Square Dining Room Table
Square Dining Room Table
Square Dining Room Table
After yet another move (this time to Monterey, CA) and with a baby on the way, it was time to build the girls some big-girl beds of their very own. I was going to need to re-convert their double bed back into its original crib form by September, so in June, I started looking for plans. When I stumbled on Jenny's "Sweet Pea" bunk beds, I knew I'd found a winner! She also made it sound so easy, and I'd only assisted my dad on remodeling projects, never built anything from scratch. But I was familiar with the tools and terminology, so six months pregnant and in a serious nesting phase, I got to work. My hubs helped with the heavy lifting and I had some friends assist with sanding and priming -- many hands do indeed make light work! It took just under a month working four to six hours a day (on average), five to six days a week. I used screws for EVERYTHING, as this baby has to come apart easily for future moves (and does it ever -- Jenny's not kidding when she says you can have it up and down in ten minutes!). I'm most proud of the roof -- I had originally planned on finding real cedar shingles, but those babies are expensive! So I came up with idea of using door shims. A pack of 12-15 is only a couple bucks, and it took about 24 packs to cover the entire roof. I found some light wood trim and glued/screwed it to the edges, slathered on some pink paint, and voila! A wood shingle roof! The whole project ended up costing nearly double what I'd originally budgeted, but I'm so happy with it and my girls love it so much that I don't really care. Plus, if I'd had this baby custom made, it would probably have cost quadruple (at least!) what I paid in building materials. Let me know if you have any questions -- I'm happy to share what (little) I know :)!
Thu, 01/02/2014 - 01:16
Awww...This is so SWEET! You did such a great job- the roofing is ingenious! I wish I had thought of that! And you are right, wood shingles cost a fortune. You came up with such a clever way around it! Love how your bed turned out, I'm sure your girls feel like little princesses!
In reply to Awww...This is so SWEET! You by birdsandsoap
Thu, 01/02/2014 - 08:12
Thanks :)! And yes, they do love it -- bedtime has not been an issue since completion!
Thu, 01/02/2014 - 01:16
Awww...This is so SWEET! You did such a great job- the roofing is ingenious! I wish I had thought of that! And you are right, wood shingles cost a fortune. You came up with such a clever way around it! Love how your bed turned out, I'm sure your girls feel like little princesses!
Wed, 04/09/2014 - 15:35
hi do you happen to havea copy of the plans the pdf link is broken and id love to build thr bed for my daughter
In reply to copy of the plans? by thomen
Mon, 05/19/2014 - 16:18
So sorry this took so long -- I only just now noticed your comment! I do not have a copy of my plans, unfortunately. They were pretty much destroyed by the time I finished!
Mon, 05/19/2014 - 14:51
This is marvelous! My husband says this is the best he's ever seen and wants to do exactly this. You have a designer's eye. The paint pallette is very pleasant. Can you tell us the specific color names of each paint you used and where you used it?
Did you use stencils to paint the flowers, etc? If so, where did you buy them from?
Also, where did you get the lights and what are they called specifically?
Thank you so much!!!
In reply to Specific Paint Colors and Other Details? by Bountiful Acre
Mon, 05/19/2014 - 16:23
Thanks for your kind words! I do not know the exact names of the paint colors I used -- they were sample cans, by Behr. The cream color was actually a very pale yellow, though. I free-handed the green on the drawers, and the flowers are actually made of wood and came from Michael's (in the craft department, where they keep wooden letters and stencils). The lights are oriental paper lights, and I got those at Ace Hardware. Hope this helps!
Tue, 05/20/2014 - 11:20
Yes, that was helpful. Thank you for taking the time. It is appreciated!
Rocket Bookcase
These plans were a lot of fun, easy to follow and I love all the layers!! I changed the direction of the bracing under the table and used a thicker beam along the floor. For the bench I decided to use only two legs so I did them in a thicker look to match the table.
