Community Brag Posts

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!

Distressed chalk paint

I love this table! Made for my 5th grade classroom, I modified the plans to include a dry erase table top, magnetic strips to support dry erase marker holders and clips on each leg for microfiber cloths to clean the board. I also lowered the table by two inches so my vertically challenged students could still stand, wiggle, and work comfortably. Thanks for posting the plans!

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.

I tweaked the console plans to work best for my space, and to work with the reclaimed barn threshing floor boards that I used for the top.

I love how it turned out and it works wonderfully in my space.

I built the plans exactly as given (minus the top of course) but in hindsight I would have reduced the height by three inches to accommodate for the three inch height of the upholstery foam. I am still very happy with it!

Darling Mud Kitchen by Sarah Jean Gammon

"I had this idea of making Sonny a mud-kitchen, a kids play kitchen for the yard. I mentioned it to Brent and he laughed saying he had enough projects on his list. This was not something he was going to build. Sooo I built this all by my self...or as Sonny would say, “me do this my own self”. It cost ~30 bucks in lumber and a trip to the thrift store for some second hand pots and pans. 3 hours later, a little paint, a little stain and voila... Sonny Side Up Mud Kitchen! Thanks for the plans Ana."

Well, this was my first ever wood build. I have made plenty of sewing projects and many other things, but haven't ever done a wood build.....and I have to say - I'm ADDICTED! I can not wait to do my next wood build. Actually, already making plans to take the beach hut bed and modify it to be a bunk bed for my two girls!
Modifications I made to the kitchen center are as follows:
Fridge: I installed magnetic clips inside the door area so it would stay closed and not go in to far when she closed it. I used basic exterior hinges due to the ackwardness of the size of the boards and placement, but it actually looked better. I installed hooks on the left side for her apron and hot pads and hooks on the right side for her cooking utensils to hang up.
Stove: I made the knobs to the stove able to turn and pull out a little to imitate an actual knob on a stove so she feels as though she is able to turn on the stove and cook. I made the top have four electric burners on the sides and a gas grill plate in the middle....she loves this for her "burgers" lol. I found some cookie cooling racks at dollar tree and they sit perfectly on the shelves inside the stove. I also mounted a tap light on the inside of the stove so it has an "oven light" in it.
Sink: I painted a ceiling medallion to match the set colors and have that as her decorative sink border...the actual sink is a purple tupperware bowl. The faucet is actually a sink mounted soap dispenser I purchased. It has a bottle that attaches under the sink that I can fill with water so that when she is playing she can pump the faucet and actually get water! I made sure to use kitchen and bath grade silicone sealant on the sink and used paint that is ok in a kitchen/bath area.

I painted her set Disney Tink Pink lol.....her favorite color! She is loving this set and I am so thankful I found this site so I could make it!

I followed the plans and everything went really well. Th bench was built to match a Farmhouse Bed and nightstand that I built. I added fake drawers and knobs to make it match the nightstand. The top of the bench is made from boards screwed together rather than plywood, to add a little character.

Been waiting to tackle this project for months. This was more for a place to put our laundry baskets while our laundry was being washed and dried. We come through our laundry area from our garage and so do most of our guests as our front door is a long way from parking. Tripping over empty laundry baskets no more. The opening for baskets is 11.5", which also elevated the opening to clear the dryer exhaust out and allow our units to push back a little closer to the wall. The floor and top were framed using 2x4's cut at 26" and a kreg pocket hole jig. 4x4 posts 11.5" were attached using the kreg jig and L brackets. 3/4" plywood sheeting the top and bottom cut at 55"x29". I did save a little money by only using one sheet of plywood. Full cut for the top, pieced together on the base in the back using excess from one sheet. 3.875" base moulding was used on the top and bottom to cover the seam where the 3/4" plywood sheet for the top and bottom meet the framing. The moulding on the top was inverted, and raised 5/8" over the plywood sheeting top to create a lip so the machines would not slide off the pedistal. Didn't want too much dressing up, I like clean, straight lines. A coat of primer, and 3 coats of semi gloss white paint. I put a sheet of the black rubber runner from Home Depot in the carpet roll area like Chris did, for some noise dampening to prevent our washer from walking at all. Tacked down with black carpet tack nails. The hardest part of the whole project was hooking the washer and dryer up in the tight space we have after getting the units on the pedistal. The dryer exhaust vent pipe in the wall is behind the washer, so I used adjustable rigid exhaust vent elbows to route the flexible exhaust duct through the pedistal, tacked it up to the underside of top with zip tie's and then up and around the side of the pedistal to the dryer exhaust port. All and all a very fun and rewarding DIMyself project. Thanks Sausha....

I found a picture of a mail organizer (URL below) on Ana's website and my wife really wanted one similar to it. So we took that idea, added some antique accessories to the side and name plate on the front.

Fun quick project!

I found the plans for this spice rack several months ago but did not have the time to build it. The spice rack was very easy to build with the provided plans and with the use of the Kreg Pocket Hole jig. My wife loves it. Thanks

I needed some furniture for a summer tv room ( cooler downstairs) I was making. These sidetables and tv stand are loosely based off Ana's work.