Community Brag Posts

From our blog, 1885 Prospect Hill Renovation:

Annie and I have four kids.  One of the most amazing things about Annie is that three of them are not biologically hers, but she is an intensely loving and caring parent to them.  I brought them with me into our relationship and she never saw them as "baggage", but as more outlets for her seemingly unending displays of love and affection.  We bought this house, in part, because it was big enough for our family. One of the best features was this "bonus" room between the dining room and the kitchen.

Now most houses of this period have a front entryway, a front parlor, a second parlor, a side room and a kitchen.  For some reason, the builders of our home stuck an extra room that we lovingly call our "family room".  This is where the kids play.  Where they do their homework.  Where we have our family game nights.  Where we sing happy birthdays.  It is the heart of our home and we needed a table worthy of accommodating these things.

Now, Annie doesn’t like to spend money on things.  Ever.  So it was up to me to build this table.  So I leaned on my favorite website, the queen of all DIY projects, Ana White. She has plans for many great projects, and she makes them easily accessible and affordable.  My favorite was for her Farmhouse Table.  It was big and it was doable.

I used stock wood from my favorite lumber place in Western New York, Lenco Lumber.  Using my new compound miter saw, my grandfather's old dado blades on my table saw, and about 1,000 screws, I built this guy.  It is so sturdy the kids can all dance on it and it won't budge.  It is now a permanent fixture in our home and when we die, it stays behind.  

We painted the legs white and stained the top a dark red oak.  Because we wanted it to be durable and stand up to anything the kids could throw at it or spill on it, we gave it a thick epoxy bar coat.  This was a challenge.  We had to mix the two parts and spread evenly across the table, letting the epoxy drip over the edges to cover the sides.  Then came the blow torch.  Heating the wet epoxy forces the bubbles to the surface and allows them to burst, leaving a smooth and even finish.

We built a bench to match, also thanks to Ana White's design.

Finally, we found some chairs on Craigslist from a family that was moving.  They look pretty old and needed some reinforcement, but we think they look great!  Oh, and we also painted the walls to a brighter, more playful color.  Now it is truly a Family Room that we love!

We live on a 40 acre farm and I needed some great shelves to make a nice work area off the kitchen for our canning and other projects.  My wonderful husband built these for me and I could not be happier.  I put the metal bars in the back so I could use baskets more easily and I am still looking for attractive corner brackets to add to them.

We made this for our daughter for Christmas. We used purple spray paint and I made the mattresses and pillows from Ana's plans, too. Our son sanded it and we presented it to a very happy little girl!

There really aren't any plans for this bed.  I scaled down the camp loft bed and copied the other brag post on here

We have been using a number of folding tables to do our builds and feeling the pain in our backs and frustrations in our brains for doing it.  I found this pattern and rushed to Home Depot!  A few hours later we had a workbench.  Loved it so much a day later we had two!!  We use them all the time.  Thank you Ana for such a great pattern!

Great Plans, I had a blast making this table for my wife! It turned out great. Thank you for sharing the plans for this beautiful piece!

-Mike

Modified plans it fit our wall.  Looks great and only took a few hours start to finish. 

I based my shelves on the Subway Tile Bookshelf plans. The space I needed to fill was roughly 72x108. I wanted the offset shelves so I didn't need extra supports and it also had to be lifted off the floor because of a space heater. I used 12 inch melamine boards that I had the store cut for me because I have no experience. I used a drill for the first time and it came together very quickly. I used 14 inch pre-made legs that I spray painted white.

This project was not as simple as I expected! For this little bathroom, the mirror is offset, leaving lots of wasted space above the sink so my friend asked me to build some storage. I thought this would be a great solution that could maybe move with her later on, and it turned out pretty well. My two problems were 1- I had to cut the steel pipe to fit the space and 2- my hardware store did not sell S-hooks that would fit over the steel bar.  I used 1/2 in steel bar, so I cut it with my Dremel rotary cutting wheel. It was a bit slow but it worked and once I cut halfway, I could just bend the pipe to break it at the cut. The two cut ends are not threaded so I had them each end into one side of a 3/4 T fitting. For the S-hooks, I bought ones that were about the right size, then bent them open wider using a large screwdriver and a crow bar as a wedge. Two large screwdrivers might work as well. Instead of the straps, I used a thin steel bar, drilled through one side. I am happy with how it turned out, took about an afternoon not including all the time thinking it out! Finished with butcher block oil.

Decided to make this on a whim, and we are very pleased with the results!

The doll size version of PB camp bunk beds with a solid head and footboard made to mimic the real life size version. I made these bunks to match the life size version which the girls have in their ski house complete with matching quilts using the same fabric from their bedding.

My wife needed a new bookshelf in her classroom so I took this plan and customized it.  She wanted three shelves and to be able to fit a three ring binder on the shelves upright.  I mitered the top to have a finished edge all the way around the top.  I ripped about 1/4" off the back of the two middle shelves so I could put the back planking inside and flush.  I patterened 1x2's and 1x4's on the back to give a cool look.

We added a few things, like a tunnel, climbing wall and tire swing.  The unveiling was quite the reaction to watch.  

I built this farmhouse table for my beautiful wife for christmas using the update pocket hole plans. It was a lot of work but well worth it.

Bench in the making!

I used the Ana White "Country Kitchen Island" plans to build.  The only changes I made was the table top, bead board instead of pine planks, three drawers, and mostly 3/4" plywood.  For the island top, i used the top of a maple desk and applied butcher block oil.  To make things easier I used plywood to keep everything square and used bead board (very easy to install) instead of having to join boards together.  After putting the shelves together I just used pine boards to cover the edges of the plywood.  I also installed three drawers for convenient storage.  

We built this huge 7' buffet for our living/dining room area.

We built this bed for the lil neighbor girl as a gift for Christmas. It turned out better than I expected! The Plans were amazing and easy to follow... It is the first project that I used my Kreg Jig! I am so excited to build another one for my daughter now! We decided to pre-finish all the parts after we cut them to ensure proper sealing of all the ends, just in case of any sap or what not. Special thanks to Ana for all of these plans and Ideas! You truely rock!