Community Brag Posts
Simple and easy console table
I built this as a place where my husband can store his keys and wallet. This table has nice, clean lines. The simple angles fit with the many pieces of Asian décor that we have.
polyacrylic
Patrick's Jelly Cupboard
I am built two of these cupboards for my dining room. I am calling them pie safes though. Making two added twice the work but I only had to think through the steps once.
Customized Entry Console
I changed the size and style of the Pottery Barn plan to fit our space and match the Fancy Hall Tree that we recently completed. We think it came out great so wanted to share.
First bed frame.
I work at a lumber yard, and this was built with "garbage" door jambs.
Spa Bench with Doors
My first Ana project- took the spa bench and added doors. Thanks for the easy-to-use plans, Ana. Still learning, though- I ended up buying three sets of hinges before I was happy!
Loft bed with stairs
I've made three of these loft beds. The plans are very easy to follow, and once assembled, they form extremely solid structures. Thank you very much Ana, what you are doing us very much appreciated.
Comments
Mon, 11/04/2013 - 11:42
Storage under stairs
I made a gate style door to close off the space under the stairs, a nice little tidy up.
Thu, 09/11/2014 - 17:24
How can i get the list of
How can i get the list of materials needed for this and also the plans for it please. my email is [email protected].
Wood pallet wine rack
My wife showed me this wine rack on a you tube video so I checked it out. She really wanted one so I made her two of them. I also made a longer one for liquor bottles as well, ill post it as soon as I hang it on the wall.
Modern Cubby Shelf with hairpin legs
I built this modern cubby storage shelf by making a few modifications to the Rolling Cubby Bench plan. It's a quick project with extra bright paint to add a bit of fun. Check out all of my tips for building this fun storage bench at https://mamaneedsaproject.com/modern-toy-storage-project/ .
Round Modern Wood Side Tables
Fun weekend project! Thank you for the great plans.
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Large Rustic X Bench
We've recently moved into a new house and I've wanted a bench for the mudroom entrance from the garage. This bench is perfect.
top - water based stain tinted with a semi-gloss poly over
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Factory Cart Coffee Table with Storage
I have been longing to make a factory cart coffee table for years after seeing one in a local antique store in Jacksonville Florida. I started by following the dimensions from Ana Whites table and then decided to make the table top with the ability to open up into storage. I followed the plans and updated with hardware that I (painstakingly) pieced together from various sites online. I love the industrial feel the cast iron hardware brings to this adaptation and cannot wait to start building matching end tables. Thank you Ana for the inspiration!
Comments
Wed, 11/06/2013 - 17:11
awesome!
Could you share any details about how you finished the wheels? I have a cart I am trying to refinish but stalling out on the cast iron parts. I really don't want to paint them, and I don't want them to rust.
Just noticed the Kupo Nut reference! I love it!
In reply to awesome! by jahnkekong
Wed, 11/06/2013 - 19:16
Hardware finishing
Thank you so much for catching the Kupo nut reference! Haha I only felt it was fitting to add a little nerd flair :) rust oleum has a hammered black paint that also doubles as a rust inhibitor so it worked perfectly to touch up the cast iron parts and keep that rustic feel to the hardware. I finished with a clear top coat as I'm sure that I will end up constantly kicking the wheels by accident haha.
Wed, 11/06/2013 - 19:51
Thanks so much, Kupo! ;0)
Thanks so much, Kupo! ;0) This is motivating me to FINALLY finish my project. Maybe I'll have my own brag post soon!
In reply to Hardware by Cyber Sapp
Wed, 12/04/2013 - 19:18
Hardware Update
Hi cyber sapp! I was able to piece them together from eBay and etsy items. I searched for key words: "antique cast iron caster" or "factory/industrial cart wheel" and you should be able to find ones that work. I held out for the best deals I could. Be prepared to search quite a lot if you want to find the best deal.
As far as the decal is concerned, I created the template on illustrator and used it as a template to paint the decal on. I checked online and saw a few examples of transferring images on to wood that will probably be easier than hand painting. Hope this helps!!