Wood = Pine
Finish = Minwax Special Walnut (after Pre-Stain)
This was a pretty straight forward build, but nice to have an extra set of hands. On the top board of the head/footboard, a countersink bit was used to recess the screw heads (otherwise, all fasteners in the plan are concealed). Then a mixture of glue/sawdust was used to smooth over the countersink hole. The whole project was sanded starting with 60 working up to 220.
We followed the plan, and in the photo this is the height of the bed with box springs and mattress. The bed feels sturdy and comfortable. It was a fun project and my first shot at interior furniture.
This is a very simple project. It measures 8' x 8' and is 11" high. I simply used eight 2" x 6" treated pine boards and one 8' 4" x 4" treated pine post. I used an 11" 4 x 4 cross member in each corner and an 11" 4 x 4 in the center to connect the 2 x 6's. I used 2 coats of a water based natural cedar deck stain as a finish. I connected everything using 3 inch deck screws.
Sat, 03/10/2012 - 07:58
Wow! That turned out beautifully! We are looking at starting a raised bed garden as well. Yours turned out great.
Quick question/concern, though. Are you growing edibles in yours? If so, what did you do to block the treated lumber so it doesn't leach chemicals into the soil?
You did a fantastic job!
Sun, 03/11/2012 - 01:37
The chemicals used to treat lumber today are safe. Even with growing food. I can attest that the plants will not be dwarfed by it either. My tomatoes reached heights of 6 feet. I have included a link to a PDF file from Purdue University explaining that. The stain is simply an exterior water based deck stain called natural cedar. The chemicals in stain that are used today no longer contain arsenic. This was eliminated in 2003. This includes oil based stains. I hope that answers your question.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hort.purdue.edu%2Fe…
Mon, 03/12/2012 - 08:28
Hey windjamer812,
Thanks for the response and the link! That's good to know as it really opens up the materials available to me. I'll go check out that PDF as well.
Your project turned out beautifully. I'm excited to start something similar.
Thanks, again!
Cindy
P.S. Go Boilermakers! ;-)
This was my first project ever and I'm so excited how well it turned out!! However, I did modify the length and height for my space. The table is 40" long and 33" tall. The finish is Benjamin Moore Tawny Day Lily (awful name) with their high gloss wood finish. Thank you Ana!! You made this project seem easy and now I'm excited to build more!
I similarly was looking for something to store laundry baskets underneath and didn't want to shell out $500+ for pedestals that were less functional. Without being particularly handy, this was a relatively easy DIY project that turned out great. Adding the baseboard trim made a big different in the overall look and the dark paint to match our cabinets helped in pulling it all together. We made the height 12" (instead of 11") for the storage component and cut the width by 2 inches to allow room for the baseboard trim to wrap around the side. Otherwise it was built the same as the original design without the extra trim.
Needed a quick and simple plan for a new king frame, so I went with the simple panel bed. Stuck mostly to Ana's directions, but used pocket holes on the back of the headboard to get the 1x8's really tightly flush against each other. Since I was assembling it myself I definitely followed Ana's tip about cutting some spacers to prop up the sideboard while securing them to the headboard. Even with as minimal as these plans are, the bed is pretty heavy and very sturdy.
Not experts, just 2 enthusiast woodworkers. And 3 months is how long it took us to build this canopy bed.
Our first project of many to come!!! Thanks Ana for your website!
Thu, 04/18/2013 - 04:25
Your table looks great! Love the color (University of Kentucky Wildcats fan here!) Just wondering about how much it costed to build? Would love to make one!
Started off as the rustic farmhouse bed, but I couldn't help adding bits to it - dentil moulding, panels on the headboard and footboard.
I saw the plans for this project and decided I wanted to do something of the sort. I tweaked the plans a bit and made it longer and took out the drawer. My favorite part about it is Annie sloans chalk paint. Look into it, it's great stuff.
We were looking for a table with custom dimensions for our little office nook, but it was really hard to find. Most of them were very expensive, too. We decided to make our own table and share it with all of you as well. It's an easy project to do and minimum tools are required. You can also always use substitute tools as opposed to using the exact one we did in the project.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step one: Cut the Wood
You need to cut 4 (2 x 4's) pieces for the legs using a miter saw, or you can have The Home Depot or Lowes cut it for you. You can adjust your own measurements according to the plan above. The plan is according to our space. We drew it in Google Drawings, and you can get that idea and draw your own.
