Community Brag Posts

Adirondack Chair (Home Depot Version)

Followed the new home depot plans, only change I made was using 2x4 instead of 2x2. Getting ready to build another one, but this time will also change the arms to be wider on the ends to accommodate wine holder on one arm and cup holder on other arm. :0)

Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Going to use English chesnut stain and then marine spar varnish for protection
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

acer211

Fri, 11/13/2015 - 20:36

Hi Ana,

 

Thanks for all your free sharing and advice.  I'd like to return the favor (hopefully)...  

Just wanted to say (as I am a painter) that it is best to avoid using any sort of "clear" varnish (such as poly, or spar, etc...) on anything that sits outdoor (such as furniture, doors, decks), because UV rays from the sun will break-down the varnish and cause them to fail.  

Instead, it is best to use a stain that is suited for decks, like Cabots Semi-Transparent, or semi-solid, etc,,

best regards,

Aaron

acer211

Fri, 11/13/2015 - 20:36

Hi Ana,

 

Thanks for all your free sharing and advice.  I'd like to return the favor (hopefully)...  

Just wanted to say (as I am a painter) that it is best to avoid using any sort of "clear" varnish (such as poly, or spar, etc...) on anything that sits outdoor (such as furniture, doors, decks), because UV rays from the sun will break-down the varnish and cause them to fail.  

Instead, it is best to use a stain that is suited for decks, like Cabots Semi-Transparent, or semi-solid, etc,,

best regards,

Aaron

c3663b

Wed, 03/02/2016 - 12:21

The plans for this adirondack chair are no longer available on the Home Depot website. Where can I get them? Does anyone have them to share?

American Girl Doll House

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/06/2021 - 08:04

This was what I built for my daughter during quarantine! I had never used a Kreg Jig before and now I love using it!

Comments

Modified Spa Bench

Submitted by michellek on Sat, 04/02/2011 - 22:01

This is my first build ever...except for a rad cd rack I built in 8th grade shop class.  My husband and I team-worked it as a date in his dad's garage. 

So it all started when my amazingly crafty friend Lee built a toy kitchen for her kids.  I was so impressed and started looking up other people's diy kitchens.  So then I was searching for something totally different and saw the play kitchen on Ana's website (love it), and I got totally addicted and decided I was going to build a dining room table, because we have been using a hand-me-down brown card table and chairs from the 70's since we got married.  (How's that for a run-on sentence?)  I wasn't sure if my husband would take me very seriously, but after I showed him this website, I started noticing him on it all the time.  He's more addicted than I am! 

Fast forward some time and we decided to start with the spa bench as a warm-up.  Once we are in a house with our own garage (God willing in the next few months), we plan on tackling the Farmhouse Table.  Anyway, when we took the kids to Gma and Gpa's, my father-in-law got really excited that there were going to be carpenters in the family, and he took us out to the garage to show us all his tools that we could use. 

We had to buy all of the wood, screws, sand paper, stain, polyurethane, and a paint brush since it was our first project, so it ended up costing about $85.  At least now we have a lot of supplies left over for our future projects!  We had Home Depot make the cuts for us so that we could fit the wood in our car.  We used 1x4s instead of 1x3s because we didn't know that 1x3s were furring strips and not in the same place, but now we know.  :)  We also bought one warped board, which was a total pain.  Don't do that. 

This is probably a weekend project if you count the staining and finisher.  The actual building part only took us three or four hours (please don't laugh at us if that's painfully slow), but we actually took about two weeks to finish it because we have rain, no garage, and three kids under 19 months.  And we weren't really in a hurry.  Anyway, it was fun.  We like to build.  Thanks, Ana, for inspiring us and for making it doable for so many people!  We think you're neat.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$20-$85
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
We used one coat of Jacobean 2750 Minwax Wood Finish for the stain and then two coats of Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane (clear satin).
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Desk with additions

Submitted by klatz on Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:25

This was the first plans we used from Ana White and it turned out great. Modified the desk to be a little shorter and have dual drawers in the front.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$125
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Farm Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 11/15/2021 - 14:06

Anna made it easy to build. I did change a few things to fit my dining room but I think it turned out great.

Thanks Anna

Shawn Roleson

Comments

10 Dollar Ledges

These cost about 10 bucks a piece as she said. This was my first project. Not too bad.... obviously not perfect. But I learned a lot while doing this...
These took me a weekend to do... probably 6-8 hours.
When I took this I was still working on filling the ledges with photos... dont mind the craziness! :)

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
30.00
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Barn board flags

Barn board flags made from a dilapidated barn.

Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

X-bench for kid's table

Submitted by T.R. on Tue, 05/19/2015 - 10:38

I scaled down the large rustic x bench plans to create seating for my grandkids at the new kid's table.

Estimated Cost
about $25-$35
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
satin paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Afternoon Farmhouse Table Build

Submitted by Ahuff9103 on Wed, 12/13/2017 - 06:43

I got the plans from Anna White $50 beginner farmhouse table build. Changed from a 6 ft table to a 5 ft. Built in a few hours but took longer to paint than anything because it took 2 coats. 