Wed, 12/04/2013 - 22:25
Thanks for the quick response
Thanks for the update. I made one similar to your modifications. I'm using storage too, I will share once I get the soft close installed. I'm looking for something that want slam fingers when it is closed. I also used Walnut to build it. It is solid like a tank with the hardwood, but came out pretty good. I made a few minor mistakes and now want to make one closer to yours.
In reply to Thanks for the quick response by Cyber Sapp
Tue, 12/17/2013 - 21:19
Oh wow I bet the walnut looks
Oh wow I bet the walnut looks amazing!!! That's a serious upgrade! Can't wait to see it!
Mon, 12/16/2013 - 23:30
What an amazing job you did,
What an amazing job you did, I'm still holding out for my end wheels too and you are so right about search search search. It doesn't help being in Canada with shipping costing so much for these too.
Love love love, well done
In reply to What an amazing job you did, by Mandymoochops
Tue, 12/17/2013 - 21:23
Thank you very much!! I do
Thank you very much!! I do not envy you right now as the search took me forever to find the right wheel that matched one I already had. I have had good luck in the past asking eBay sellers about changing to flat rate shipping options. Not sure if they have that option for shipping internationally but it never hurts to try! Keep up the good fight as the wheels REALLY pay off in the end.
Thu, 03/26/2020 - 04:52
Beautiful linberry table!
Very nice.....building one if my own with modifications,!
Full Open Kitchen cart
Mom wanted an island for her new large kitchen but something that could be moved out of the way. With all her cabinets and drawers, we omitted the shelves and drawer from the original plan. We also wanted it full across the inside, not just half way. This allows her to put her stool on the shelf out of the way if needed. However, after getting all her furniture into her new home, she decided that she had enough in her new kitchen so she scoots it under the breakfast bar for now.
This was made on a tight budget. We only had to purchase the 2x4s and casters.
We also used tongue and grove blue pine left over from our house for the bottom shelf and staggered scrap pine 1x4 & 1x6 boards for the top and then routered it to give it smooth rounded edges on top.
Coffee bar project!
My wife had been wanting a buy a coffee bar for our dining room so we could declutter the kitchen. I came across the plans for this on Ana’s site and made some slight modifications to fit our space and fridge. It turned out incredible! Friends and family say it’s the best piece I’ve made. Thank you Ana for the plans!
Comments
Fri, 04/07/2023 - 14:16
Perfection!
It fits your space perfectly and looks super functional at the same time! Thank you for sharing:)
Baby Changing Table
My husband and I built this changing table for our sons room. We made a few modifications, but overall, I think it looks great! This was the first of many projects to come from this website!
Comments
Sat, 09/22/2012 - 05:02
Looks great
This looks fantastic! We're headed out to buy wood for this project today!
Fri, 11/09/2012 - 12:13
Side Hutch
Hi! This looks great! Was wondering if you had the plans for the side hutch? I tried to use the link but it keeps telling me the link is unavaliable.
Thanks so much!
Gift crate (aka man crate)
This is the prototype builds for the Plywood Gift Crate (man crate) plan. I had a great time developing and building this plan! I read a forum post about these and was inspired to do up a plan and build. When you give these as a gift, present it with the top nailed shut, and a crowbar for getting it open!
Two crates are shown. These each took a little over an hour to build. The 3/4" plywood one was entirely from scraps, and I purchased the poplar craft boards ($2 each) for the 1/2" plywood one. New wood would cost about $15. I left them unfinished like the inspiration. The picture just has the text added to it as a graphic. I do plan to stencil "man crate" on them though. The first prototype with 1/2" plywood scraps was made with a 1/4" scrap plywood top and poplar trim boards. My scrap top wasn't wide enough to cover trims on the sides, which is why the sides on that one are plain. The 2nd prototype was with 3/4" plywood scraps and uses strips of 1/4" thick scrap plywood for the trim boards.
If anyone is interested in different size crates, I've created a project calculator in Excel, that you can key in the desired dimensions and sizes of wood you plan to use, and the spreadsheet will give you the sizes for the pieces and a cut list. I couldn't figure out a way to attach that to the plan, but if you would like one, just send me a note through the contact form, and I'll email it to you.
I hope you build these, it was a fun and easy build!
King Farmhouse Bed Frame
I spent 3 weekends building this for a friend. It was alot of work but it came out great!! He got the plans from Shanty-2-chic. We modified the plans alot to make it a truly unique piece.
