Community Brag Posts

Another project inspired by Ana!

I altered the plans to fit the space where it would be going. I extended the length and added another side of shelves. I also reduced the size of the doors a little and made the base a little shorter to reduce overall height. This project required and extra sheet of plywood to complete. I used the Purebond birch from Home Depot and whitewood for the face frame and doors. I liked the finish in the original plan so I tried to make it look similar. I used different shades of brown and also scorched some boards of the door and some areas of the face frame with a torch. For the light areas on the door and frame I just taped off and sanded down. I worked on it when I had some spare time but this project could be completed in a weekend including the finish.

Inspired by Ana!

I based my work bench on the "sturdy workbench" plan. I made my top using two sheets of blonde 3/4 inch plywood. I glued/screwed and clamped two 3' x 6' sheets together (had the store cut 4x8 sheet to my dimensions). I didn't stain it but did coat with 3 coats of poly. The legs and supports are 2x4s (i think i used 7 though some was left over scrap) and the shelves were built from scrap MDF I had left over from a previous project. I designed my top to hang over at least two inches (longer in some areas depending on where the supports line up) to make clamping easier and it sits 37" from the floor. I wanted to ensure i had adequate space for my shopvac and air compressor so I lowered the base from the original design to avoid making the workbench too tall. This work bench is a very good size for my needs and extremely sturdy!

I created this based off the Grandy Style Console. However I used an actual cabinet style with adjustable shelves. Loved making it!

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We made the grilling station to keep at our seasonal campsite and it's absolutely fantastic! We have since added some L brackets and 2 shelves, and this is where we store our extra cases of water, soft drinks, outdoor cooking utensils plus an air fryer! Super easy plans, with well written instructions for even the novice (me and hubs) diy builders!

Ali W.

my best friend has built a couple of projects from this site. i enjoyed helping him a bit so when he decided to build one of these for yes baby that is due this summer, i figured i'd double up and build one for myself while we were at it. i haven't built anything since high school (10 years ago). he had all the tools and had made a lot of mistakes along the way so he brought be up to speed and told me a lot of "don't do this...trust me" tips that are helpful.

we used premium ply wood cut to 1x12s and poplar 1x2's for this. total wood cost was about 30 bucks per shelf. I decided to use a trim router for my framing along the outer edge. I think it gives it a professional look at it took 10 minutes to do.

NOTE: if you want to rout around the entire top and you used pocket holes....DONT DO IT. we found that one out the hard way on the other shelf. if your bit does anything but slightly round the edge it's gonna hit the screws. :(

i made a last second change and went with a vibrant red and a dark dark black to make it up. i couldn't be happier. it doesn't match my room at all but i don't care at this point. my friend did a great job taping off the trim and the lines are just awesome.

This thing is stout. i'm not a small man and would not hesitate to stand on top of this thing all day. can't wait to show it off to anyone i can:)

I used all scrap wood that I had laying around. even the 2X4s were old painted wood and looked beautiful when sanded down.

Thanks for the plans, Ana!

Entry way bench. The top is made from a cherry tree off our property. It was milled into slabs then I had it dry for approx.2 years before the moisture level was appropriate to build this project. I applied resin to the live edge to protect the edge from breaking off and to provide a smooth finish. I applied Walrus furniture oil to complete the top. The base is made from pine wood and the shelving is made out of MDF board.

We modified these plans for a customer down to two lockers. We also added a divider for the cubbies on the top per her request. We found the whole thing to be a bit top heavy and easy to get a wobble. Recommend securing it to the wall with a tether or L bracket. Also, it is CRITICAL to not skimp on the quality of wood and getting straight boards for this. We did not and it was seriously skewed for a while until we did a lot of adjusting...and it still has a bow! Also I recommend doing the build all in one day. I think since we broke it up into two days it allowed the wood to warp more than had it all been assembled and fastened/tightened at one time. Message us with any questions! The stain is Minwax Jacobean- one coat. We got the hooks from Home Depot. The customer wanted plenty of storage so per her request we used 8 hooks! Good luck with this build!

I built this for my son using the fire truck loft and playhouse loft plans combined. I put tread on the stairs to add safety and enhance the realism. I was pleased with the instructions. The hardest part was painting it red. I hate painting anything red. Make sure you get a primer tinted to gray that works with the red you choose.

I made the blue chair first for our oldest granddaughter, I thought I wanted to curve the top, so I did for the next one for the younger granddaughter. Great plans, easy to follow. Thanks so much!

This was our very first project EVER and it came out beautiful! We needed a dinner table and couldn't find anything that came close to the thousand dollar Pottery Barn Benchright table. While searching for used furniture I came across these plans to build my own. After days of begging and convincing, my husband agreed to help me build it. Now he thanks me all the time! It was so fun and easy.

We did have a couple hiccups with the measurements. Ana did say to read through the plans and comments first, but we failed to write down and remember what others suggested. That being said, these plans were very easy. We took our time building this table since it was our first time using a miter saw and our first time building anything. Our table was a little more expensive than other braggers because we didn't use reclaimed wood and since we are beginners, we botched a couple cuts and had to buy a few extra boards :). After sanding, we took some chains and a hammer to the tabletop and legs to make a more distressed and rustic look. We painted the bolts and pipe black with Rustoleum Flat Black. Our pipe was longer than our table, so we had it cut. If you buy your pipe from Lowe's, they will cut and thread it for you. We couldn't find any hardware that look anything similar to the Pottery Barn Benchright. We checked Home Depot and Lowe's, but decided to settle with some plumbing knobs that screwed in the pipe. Once we painted everything and put it all together, we actually loved the pipe knob look more than the Pottery Barn table hardware!

This table is so darn sturdy and will last forever. I can't thank Ana enough, and thank you to everyone that posts these brags, because you helped me convince my husband and myself that we could do this!

I think I get more compliments on these galley shelves/picture ledges than anything else I’ve made, and these were probably the easiest things to make!

It cost me about $25 a piece but they were nearly 8 feet long each. I used a paint sprayer to paint them, WAY easier than brushing on the paint! watch for drips though (my first time using a sprayer, treat it like spray paint, light easy coats!)

My office faux mantle came out awesome thanks to Ana White. The only changes we made was that we used dental crown molding and we added the base. Other than that everything else was exactly according to the plans.