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax honey 272
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Mike Mercer

Thu, 12/28/2017 - 16:23

Hi,

I really like the colour you chose!  Did you use "SPF" lumber or something else?  I am using SPF, so I am curious to see what the stain will look like once dried, etc.    

 

Thanks again, 

- Mike

My little side tables

Submitted by tdqueenroy on Wed, 11/24/2021 - 18:20

I have previously made side tables for our master bedroom but after two grown kids came back we had to move to the smaller of the two bedrooms we have. So here’s my 13” width version !

Nice easy build, thanks again Ana. Took longer to figure my new measurements for my cut list than actually building them!

Comments

Organizer Cubbies for Fabric

I made the Pottery Barn knock off cubby wall organizer for my craft room to store my smaller pieces of fabric.  I modified the dimensions from the plan to fit the specific area it would hang, it ended up being wider and not a square.  I also used half of a 4x8' 3/4" MDF sheet cut 6" tall rather than 1x6 boards.  I also made 14 staggered cubbies rather than the 25 so they could be larger for my fabric storage, and it made it so each divider could be nailed from the top and bottom.   I also was lazy and didn't add a back to it, so you could see the wall if the cubbies weren't full.

more on this project and more at my blog: Running With Scissors
Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
custom matched satin latex paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Restaurant High Chair from scraps

This took me longer to build than I expected -- maybe because I was working from scraps and had to figure out what would fit where along the way. Also, I initially cut all the side pieces with parallel cuts. Oops. So I had to re-do them all.

For more info, check out my blog post!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$14 for paint and furniture glides -- had the rest on hand.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Gloss Cherry premixed paint by Valspar.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Farmhouse King!

Submitted by Britt.E on Sat, 05/23/2015 - 19:25

I only recently stumbled upon Ana-white.com and was amazed by all of the wonderful plans and tips here, not to mention the community. My wife and I had inherited a king size bed after my grandparents passed away. While we were both grateful, the bed was on a very basic metal frame that sat very low to the ground and was hard to get up out of. My wife had often talked of having a nicer bed to put our mattress and box spring on, So with great eagerness I set to work. I loved the classic look of this bed and was a bit saddened that there was no king-size plans available. I decided that wasn't going to deter me, so I set out to modify the plan to fit. After making a few adjustments and modifications, the bed really started to take shape. Needless to say, I am very pleased with the results! Thanks everyone, and thank you , Anna!

Estimated Cost
$185
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Finish was a single generous coat of Rustoleum "kona" finish then following up with three coats of Rustoleum semi-gloss polyurethane varnish
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Scooter for Christmas

Great plan! I curved the edges with a French curve and a bench sanding disk, and then used a router on all exposed edges. I used a dremel router table with a small bit for the small pine pieces and a full sized router for the two main platforms. If I were to do it again I’d be far more careful with angle accuracy.. I think my miter saw is a little off. My table saw was spot on for the plywood cuts. I also used smaller wheels and only have spinners on the front, preventing collision.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Barn Door Console Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/09/2021 - 19:57

This is my 1st wood project and I wouldn’t have tried it without your plans, thank you!

Took about 3 weeks between work and 3 kids. (My 2 year old wanted attention and pulled down what I put up in one pic) I also made some planter boxes in the middle to complete something and a side table that slides under the couch to test the finishes on before I completed this massive entertainment console.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

adirondack chair

Submitted by JennyInGex on Tue, 06/18/2013 - 12:47

LOVed building and painting this. Although using European wood is a headache as of course the standard wood sizes are different. ... always 4-6 mm off... so all my things are crooked. I don't care though and it is my new favorite chair. I used ArchiTect blue exerior color, two coats, and pine wood.
I am grateful for Ana White's metric conversion chart in the book I now have but when going to the hardware store here, I am confronted with numerous standard wood sizes that are not the same as in the US!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Parsons desk

I added an additional detached shelf so we can change the setup anytime. I also increased the space between the two main shelves to 30 inches and extended the depth to 22 inches overall. I left one shelf off to make room for the computer tower. The top is made from maple with a gunstock stain. This desk will mainly be for my kids gaming station. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$130
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax gunstock and Pro Finisher crystal polycrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Outdoor Sectional

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 13:18

Built this for my daughter in law for Christmas. Turned out awesome. Plans and directions were great!

Comments

Just a ladder...

Submitted by ktkadoo on Thu, 06/20/2013 - 09:39

(I don't know why my picture is horizontal, it shows up fine on my computer).
In redecorating my oldest son's room, we needed him to have a loft bed, but all the commercial loft beds are too tall for his bedroom. So then, we thought we would re-work his current bunkbed. In order to use it as a loft bed we had to remove the bottom support rails and that meant we needed a new solution for a ladder (because it was part of the support system). After looking through the site, I decided that this ladder was the best for our needs. The ladder went together smoothly. We had to modify the directions just a bit to make it the right size. We put a set of U-brackets on the end of the ladder to put over the bunk bed. We also drilled through the bed frame and into the ladder for additional support.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

kikidolly45

Wed, 10/30/2013 - 12:14

Hi there! I'd like to rework my daughter's bunk bed like you did, but struggling to figure out how to raise it. I also need to build a new ladder. Can you offer any guidance on this? Thanks!