up very well in our desert heat. Found the seat cushions on closeout at Target and made the back cushion covers myself.

Firehouse Loft Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/03/2024 - 07:32

Our son moved up to a big boy room and we made him the Fire Station bed. He LOVES it. Not quite ready for him to use it as a loft bed so he is sleeping on the bottom for now.

Kaity

Built from Plan(s)

PBK Cubby Wall Shelf Knockoff

This project was super easy and free! I just used some scrap wood I had, along with stains and finishes already on-hand and built this Pottery Barn Kids knockoff shelf while the baby napped! For the complete play-by-play, click my blog link!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Free!
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Stained with Rustoleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Dark Walnut, then painted with red Valspar paint, hand-painted numbers with black acrylic paint, then distressed on edges and corners to reveal dark walnut stain, and sealed with 2 coats of Rustoleum Satin Polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Deborah

Tue, 08/21/2012 - 21:24

This looks great! I just finished the wood part of this project, and was looking to see what everyone used for a finish. Yours looks pink in the photo, but you say it is red paint. Is the picture true to color?

Conner side table - first build

My first build. Built two of these for less than $50 and four hours. Finished the top with dark brown Polyshades and the bottom with off white satin paint. Borrowed my dad's mitre saw and and drill. Can't wait to do more.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

X-style coffee and end table

My mother wanted something to match the table she got for under her TV, and I found the plans here for the x-style coffee table and small end table to be very fitting. The crosses were pretty difficult with just a hand saw, but with the help of my brother in law we got these done in a few days.

Estimated Cost
$100-150 for both with paint
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar - the perfect white
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Queen Farmhouse Bed with Arch

Submitted by jwerne2 on Thu, 08/23/2012 - 09:25

We saw this bed and decided to make it after getting tired of the sad state of our bedroom furniture. My husband built this as a weekend project. We also built the Farmhouse Nightstand, and plan to build the Wide Cabin Dresser stained to match. The bed is very sturdy, even with three kids horsing around.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Java Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Kitchen Island

Submitted by kharris on Sat, 06/14/2014 - 00:16

Our new 1970s Hawaiian house had never been renovated. It has beautiful redwood walls, but felt dark with a lot of walls dividing the kitchen from the living and dining rooms. They were partial walls, so we removed them and decided to add an island to divide the kitchen from the dining room.

I actually built this twice, the first time at bar height and the second one I altered to be counter height to match the existing cabinets. Since the kitchen is open to the living room and dining room, we thought it would look cleanest if the counters were all at the same height. (We saved my first build and I now use it as a workbench).

I also removed the corbels from the plan and closed in the center wine rack. Lastly, instead of feet, I added 2X4 to the bottom to create a toe kick on one side. The top of the island is Corian and the paint color is Benjamin Moore Marina Bay.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Benjamin Moore Marina Gray, Eggshell
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

DIY Custom End Tables Set

Submitted by Luis Mqz on Mon, 09/12/2016 - 20:50

I build just one piece for my wife and she love it and ask me for build another one so I just build it and add a triangle table more for surprise her,The ""X'' design I take of this website and the legs and dimension and style is my own design 3 corner 45 with the router and and Front drawer is decorative (fake)

 

Estimated Cost
I just spend $75 Dlls
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Red Mahogany Minwax Stain and to coats of clear semi gloss Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane Indoor Outdoor for more durability
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Laundry Cabinets - Shorter Brook laundry basket dresser with folding table

Submitted by DTeague on Sat, 08/25/2012 - 07:49

To finish my laundry room off I decided to build laundry cabinets - this laundry basket dresser is perfect! I used 8in. fold down shelf brackets (like the ones in Lady Goats Miter Saw cart). I also cut corners on the back since I was out of plywood after building my laundry cabinets. I used 3 1 X3s to support the back. I used a pine project board for the top which is only 24in deep so I did adjust the plan for that and the baskets still fit!

 

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Golden Oak on top and Valspar Semi-gloss white paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

julie05_5

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 14:13

This laundry room looks exactly like mine! Even the paint and tile colors :) I've been wanting hamper storage as well as the folding counter forever and I love that this one can pop up or down easily. Thanks for the idea!