Coffee Bar with Built-In Beer Fridge and Wine Storage
We made a beverage station for the corner of the kitchen!
Comments
Mon, 07/08/2019 - 10:46
We didn't use a plan for…
We didn't use a plan for this but, if someone wants to build it, check out the linked YouTube video.
Tue, 07/09/2019 - 11:11
Amazing! Thanks so much for…
Amazing! Thanks so much for adding a brag post and linking to your video!
Fri, 07/31/2020 - 09:43
Hello! Was looking to see if…
Hello! Was looking to see if this is something you would be interested in building for us? We are in love with this project but don't have the tools or means to do it ourself..
Can talk about pricing / size etc.
Thanks!
Blue egg holder
Hi all,
I made the wooden egg holder for our brand new kitchen. I altered the size because there's just the two of us here since our son moved out. It was a very easy beginner project and lots of fun to build by myself. If you're a beginner like me it can be overwhelming to start, but if I can do it you can do it too! Just go for it. I'm looking forward to build a next project with one of Ana's plans.
Comments
Wed, 04/12/2023 - 15:56
Great countertop egg holder!
Way to go and love the color choice! Happy building.
Mini Dresser for Jewelry and keepsakes
These little dressers are inspired by Ana's Master Closet System drawers, and the Willy Bookshelf. These were made entirely from scrap wood, so it only cost me for the knobs and the felt for the drawers/bottom. These drawers were sized to fit inside the cubes in my vanity/desk, and to fit the left over wood available from my scrap bin. This took a while to cut everything, but it was fun and didn’t cost me anything but my time. On the top dresser I used some ‘slices’ of lauan for trim, to hide the cut edges and the bit of ‘cup’ on my side pieces (these were re-purposed old shelf boards from the garage). I used my finish nailer and glue for these.
Here’s a shopping and cut list (and a few tips) to make the 4-drawer equivalent (similar to the top one) with standard sized 1x12 lumber, and using 1x2 for drawer front/back/sides and applying 3/16” lauan ply for the bottoms. Haven't figured out how to use sketch up yet, so I can only provide a shopping list, cut list, and finished dimensions, so here goes:
Shopping list: (my 1x12’s are 11.25” wide and .75” thick, and 1x2’s were 1.5” wide, and .75” thick, and lauan is 3/16” thick)
1 pc 1x12x8
2 pc 1x2x8
2 pc 24” x 24” lauan (3/16’ plywood) (you’ll have some left over from the 2nd piece)
Felt - 4 pc 8.5” x 9.75” for insides of drawers, 4 pc 10” x 11.25” for drawer bottoms, and 1 pc 11.75" x 11.25" for dresser bottom. You can use 9 sheets craft felt (9” x 12”) for this – the 11.25” front – back measurement on the drawer bottoms is what’s most important –craft felt is 9” wide, and it’s OK if the felt doesn’t go all the way to the edges on the side-to-side measurement
(Sticky-back felt works and looks great, but costs a lot more than regular. I use sticky back on something I’m making as a gift, but these were for me so I just used regular felt and glued it in place with wood glue)
4 mini-knobs (Mine are unfinished ones from Ace, got for 2/$1.29 and spray-painted them)
Finish nails (I had 1 ¼” on hand) and plenty of glue
Finishing materials - filler, sand paper, plus paint/stain to suit your tastes
Cut list:
2 pc 1x12, cut at 2” (spacers - use these 'slices' for spacers while assembling, so the shelves are all spaced the same distance apart – this idea is from the Kreg jig demo video where they built the bookshelf). I like to cut these first, making sure they are nice and square. To me it’s easier and safer to cut these thin pieces from a larger piece with my miter saw.
