Community Brag Posts

This was the second part of my Tryde media center build. You can read about the console build here.

This part of the project was very quick to put together, I spent a lot of time reading the brag board and looking at pictures of what others produced.  I really appreciate when people upload high res pictures of their builds so you can really look at the details - I've tried to do the same on my blog post about this project in case you needed further information (see link below).

I made the plan as per Ana's original, with some modifications.  These were:

• added a back kickboard at the base for stability
• added trim around the back and sides at the base to stop it toppling over
• added felt to the feet to avoid scratching my console underneath (worked so hard on that one!)
• added 'L' shaped brackets to join the two pieces together, for added stability (check my previous post for more details on this)
• changed the orientation of the beadboard on the back to be vertical and not horizontal (I just preferred it this way)
• after seeing Perchik's build of the Tryde media center I shamelessly copied his idea to extend out the trim around the top.  It looks much better wrapped around than jutting out the front, a little less severe I think

I hope you would give this project a go, as a hutch it is very simple to put together for a beginner and quite satisfying.  To get more information about my build please read my blog post where I go in to a lot more detail (and leave a comment too, I'd love to know what you think!)

Happy building!

This was my first real woodworking project and I loved it! I had a big helper (my Dad), who has a full woodworking shop teach me how to use the different tools and assist with building. It took a while longer than the plans say because we did some extras like powersanding and rounding off all the edges on each piece before assembling it. My Dad was very picky about it having a polished look! Plus, I insisted on my Dad teaching me, not doing everything for me. We also predrilled and glued on 16 hinges so it would fold. That definitely took four hands to do and the majority of the time.
My 'small' helper (our last name is Small) and son Dominic is almost two and loves using it. In hindsight, I would have made it a couple inches less wide overall to fit better in our kitchen that has limited counter space. And would have painted it prior to screwing the sides together with the hinges to make it easier to paint. However, I built it at my Dad's over the weekend, then painted it later. I chose the bright green colour so it would be playful and gender neutral to pass on once we no longer need it.
Thanks for the inspiration and great plans! I will be back for more projects!!!!

Enjoyed making this project.  Instructions were great.  Very happy with the results.

I actually used the “Bedside End Table” brag plans. This is my first project using plans from this site, I’m pretty happy with it:)

I painted the entire cabinet a dark blue, then painted over it again with an antique white. After it was completely dried I sanded it all down to give it a distressed look. I used antique label holders for the drawer pulls.

You may remember my green stratton day beds that I built a long time ago- finally I have another project to post- I am soo happy I found Ana White's website. We just got back from a 2.5 week vacation in Israel and my dogs were staying with my sister. She told me they had been sleeping in the same kennel together instead of separately. Their kennels are too small so I decided to build them one using wood I already had. But since they are small dogs, I decided to size it down- but I wanted it end table height- so I built a smaller kennel- 20"H x 19"W x 28"D. but... I added a drawer to the top to bring it to the right height. You can read all about it on my blog- link below.

Not bad for my first project!!  I decided to upholster the chairs so i used a solid piece of wood for the foundation of my seat and also decided I was going to use chalkboard paint I had left over

This is a great place to put on shoes and hang up your coat. My husband loves it. You can place your shoes on the shelf under the bench.

First time building furniture. This turned out much better than I thought. After this I probably could've build the farmhouse table myself instead of paying way too much for my wood dining table. Only if I have found Ana's site sooner. :)

Having a Kreg jig also made the whole process much easier.

We wanted to build a farm table with benches to accommodate a few more people in the same space. This plan was easy to use. We modified a couple of the supports to metal piping to change the look up. We also painted the table and used a stencil to create a old world feel to it. It was a very fun project!

I'm a furniture builder now! This is actually the fourth project built from Ana's plans, but the first one complete and gifted. I bought my materials in the morning, and had it together by late afternoon. Now choosing colors, trim and do-dads to embellish was a whole nuther thing. I opted for chalk paint with a wax finish, and distressed her. She has mirrors on both sides as well as two, double hooks for hats, belts and jewelry.

My grand daughter is one pleased princess. Me too! I'm proud of myself.

Thanks Ana for the terrific instructions, encouragement and education you provide.

We built this dog kennel as a donation to a fundraiser for our favorite dog rescue. It was auctioned off at the silent auction and all the money went to the dogs! :)

We used cheap furring strips for the majority of the project. We also had some leftover beadboard so we used that for the sides & back panel. We painted the base antique white and made a nice top out of some scrap lumber & old hardwood plywood. It took about an afternoon to assemble but another few days to sand and paint. We finished it while all 4 sides were separate to make it easier and it was still a pain to paint. This would be a great project to have a paint sprayer because it is sooo hard to avoid drips with this design.

The whole piece cost us almost nothing to make and we love how it turned out. We need to make ourselves one for our dogs!

The best part of this project was seeing it go home to someone who loves it and all the profits go to the Basset Hound Rescue!

Thanks Ana for the plans we couldn't have done it without you!

I found an old coffee table with stained legs for $10 on one of those app "for sale" sites. Sanded them down and with two pieces of 1 by 4 for the apron and 2 pieces of 1 by 6 for the top made this table. Apron is No2 whitewood and Top is select pine. Top was stained in a dark color (Varathane Kona) and then painted gray and sanded back to show some of grain and stain through. Total cost of new table about $60 (most expensive part was the select pine for the top at around $35)

We are going for a rustic look in our teen sons bedroom. He has some large books that will not fit onto his bookshelf so a pallet wall shelf seemed like a perfect solution.

This project literally took five minutes. If you don't have a sawsall it would probably take around 30 but still pretty quick.

Starting to get colder here in SC. I know the northerners will scoff at me but I'm a wuss when it comes to the cold... and I want my warm garage spot back. That means cleaning up my scrap wood and finishing the big projects that won't fit in my little project/craft room. So the past few weekends I have done a few scrap projects that had been on my mind for a while.

First was shelves for our oddly shaped walk-in-closet. Most of the wood was salvaged from my old dresser/armoir with a splash of scrap whitewood boards to finish it up. I love being able to see everything right when I walk in now.

Second is a simple tie rack for Mr. Lodise so he doesn't have to put them on a coat hanger any more. One more step to getting everything in the closet more visible.

Third is a holder for my hair dryer and straightening iron so they don't have to take up counter space anymore.

Best of all my car now fits in the garage again :)

Instructions for the Ridge Media Console Table were easy enough to understand after one read-through.

I changed up the front-drawer face to go along with other decor in room fun, satisfying project.

NOTE -- Measure your electronics. The drawer is supposed to hide all wires and electronics for a clean look, however, the plans give a 13" drawer space. The dvd/tuner I own is approx 14.5", therefore I have to store it on the bottom shelf. I guess it's time to upgrade to blu-ray.