Vintage Crate

I left off the casters, but added a one inch foam pad covered with outdoor material to make an ottoman. I made sure the top was removable so we could also use it as storage. I've got a little material left over to make a matching throw pillow.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$13 for the wood, $7 for the handles and $5 for the material. All other material I had on hand
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax stain and polyurethane semi-gloss
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Library console table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 11:09

My husbannd has built a handful of things using Ana's plans, but this was my first time doing everything on my own (aside from asking where to find the wood filler in our messy garage).  It was super easy to cut and put together and turned out perfectly for my girls nights stand/book shelf.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Adirondack chairs for Canada Day!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/30/2020 - 05:19

made 2 sets of these 2 x 4 Adirondack chairs (with the occasional guidance from my woodworking hubby) and they turned out awesome! I went with a more modern look by not rounding the tops and love how they look! They’re sturdy and comfortable and my only complaint is I’m 5’3” and my legs don’t quite reach the ground so I’ll just have to make a footstool!

Estimated Cost
$50 (CAD)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Ebony stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Voila! Une table. First Furniture Project, thanks to Ana and all Braggarts

Submitted by beis0052 on Mon, 08/27/2012 - 09:44

So I built this table in the last few weeks. I am looking to make furniture for a living at some point down the road, being sort of tired of my current profession. Starting a new hobby takes some initial investment, but my wife was enthusiatic. The whole table took about 4 days of work. I ran into a few problems with sizing of some of the pieces but they are all covered in the commments sections.

Materials: Fir for the legs, red oak and walnut on top. You may notice the top is pieced together a little differently than Ana's plan. This is due to some creative problem solving. Namely, the 1X6s for the top weren't quite the right width.

Finish: Satin Polyurethane (4 coats) and Minwax Cherry Oil based Stain (1 coat). Note, the spray cans of polyurethane are a waste of money.

Entire project was 350 dollars. I Probably could have done it for 300 or less had I more experience. Now I need some chairs. Saw some cool ones here. http://wudfurniture.com/furniture/wud-chair/
Whaddya say Ana? Plans Please! :)

Estimated Cost
350
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Satin Polyurethane (4 coats) and Minwax Cherry Oil based Stain (1 coat). Note, the spray cans of polyurethane are a waste of money. Sand lightly in btween coats of Poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Modified Rustic X Kitchen Island

Submitted by palmer225 on Sat, 06/21/2014 - 07:58

This is a my take on the Rustic X Kitchen Island. I couldn't find an island that was the right size for my space, so I modified this plan to fit. It is 24x42. I built the slat shelves, drawers, and side boards to go the full width of the piece. I also made the top by ripping 2x8's, and joining them with Kreg pocket holes and wood glue. Instead of using casters, I just cut the legs a little bit longer. This thing is pretty heavy and does not move. After it was in use, I added some additional 12" deep shelves. I finished it by hand rubbing with General Finishes Gel Stain in Brown Mahogany and their Gel Topcoat.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150 ($50 of that for the General Finishes products)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
General Finishes Brown Mahogany and Gel Topcoat.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Bench Right Coffee table

Submitted by Nick862 on Wed, 09/21/2016 - 00:07

This was my first real project and I am happy with how it turned out. 

Estimated Cost
80.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Chest of Drawers

This is a 10-drawer cabinet that I designed and built. It's the first woodworking project I've ever undertaken. It took about 2 weeks to complete the build (between bedroom remodeling and this project), but I think it can easily be completed in half the time. The cabinet carcass was built with 3/4" plywood. The drawers were built using 1/2" plywood. The drawer bases are also 1/2" thick as I intend to store some heavy items in these drawers. The drawers all measure 23" in outside length and 17" in outside width. The bottom 4 drawers measure 10" deep (internal dimension). The top 4 drawers measure 3" deep and the 2 remaining drawers measure 6" deep (internal dimensions). The drawer banks (Each vertical set of drawers) are separated by a 1.5" thick center wall (glued two 3/4" plywood boards) to allow fastening of drawer slides using 3/4" truss head screws. All joints on the cabinet carcass and drawers are glued and pocket screwed (512 pocket holes all told). Having the Kreg K4MS pocket hole jig was a time saver compared to the Kreg R3 jig that I had before as I was able to "assembly line" the pocket hole drilling process. The drawer fronts were designed to be flush with the outsides of the cabinet and have a 1/8" gap between drawers (both vertically and horizontally) and were made out of 3/4" plywood. They were then veneered with White Oak Veneer sheet and edge banding

Estimated Cost
Around $250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
The chest was finish sanded to 400-grit and then stained with Varethane Golden Oak stain (2 coats), followed by 2 coats of Fast Drying Satin Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
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