Play House
Made from plans on website. Granddaughters favorite color is purple so that's the theme. Siding and room match house.
Made from plans on website. Granddaughters favorite color is purple so that's the theme. Siding and room match house.
I originally made the Adirondack chairs in a Beach style, then I made them matte black for around the fire pit. I modified the design a little, making the arms wider (to accommodate food and drink better) and fanned the back a bit. Everyone loves the look and how comfortable they are, as well as how sturdy they are. Goodbye to those plastic chairs that break.
Thanks for the great project ideas during the quarantine.
My wife asked me to build her a sewing table so I modified the x console a bit. Pretty happy with the result. Still need to add the hardware to complete the piece. Finished with the vinegar / steel wool solution after pre treating it with black tea. First time using that technique and will definitely use it again.
In reply to beautiful by katiemakes
Fri, 04/05/2013 - 22:20
I can't remember where I stumbled across the technique but basically you take some steel wool (0000), tear it up, put it in a big glass jar, fill it with stinky white vinegar and let it sit for a few days to dissolve the wool. Shake the jar every day or two and don't cap it tight. In about three days the wool will have dissolved and you will have a murky liquid.
I then brewed some black tea I bought at Walmart and painted the entire piece with the tea. After it dried I painted over it with the vinegar, and wallah! it totally changed colors...not sure why it does...something to do with oxidization and tannin and chemical reactions.
Then I went over the entire piece with furniture wax.
There are plenty of online tutorials which go into more detail. My suggestions is make sure your surface is completely clean and as smooth as possible. Let your tea layer completely dry before applying the vinegar and then let your vinegar layer dry outside. We rushed the table into our house mere moments after it was dry to the touch, so our home smelled like stinky, rusty vinegar for a few days. I can't stand the smell of vinegar....I loathe salt and vinegar chips....blah.
Anyway, glad you liked it.
Tue, 04/07/2015 - 06:05
Love this mod. Might copy but will cut into the desk portion so the sewing machine surface is flush. I have a desk in which it sits on top now and have thought of cutting into it, but it's Amish made and the thought of ruining work gives me the willies, ha! Anyway, great job!
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 08:52
Love this! Would like to build for a make up/get ready table! Do you have the plans you used or how did you modify this?!
This is a replica of the Pottery Barn benchwright coffee table. I altered Ana's plans slightly by changing the design of the legs to be 2.25" by 2". I added full extension drawer slides. The finish is a combination of transtint shellac base coat, gel stain, transtint dye, and poly.
Wed, 02/11/2015 - 05:37
This looks so professional and just like the real Potter Barn table! Great job!
I changed the entrance from the front to the end and added the steps.
This was my second build ever, and I'm so extremely satisfied with the entire process! Ana's plan was super easy to follow, and I couldn't be more proud of how they turned out!
This was a recycle from a window replacement project on my 108 year old home. I removed the leaded glas window from the top of a 4.5 by 4.5 street facing window with a reciprocationg saw, attached a 1x4 pine board with trim screws on the ends and trim nails on the mid-portions. Painted it with satin black with a sweep of gold and pewter for a little dramatic effect, purchased a heavy weight mirror hanging plate and attached to the wall and window back. I'm thinking of backing it with a mirror to improve looks,
Sat, 03/30/2013 - 09:39
This is just lovely! What a wonderful use for a piece of history, it's now a one of a kind piece of art, and an instant heirloom!
Love, love , love this step stool. It’s perfect and relatively easy to make.
My 4 year old kept asking for a bunk bed, so my wife and I went to the furniture store and saw we would be paying close to $1000 for a junkie bunk bed. We told him it cost too much and left it at that. Then he started bringing us pennies, dimes and all the change he could find to pay for the bed. So I found this website and decided to attempt to build him one. I started building it after work on Monday, continued for a few hours every evening and finished Saturday morning. It turned out amazing, and both the boys love it. It is extremely sturdy, and will last beyond my lifetime. It's just a good quality design. Total Cost was about $300. Not bad for what we would have been paying for a lesser quality bed. Changes I made: I added the railing on the front of the upper bed to match the headboards and railing on the back side because my wife is a worrier. I also designed and built the stairway and bolted it to the lower bed. I am no professional carpenter, a novice at best. Most people with a little carpentry knowledge can build this. Thanks Ana, we all love it!
Tue, 04/02/2013 - 05:17
Wow, you did a wonderful job! What a sweet story with your son bringing you any change he found. Adorable. I'm sure your sons are so proud of you and it means so much more than just store bought. In looking at that first smaller picture of just the top part, it looks like a view from the back side of a day bed. You can take apart the bunk beds when they get older and you have one full bed and one day bed. Awesome!
Sun, 06/29/2014 - 05:09
Could you post the plans and cutting list for this twin over full bunk bed?
