Community Brag Posts

The bed is a mixutre of the loft bed plan and the farmhouse loft bed plan with some modifications of my own thrown in.  I liked the headboard look of the farmhouse loft bed and incorporated it into the plan.  I also made the side rails out of 1x10's to make it more beefy looking and I think it works better.  The supports for the mattress are made out of 3/4" bookshelves, cut down to fit as it added more support than 1/2's.  The desk is based off the loft bed desk plan, but I made the top piece out of 3/4" MDF. I think it makes a nicer look.  I added 1x2's to the face of the bookcases and desk top to finish it off and make everything look more finished.

I also added a programmable, remote controlled, RBG LED lighting system under the bed.  My daughter can go from dance party to mood lighting depending on the situation.  This bed will deliver.

I also modeled everything in 3D CAD using Solid Edge.  This was a very helpful tool to get all the measurements correct as well as incorporating 3 different deisigns blended with my own.

I chose to adjust the great design to have a free standing tree with backing and a live bark base. Fun project.

This kids mini dining table is a pretty easy build, especially if you have a Kreg Jig. I love that it is so pretty at a great price. It fits in well with our home too, which is awesome. The final product measures 30"x48", so it is big enough if your little one decides to have some friends over for dinner. One of my goals when building was I wanted multiple kids to be able to paint, color, glue, cut, or eat at it without getting in each others way. I think it won't be a problem! The whole project only takes a few hours. It was my first project with the Kreg Jig that has been sitting in my garage since Christmas. I was scared to use it. I can't believe I waited so long! That thing is amazing!
Thanks Ana for all of the encouragement and inspiration. I truly enjoy building furniture. It is so exciting thinking about my next project. I can't wait to use your plans to build storage for our entire play room!

Day one...Two of us making cuts and starting headboard and footboard.

Day two...Working solo, had to get creative in order to add posts and 24 and 26 to top of headboard. Sanding and staining complete.

Day three...Two of us again. Built frame and added slats using decking brackets rather than screws for ease in disassembly. Attached headboard and rails with bolts.

Only issue not specified in plans was how to attach frame to footboard. But we made it work.

Thanks, Ana!!

Our rabbit lives in a 2'x6' Xpen cage set up in my tiny sewing room. As cute and fluffy as he is, I couldn't help but see his space as intruding on some valuable sewing real estate. I had to do all my fabric cutting on the kitchen table and lug everything back upstairs to the sewing room when it was time to eat. Laying out patterns had to occur on the floor. I thought it would be quite nice to have a table in the rabbit's corner ... :) I've used 2 of Ana's plans for bookshelves years ago and so I KNEW I could come up with a simple table plan and execute it. It took me about 10 minutes to formulate my plan and about 4 days to build it. :) The top is removable so we can easily move the table ... otherwise it would be a real back-breaker! 

Note: The estimated cost is $100, but that's because I had supplies other than wood to buy. Screws, glue, stain, etc. I'd say it was $60 in lumber.

Curly maple blanket chest with teak top for daughter’s Christmas.

I made this out of discout lumber. Each board was only .51 so that made it pretty cheap but a bit challenging (I had to cut the boards to fit and also cut off the twisted ends without cutting too much off). There is still a bit of uneveness in some of the boards, I think it adds to the character of the table. I changed up the plan a bit and made this from 2x6's and the ends with 2x8's. final size is 49 1/2 x 49 1/2.
A friend wanted this so I'm not sure what she is going to finish it with but will post pics as soon as I get them. I may make another one for myself :)

I found this plan while looking for a entertainment center, I had never built such a large piece of furniture. After reading thru plans I decided to build my first. Plans were simple, yet effective. I did make some modifications on the fly. I didn't want to go with the panel look so I replaced side panels with 1/4 plywood routered into outer legs (cleaner look than nailing to inside). Also went with glass doors(partially frosted to hid junk stored inside). I deleted the drawers and placed shelfs instead for tv components.

My advice to anyone making this is to be really careful when building main frame of cabinet and check square-ness several times and when applying wood strips around door jams careful measuring openings for consistency top to bottom and side to side. This will make hanging doors much easier. I learned the hard way, had to make some adjustments when hanging door. Also have hinges you plan on using on hand so as to measure thinkness of desired hinge to check clearance of door.

July 2016: We recently moved and the corner cupboard we purchased several years was too tall for the new house. I needed a new storage solution for our kid's arts & crafts, games, and funny business materials. Of course, Ana and her corner cupboard saved the day! Thank you! The kids have a great place to store their business and mom and dad can finally recycle all of the cardboard boxes stacked dangerously in the corner. 

Our corner cupboard was adapted from Ana's Corner Cupboard plan. The height was increased to 84", adjusted the dimensions for increase heights including the shelf spacing, doors on top and bottom to hide messes, used 1x12 for spine of the cupboard and shelves.

Thank you Ana! 

Child's chair. I used wormy maple

This was for a boys room so we wanted something sturdy, and oh man does this plan fit the bill.

Was easy to assemble, most of the project time went to sanding and staining to get the dark wood finish.

Finished in a poly gloss.

I have boys that share a room and we needed some sturdy twin beds. My wife looked online and found some on potterybarn.com or crateandbarrel.com for $425 each and that's before shipping. I told her I could make them for half that. The plans were pretty straight forward. The finishing (sanding, sanding and more sanding - then painting) was the hardest and longest part. I would recommend an electric palm or disc sander. It will be your best friend. I used 100 grit and then moved to 120 to sand all of the wood. I did this after I made all of the cuts and before I assembled. Seemed to make it easier. We decided to paint them to go with the colors in the room. The bed is very heavy and sturdy. I made both beds at the same time, which cost me right at $300. Clock hours was about 20-22 from beginning to end and it took me a little longer than a weekend since I was working around weekend soccer games and birthday parties.

This project was inspired by the featured Diamond Tufted Ottoman plan. I combined the top with a customized plan inspired by the Cameron Coffee Table from World Market and Ana White's tutorial on how to create a weathered stain look like Restoration Hardware. 

Children's picnic table

These potting benches were so fun to make! The plans are well-written and easy to follow. My friend and I had a blast!

My wife loved the x-pattern of the eatherly sofa and also wants an L couch for our deck. Still have to sand and paint but that is her job :)

I made it wider than the plan and use it in my bathroom for storage. Its pine and cedar.