Step Two: Pocket Holes
Drill pocket holes in the legs using a Kreg Jig but if you don't have that tool it's okay too. Tou can use regular nails as well. I am in love with the Kreg Jig though, and I highly recommend the product to everyone as it makes your joints stronger.
Step 3: Put The Leg Together
Once you are done with making the joints, it's time to screw the legs together to make it like a frame. See the picture. It should look like a rectangular box. We also placed scrap wood in the middle just to give extra support to the table, so it will not go wobbly.
Step 4: Attach The Top
Now, since your legs are ready, it's time to attach the top onto the legs, which is also an easy process. You can attach them using a brad nailer or regular nails. We just happened to have those tools but you don't have to buy everything.
Step 5: Cut the lips
In the end, we placed lips or edges around the table to make it both more sturdy and prettier.
Step 6: Sand It
Now, since your table is ready, you need to sand it to paint or stain it. Sanding is a very important part. Otherwise, your paint won't adhere to the wood unless you are chalk painting. We used an electric sander but you can use any 120 grit sanding block from your local store. Just use your elbow grease to sand it nicely.
Step 7: Paint or Stain It
Paint it with whatever paint you would like We wanted to stain it so we used color stain to match with other furniture in the room. We are pretty happy with the project turned out. It saved us tons of money and looks nice in the room as well.
Hope you liked it and I would love to see your project using my plan. You can read the whole blog post in-depth on my blog. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Happy DIY'ing! Love,
Bushra
Entry Way Table with Slatted Bottom!
Mon, 07/24/2023 - 20:19
So perfect with the bottom shelf! Love this! Thank you so much for sharing a photo!
I got tired of the aluminum framed bunk beds in my kids room, and wanted to build something they can enjoy for years to come.
My 7 year old didn't have the luxury of one of our dogs jumping up on his bed, as he was on the top bunk, and my wife and I didn't interact with him as much as we would have liked during his reading time prior to bed.
Only one thing to do....build the boys some beds. Although they have a little less room in their bedroom, they have their own individual beds and storage nooks.
In an effort to reduce wasted space, I took a similar page out of birdsandsoap's book by hinging the footboard to create easy access to the void under the slats.
The head and footboards were 'tiled' by simply cutting 1x2 and 1x3 pieces and attaching them with wood glue.
Between the sanding, staining, and poly coats, it took about a week (on and off) to complete the set, but overall am very happy with the finished project.
Only 1 bed is included in the pics, as the other one is identical.
Wed, 01/08/2014 - 18:03
This looks super! The "tiled" wood design on the headboard and footboard looks awesome, love the finish too!
Thu, 01/09/2014 - 04:05
I was unsure exactly how I wanted to design and finish, so I just looked through tons of brags on here. I think they are very cool now that they are done, and my kids end up using the hinged footboard to gain access to build small forts.....
Thanks for the great feedback!
Handcrafted amish side table. Easy to do
I built this coffee table for my son's first apartment, along with the rustic X end table. It's a very sturdy table and the plans were easy to follow! It's so much fun being able to build my kids furniture!
This is my very first build ever! I learned so much from this project. I also bought my first power drill and brad nailer for this project. My husband helped me cut the wood pieces to my measurements and I did everything else. I never knew how fun woodworking can be!
Emily Mangiaracina
My husband built this for me because it cost as much for one pedestal as it did to build this. I got storage and height for both my washer and dryer for the price of one pedestal. My husband built it, We painted it and I stenciled it.
This was really a quick project. It's sized to fit a standard American girl doll. I tag-teamed with my mother to make a Christmas gift for my 4-year old daughter. I built the bed and she sewed the mattresses, reversible blankets, and pillows. My daughter loved them. My only regret was using plywood instead of backboard for the box springs. The plywood was too thick making it a tight squeeze to get the dolls in the bed with the pillows and mattresses.