Community Brag Posts

This project was made for our four year old son, after viewing an article from a known magazine he came over charmingly stating "Daddy can you build me this in a dinosaur theme??" So of I went searching and found the plans online here (Thanks Ana!) @ a cost of approx $400 and about 40 hours of work it was built. He loves it and loves to show it off to friends and family, as it has also been a hit within our neighborhood. We built it using white board wood, sanding everything down, and using just semigloss polyurethane to seal and protect the wood. All materials where obtained from either Home Depot or Lowes.

I made this Farmhouse X Table from Ana's plans with the adjustment of adding a breadboard to each end (a perpendicular piece of wood). This table was my first woodworking project ever! Now I am hooked ;) I have made a bench to match. Both are stained with minwax English Chestnut and finished with minwax fast-drying polyurethane, semi-gloss. Now I just have to figure out the rest of my chairs! Thanks Ana!

This is a TV console I made using Anna White’s techniques, which make woodworking achievable even for the novice builder.

I Loved the idea of this table! It is in the kids' living room/game room. This room is usually cluttered with blankets for friends, games, game controllers and so on! I was thinking about building a storage chest for their coffee table, then I saw these plans! It is perfect! The boys even use it to clean up...WITHOUT ME FORCING THEM! Oh yeah!!!!

I wanted my table to appear to have three drawers instead of two, so I modified a bit. I also opted out on the breadboard ends and just made the top boards a little longer.

After looking at sofas in magazines and fliers, I decided I wanted to build one. For the quality (or lack of) at the price we could even dream of, it just didn't make sense to purchase one if I could build it. There are still a few little adjustments I may make as time goes on, but overall, I'm happy with the way it turned out! The pillows I made definitely added the finishing touch it needed!

It's a full 8 foot sofa designed with plenty of space underneath for storage! My plan was to build two wooden boxes on casters for the kids to use as toy boxes, but I think plastic totes will work just as well and much lighter and easier to clean! I drew up the dimensions and plans to fit what we wanted and went from there. The frame was the easiest part; took about a day. The cover and cushions on the other hand were quite a challenge. The sewing involved in this project was HUGE; took a little more than a week just for that. The pillows took an evening.

Thanks for checking out the project! Whatever you have in your heart, you can do!

Built this media tower based off the plans inspired by the Pottery Barn Benchwright Towers. I used Annie Sloan's French Linen chalk paint followed by a clear then dark wax. The door panel was made using a decrotive bronze aluminum sheet cut to size. It makes a nice addition to my living room. 

I built the entire project to plan.. I did however engrave my daughters name instead of painting it on.. I think it gives a little more personal touch..

My wife got a large fountain for her birthday. She likes the sound of running water while she reads. What she doesn't like is damp carpet because the fountain splashes a little, as running water is wont to do. We had a choice of returning the fountain or me getting busy to build her a table for it.

The entire project is simply 2x4s and 2x6s. The top measures 44" x 36" and is made completely of pocket hole-joined 2x6s. The base is all made of 2x4s and is 16" high (plus top). I went for a little different look on the legs with a 15 degree cut, to a height of 4".

We both liked the look the Corona square table (the top especially)...BUT! She likes to be able to vacuum under furniture without having to move it or get Down on hands and knees with the wand attachment. So...recessed cross-brace to the rescue! I rigged up the miter saw to cut 1 1/2" into my bottom braces (2x4s on edge front-to-back), the exact depth of my cross piece (a 2x4 laid flat), and made repeated cuts, then leveled with a chisel.

I made sure to adequately brace the top, since the fountain, plus rocks, plus water comes in at well over 100 pounds. The pictures aren't all that great, but what can you expect when some are taken in an unfinished basement with no windows, on a cell phone...right?

You could probably replicate this for less than the $150 I spent, but I needed the wood, new stain, urethane, and new brushes.

Tiered Cedar Planter

I found a place on the Naval base here that is a storage for broken pallets and other wood scraps. I picked up a variety of pieces and decided to make an endtable. My sizes of boards are all different than the ones in the plan, but the overall look is about the same. I created my own 2x2s by cutting 2x4s in half. All of the wood was free and I used Kiwi brown shoe polish for the finish. My drawers are actually a door with hinges. I have two shelves on the inside.

I saw this project posted online and thought it would be a nice improvement to our patio since we just added fire pit benches this would be a great addition instead of dragging the old plastic cooler out every time we entertained.

Once I got all the cuts done it was like putting together a big puzzle. For the most part I did this one my own on the floor of the garage. If you have the space I would suggest doing all the screwing together atop a table and off the floor.

I was very happy with the outcome and I look forward to finding more projects here to add to our backyard.

I used Ana's plans for this entertainment center. I wanted tour pride my husband so I built it while my he was out of town. When he got back into town and settled in to watch television I heard him say "oh wow.....where did you buy this, it's gorgeous"! He thought I had bought it.

thanks Ana for providing easy to follow plans!

I have been wanting to build a workbench but just hadn't decided on a plan. I stumbled across one here and decided to go for it. It was easy to build, easy to follow the plans. I had fun building it and I'm super happy with out well it came out. This is my first big project and it's only my 3rd thing I've made.

The only deviation from the plan that I did was that I used 3/4" plywood for both shelves instead of just one. And I only did this so that I wouldn't have to buy a second piece of plywood. And I used 3" screws on the whole thing.
Also... I cut 3" off the height so that I could add wheels and it be the same height.

$18 - 2"x4"s
$ 7 - screws
$24 - Plywood
So about $49

The wheels... well... if you go to Lowes... I spent $30 including the bolts. Then I went to Harbor Freight and got some different ones for under $20. So I'd shop around on that. Or... you don't need them if you don't want them.

Our first build! After finding a vanity top we loved for our DIY bathroom renovation, my husband and I went in search of a chunky, open base with simple lines and a shelf on the bottom. Nothing at the store appealed to us, and I had been talking about all the projects I wanted to build from Ana's site for weeks, so we decided to try the Simple Open Farmhouse Style Vanity. We would just add a shelf to the bottom and omit the top!

This was a really easy plan to scale for our sink, and because we were not doing the top we could make all the necessary cuts with a chop saw.

The only purchases we had to make for the base were screws, slats and a 12-foot-long 4×4 that the guy at the store cut into four 36″ pieces for me. It’s pressure-treated lumber meant for outdoor use, but it was on sale and they didn’t have any other 4x4s. The rest of the materials were 1x4s and 2″ screws that we already had on hand.

For the bottom shelf, we just duplicated the spacers, aprons and skirts from the top, and placed wide slats over that. They look crooked in the photo because they haven't been glued on yet, and using the baskets makes them shift around!

With the vanity top in place the counter height is a little over 37 inches. We are tall people, so this is a tall sink! Perfect for our first build. Thanks Ana!