Community Brag Posts

I built 2 end tables to go with my park bench. I had a lot of trouble with splitting wood, because the 1x2s where so thin. I'm used to more robust lumber. I tried something new. I drilled pocket holes, sanded, primed and painted everything before I assembled. I don't like painting as much, because I love using power tools. I psyched myself out by thinking I was giving it an elegant finish. Sounds so much nicer than slapping some paint on wood.

My son made some tic-tac-toe pieces from scrap treated lumber, by painting black X's on one side and white O's on the other. Now we can play on the end table!

Ana White's site is wonderful with downloadable, step-by-step shopping list, cut list and instructions.

#AnaWhite #GetBuilding2015

You would think I would build this first because it was EXTREMLY easy. This was so fun to make and it's perfect for my daughters toys (junk). I used all reclaimed pallets except for the sides. The only reason it cost $8 is because the wheels were $5.

We loved Ana's charging table, but didn't think we needed the holes for charging - what we really needed was just a side table to go next to our couch, but one with storage capacity (hence the shelves behind the doors on the bottom) and a place to put the remotes and game controllers for the TV (hence the shelf at the top). We decided to keep the "secret" compartment on top that flips up, like in the original plans, for storing messy things with cords like the headphones that you can see in the picture.

We also decided to replace the solid wood doors with a glass pane, and used glass paint to paint a square in the middle of the glass.

This was our very first - ever! - furniture-making project and we both really love how it came out. :-)

We were looking for nightstand that would match our new mantle moulding headboard and stumbled across these plans.  It was a cinch to build.  I adjusted the height and width up a bit, as we have a platform bed that is higher than most nightstands.  It turned out beautifully!  

I also made a few modifications and additions, for my own purposes.  I cut out a square in the backer board and mounted a charging block to the underside of the top piece.  That way, my phone, kindle and fitbit charging cords can be tucked away in the storage bins and I don't have wires all across the top. And I purchased a piece of thin plexiglass that I'm using to protect the top of the table.  It looks great and will keep any coffee or water rings/spills from damaging the stand's surface.

Also, hardwood plywood is a BEAST.  Good gawd, the splinters are a nightmare.  You HAVE to have leather or some other really thick gloves.  But there are just some things that are tough to do wearing gloves. So for the second nightstand, we put a coat of primer on the sheet of hardwood before we even started measuring and cutting.  That has helped so much with the splinters.  

Using old barn wood, too short for anything else. Love that four regular Mason jars can fit in it, and it is ideal for taking silverware outside for the BBQ's.
Cost was zero, all wood was from the scrap pile. Put together with a brad nailer, the is no finish on the wood. Actually build time was less then a hour. "Including clean up"

I fell in love with a set of bookshelves from a big box store (ahem, T@#get) but was disheartened to find that they would not help me get the corner shelf ordered to Canada from their website.

With inspiration from Ana, I decided to design and build the whole thing myself. It cost 1/3 the price, and as my first wood project, I'd say it turned out pretty well.

I made my design to work best with the wood available local to me, and to fit specifically in our room. The biggest challenge wasn't wood-related at all, but was actually dealing with the electrical outlet that I needed to attached to the base of one shelf.

Check it all out at my blog; http://projectjumanji.blogspot.ca

this is a coffee table that i had build just by looking at a picture and taking measurements of my previous coffee table that i had, I'm very glad to show the table off!

I made a few modifications. 

I used shiplap instead of tongue and groove, raised the footboard by adding an extra 2 x 6 & used jacobean stain.

Thanks Ana for putting the plans and video on your site.

Thanks Ana, I no longer "Think I Can"- I KNOW I CAN! : )

What a great project! This is my first Ana White project and definitely won't be my last!

I modified the garage plans to fit our basement. We have two beams the shelves needed to fit between, so I made the length 10' and bought 2x4s at 10'. Otherwise, I didn't do any modifications.

The wood was cut at the store for the lengths needed, making it super easy to come home and assemble! We secured the shelves to the basement supports and along the back wall. It's pretty secure and stable.

Overall this probably took a few hours (we took a break while constructing it). Next time I would make the shelves a bit deeper. 17" was fine, but a few more inches would have made the bins fit a bit better.

I am looking forward to making more!

With the condition of our inherited 6-sided picnic table in my mind, the idea of these picnic benches was too appealing to ignore!
I gave away our old picnic table, and bought some cedar 2x6 from the lumber mill down the road. (He had a pretty good price so I used 2x6 for everything)
I decided to make them 6feet long instead of 4, and with an overhang of 8 inches rather than two I was able to avoid making a third leg set.
I got everything cut and gave it all a coat of stain before I assembled anything and then screwed the boards together with cedar deck screws.
I discovered when I had the tabletop bolted on that the 2x6 caused some issue with the tilting, so I had to go back with a handsaw and trim the front top corners of the back legs so that the table could tilt to the bench mode.
I'm still puzzling out why I have a bit of play in the top when it's bolted in either configuration...
Now if only this chilly rainy weather would quit so we could put them outside and start enjoying them!

I kind of came up with this on my own. I used 1 x 3 furring strips for the legs and stops for the shelves. I used 1 x 8 for the shelves. I wanted a semi distressed look so I painted white and then painted the blue very messy making sure I missed certain areas.

I loved making this Ana White's Narrow Cottage End Table plan after seeing it here on a search. I made it for my mother's 83rd birthday. She asked for oak and a light stain (Rust Oleum's Summer Oak Stain). Used three coats of wipe on Poly and one coat of Johnson's paste wax on the top. I bought the blue knob at Cost Plus World Market. The project took me two days. Will difinitely make another one but in pine this time.

This was my first project, so it took me a while to make since I had to figure out what I was doing. But, it was so much fun and I'm excited to make more!

I designed and built these beds with the help of my husband and daughter. We spent about $350 on the materials and about 4 days in the Texas heat to build it. My kiddos absolutely love them, especially my 7yr. old. His is the loft bed with a ladder system and a bookshelf, and area to play underneath. The bunk bed is for my 18yr. old and my 14yr. old, so it had to be extra sturdy. We built everything out of 2x6s except the bookshelf. It was built from 1x12s and plywood.

We made this storage bed for our teenage daughter. She helped! She picked out the stain, comforter, and went through different plans with me to make it her own. She learned how to use a miter saw, sander, etc. and it was a great bonding experience. It's a few different plans, and we had to make modifications, but it is immensely better quality than store bought furniture we purchased a few years ago (it's falling apart!) and it has sentimental value. We are proud of the furniture, but even more proud of our daughter. :-)