2 pc 1x12 @ 11.75” (dresser top/bottom)
5 pc 1x12 @ 10.25” (2 for sides, 3 for shelves)
8 pc 1x2 @ 10” (drawer front/back)
8 pc 1x2 @ 9.75” (drawer sides)
4 pc 10” x 11.25” lauan plywood (drawer bottoms)
1 pc 11.75" x 11.75” lauan plywood (back)
Finished dimensions:
Dresser: 11.75” H x 11.75” W x 11 7/16” deep (includes back)
Drawer opening size: 10.25” wide x 2” tall x 11.25” deep
Drawer dimensions: 10”wide x 11.25” long x 1 11/16” tall (felt on the bottom of the drawer will make this height just a little taller)
Finished inside depth of drawer 1.5”, drawer inside dimensions 8.5” wide x 9.75” long
Finish: sanded, filled, sanded some more, and painted with some left over white paint, and used silver spray paint for the knobs
Assembly tips: Dresser part is constructed very much like the Willy bookshelf. The top and bottom are the same size on this one and the dresser bottom is applied the same way as the top of the Willy bookshelf. Once the bottom is on, use the ‘spacers’ to make sure the shelves are the same distance apart all the way up, then the top goes on last. 3/16” plywood goes on the back. Drawers are constructed like the master closet system drawers. Drawers slide directly on the shelves (and bottoms of drawers covered with felt) so no drawer glides are used. Applied the felt and knobs after sanding and finishing. Make sure the felt goes all the way from the front to the back of the drawer bottom, and is glued on thoroughly.
Comments
Thu, 12/22/2011 - 23:15
So clever. You did a great job.
How did you do the insides? Did you line it with some type of foam? Great work. Thank you for posting.
Fri, 12/23/2011 - 11:56
Insides of drawers
Thanks very much! For the ring drawer, I used a piece of 1" thick high density foam (I cut up a kitchen chair pad) and on top of this is a piece of sticky-back felt. I drew lines on the paper side and cut slits into the felt first, then stuck it on top of the foam, and cut into the foam following the slits, using a utility knife. I didn't cut all the way through the foam, but almost to the bottom. The slits go all the way across the foam (to about 3/4" from edge) to fit more rings in there, but you can also do individual slits for each ring (if you have more patience than me - haha). The other drawers have regular felt cut to size and attached with wood glue. (Sticky back felt inside the drawers would have worked fine too, it just costs more).
Fri, 12/23/2011 - 16:55
That's pretty slick
I just built a gentleman's valet for my sister in law's boyfriend, partly to test out some joinery ideas, and partly because I found a beautiful piece of white oak in the discount bin while I was looking for something else at the lumber dealer. I was pretty impressed with myself, but it's got nothing on the ambition of this project.
Excellent work. I absolutely wouldn't have guessed it as a beginner project.
I'm almost certainly going to have to build a jewelry chest like this for my wife pretty soon. My dad just built my mom a nice one, and my wife will be wanting her own.
Sat, 12/24/2011 - 13:54
Thank you
Clay, thanks very much for the nice compliment. I've seen your projects here and on your blog and they are beautiful, so I'm very flattered! I've edited my original post to include measurements and cut list for a 'regular lumber' equivalent to the top chest. Lots easier than cutting all those drawer sides out of plywood and 1x12 like I did with my 'prototypes'. :) The next one I do will be with regular size lumber. Thinking of building one for my Mom. Happy holidays!
Thu, 02/02/2012 - 00:26
do you sell these? Its
do you sell these? Its awesome. I've been looking for a tabletop drawer to store my makeup but everything is made of plastic! I was actually googling to see if there was someplace I can do woodshop to make my own jewelry drawer but alas I dont have the skills nor do I have any tools. I really admire this drawer!
Thu, 02/02/2012 - 04:56
Rentable Shop Space
Lucy, try looking for something like a Makerworks. These are communal workshops with space and tools that you can use for a fee or a subscription. I don't know how prevalent they are in most of the country. I live in a suburb of Detroit, and because of the large manufacturing base there are a lot of them around.
The more expensive ones offer classes where you can pick up basic skills on unfamiliar equipment, but even those "expensive" ones don't cost a lot of money. The inexpensive ones still offer training on their equipment, but less formally than a scheduled class.
One of the more interesting features of these places, at least around here, is that they have CNC machines available. A CNC machine would let you transfer sketchup drawings directly to cut parts. For a one-off item it's not worth the trouble, but if you wanted to duplicate an item it would be great.
Comments
Ana White Admin
Fri, 03/17/2023 - 19:48
Adorable!
Beautiful bed and love the little hang out area! Thanks for sharing.