Tue, 12/23/2014 - 23:22
I would love to build this for my grandsons, but I can't seem to get the plans for it, I need instructions becuse I am in training. Thanks
This is 2 different shirley console tables . I did both out of pine boards and golden oak stain. One I used wax on and the other poly.
A full write up of this build, including photos & dimensions, is here: http://imgur.com/gallery/YyawW
I just completed my first build (#AnaWhiteFarmhouseDesk). It has a ton of mistakes, but they are my mistakes to learn from.
1. Measure twice cut once not measure once cuss twice.
2. Cutting 2x4s in half does not make a store bought 2x2. Which is really 1 1/2 x 1 1/2. Who determined that we would measure wood (used in carpentry which requires very precise measurements) and just round up? Awwe, they'll figure it out!
3. Steelwool & vinegar stain with a black tea conditioner provide a beautiful aged wood appearance, but when using different types of wood it is nearly impossible to match (maybe even store bought stains are like that, too.)
4. When your 95 yr old grandfather (how freakin' cool is it that I have a 95 yr old grandfather... With a planer no less) tells you to catch the "wormy Chestnut planks" on the other side (okay... I'm bragging about getting my hands on wormy Chestnut for my desk top) remember to bring you own PPE because at 95 he doesn't require ear protection and doesn't give a frog's fat a$# if sawdust shoots in your eyes & nose... What's the problem???? He never had a new pair of shoes until he was in the military serving in world war 2 so what's a little sawdust?
5. Sometimes you just need to ask for help from your trusty uncle! Thanks to my uncle Nathan (Lord do I love this man!) I finally, with his help, completed the build by assembling the desk top yesterday. I was so afraid of screwing up my gold desk top (aka wormy Chestnut)
6. Mistakes... Do not fear them, but rather embrace them because that is life's playground where learning happens.
7. Learn from others. Thank you Ana White, Woodworking for beginners members FB group and YouTube!
This is the third farmhouse table I built, although it is trifle smaller to fit in a smaller space. I think this one is just about 62” long. I also built a 48” bench to go along with this table, and I think they look so cute together!
Tue, 04/16/2013 - 08:59
I love your farmhouse tables! Did you make any changes to the plans when you took away the stretchers? I really want to make a table like this soon!
Sun, 12/06/2015 - 06:09
I'd like to know this too, as I'm not keen on having the bottle boards.
Shorted this length of the table by 6 inches to fit the available space. Came out great. Tip: If using pine, after stain dries, gently sand again with high grade paper to remove raised ridges after wood has absorbed stain, but not hard enough to remove stain. This will help make the eating surface much smoother to the touch.
Ana,
I was looking for a Mother's day project that I could build with my 14 year old son. When I saw your share on Pinterest, I figured this would be perfect. There were a limited number of pieces (in terms of sizes/lengths) and the construction was pretty basic.
We purchased our pavers at Lowe's and found that they only sold 11 7/8" pavers (after our build). However, the 1/4" reveal around the border of the pavers turned out to be a terrific little detail. You would think it was on purpose.
As always, keep up the great work and sharing.
WoodworkCity
Wed, 09/13/2017 - 07:12
Hi Ana,
Could you please tell me if you sealed the pavers.
Thanks so much for all the inspiration you have given me!!! I am going thru a very difficult time and don't see it getting better anytime soon, you helped me find myself and my passion. When I feel like I can't take another day, I go to your webisite and find one of your projects. Building gets my mind off of everything and a little break in all the worring. I just can't thank you enough!
Thank you Ana, Susan
Adjust the height slightly. Easy to follow plans, quick project.
Fri, 05/28/2021 - 10:44
Love the hardware and two tone finish! Thank you for sharing:)
I found a baseball bat headboard that I wanted to make for my son...thankfully I found this website that has helped me so much. I BUILT every piece of furniture my in sons room, crazy!
I had a blast doing and have no plans on stopping.
In reply to More info by mrpaulperry
Sat, 01/18/2014 - 20:52
There wasn't a plan for the headboard. I found a picture a few years back and knew I wanted to make it for my son. I can take measurements of everything and let you know but I got the bats then just did what looked best.
I searched high and low for bats in local stores and online. I ended up finding the best and cheapest online. I did my best to find old, used bats but couldn't find all the right sizes for what I wanted so I just got new bats.
I used Douglas Fir instead of pine, which increased the cost but I love the warmth of the wood in this piece. The instructions were pretty easy to follow once I got going, and the longest part of it was the staining process. I love this piece and I'm ready to do another one!
Thank you Ana for all of your woodworking plans. I have made several now and this desk is my latest. I stuck with the plywood for the file cabinets and went with an ash top panel made from 8" wide boards in order to practice some jointing and planing. The stain is minwax honey finished with 7 coats of poly. Again, thank you.