Community Brag Posts

I purchased and used a circular saw to cut the back legs, which was so much easier than just using a jigsaw like I did the first time. Having experience building one before made assembling the second one simpler.

(Note: The measurements in the photos are different than those in the plans because I cut the back legs to be 37", adding about 1" to the height of the patterned back support to accommodate a 1" seat cushion for future.)

Super easy and quick project! If you buy the select pine from home depot- it is a piece of cake to build. No sanding!

I needed a bed frame to go around my adjustable mattress and cheapest I found for pre-fabricated was greater than $200 and I thought why not go on Ana’s site and see if I could build one cheaper and I found this design.  I did everything in the instructions but build the platform as I was only getting it as a frame around the base that I already had.   I ended up using carsiding as it was cheaper than 1x6’s I also did not use pocket holes I just used regular screws that I countersunk and it gives it a bit of a more rustic look   I did have to adjust a few things as the side rails the 2x4 toppers went over too much on the adjustable portion of the bed and I didn’t allot for additional width on the head and footboard so I had to remove them -  to me it presents a little bit of a cleaner line I figure I can always go back with a 2 x 2 if I want a capped look.  The weathered recommended product turned it to a grayish purple hue no matter how much I sanded it -  it grew on me but definitely not the same color probably different tannins in the wood I was able to find not sure.  

The build took about two days total I built it all on my own the bed hardware was tricky though after failing to find anything local I ordered bed rail hardware off of Amazon for 12 bucks it’s a lot easier and your able to connect the side rails to the head and footboard on your own.

Total cost with the bed hardware probably about $130 if I took off the stuff I wasted it may be closer to $115.

I built 11 doll highchairs for my daughters 5th "Adopt A Baby" birthday party! These chairs were fast and easy to build and I had a BLAST painting them! The girls loved, loved, loved them! A little extreme for a 5 year old birthday party? Maybe. But definitely worth it!

So we couldnt find any bed we really wanted for my son, and this one was perfect.
I used the wood one step up from the whitewood at HD, which had too many knots for this, and was .75 more. Still had to pick thru the 2x4 and 2x6s but the quality of the wood was much better.

After seeing what another bragger posted, i raised the posts to 72" instead of 66", which allowed for an additional 2x6 at the top. The mattress stayed at the same height, but know i sleep better thinking he wont roll off.

Lesson learned from this: Sand the primer!!! i never knew to do that before in my life and wow, what a difference.

Painting Steps were:
Sand wood,
prime, ( Used Zissner BIN)
Sand primer with 220
Wipe with Tack cloth
Paint ( Used Behr Ultra White Semi Gloss and Behr Par Four Green Semi Gloss)
Sand lightly with 320 grit
wipe with Tack
Paint again.

The two end pieces and the deck were assembled in the garage, but the cross pieces and steps were built in the bedroom.

Im thinking of creating a mini gate where he climbs up just for sleeping that i could put in once he is in his bed to really prevent rolling... trust me.. he rolls everywhere. May be to the height of the top 2x4, halway the length of the opening, and use dowels or something.

Note the second picture didnt have the 2x6 ladder step installed yet.

Thanks Ana for the plans! My son never wants to leave the bed!

This was a pretty easy build!  I changed the plans a little bit by adding ventalation holes and the way the cubbies conntect.  I wanted to be able to easily take apart the bed if I need to so I built a track system that the middle support sits on and locks in place. 

Enjoyed building this with my son.  Thank you Ana.

I really needed an entry way system that was easy to corral all of my 3 boys shoes/coats/crap, etc. . . and I LOVED this plan! I messed up on the frame, so just left it off, and decided that I didn't need the back either. I painted little chalkboards on the side of each boys cubby.

I'm fairly certain that this isn't made perfectly, but it's perfect for us! This was my 2nd project and I'm really super psyched about it!

This was made as a present my mom's birthday. I found a good sized mirror at the thrift shop which was perfect for the project. I adhered it to some plywood, added trim around it, bulked up the top and bottom with multiple layers and types of trim and added some crown molding to the top. The finish is "A Day at the Jewellers" by Valspar with a Red Mahogany stain/glaze over top.

This was a very fun and one of the easiest projects I have made from Ana's plans! This makes me want to see if I can make matching chairs as well!

If you have seen my other projects, you know that I try to keep the lumber cost of my projects as close to free as possible. Living on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, pallets are not free, so I did have to pay $2 for each pallet, being VERY choosy about the slats being all the same size and straight. The hardest part of the project was taking the pallets apart! Check the blog link for more details.

I used 1 1/2 pallets for this project, and the following tools:

Jigsaw (to cut the ends off the pallet)

Pry-bar (to loosen the slats from the center of the pallet)

Miter saw

Drill

Table Saw (ripping the 2x4 sections of the pallet, to make the legs and spacers of the table)

Palm sander

Modified the plans to be only 3 drawers which saved on weight and hardware. Used reclaimed 100+ year old barn wood for the top, adding lots of character.

I built this loft bed for my neighbor's daughter.  It has a lot of space for storage and the book shelves with desk really add a lot of stabilty.  I added some supports to the back rail as it moved to much for me and made the ladder out of 2x material as it kept costs down and seemed stronger.  Neighbor wanted the ladded straight up and down so I connected it to the lower bookshel too!  Would not recommend cutting pieces in advance on this one!  I also used plywood for the shelves and trimmed them out as it was cheaper!

This is inspired by pieces I've seen here, though I sketched it out on paper myself to make sure it would suit the limited space in our room. I built the simple piece to match our bed (made from Ana and her reader's plans, see my photos below).

Originally, I planned to include cabinet doors, but with the limited space we have, this is better for us.

For nightstands, I stained plain wooden crates I had in the basement. Still working on how to hide the cords.

The baskets under my bed are from Bed Bath Beyond. The baskets in the "dresser" are from Target.

Sorry about the poor photo quality.

This was an excellent set of plans and the finished product looks great in our home.

A buddy of mine showed me a picture of a coffee table his wife wanted that he found online. It appeared to be several crates attached together. I came up with this design. I added a base to raise it off the floor a few inches to make cleaning around it easier. Was made using all scrap. It was a very easy project and took about 2hrs. This picture was taken before any finish was applied.

I needed an entry table and when I saw this plan for a bedside table I knew with just a couple of size modifications it would be perfect for me. It is a little taller and wider that Ana's plans, but other than that is true to her design. Couldn't be happier with the new table!