My First Bed
We mashed up the headboard featured on Ana's site with a different design for the platform. Turned out good, not perfect, but this was my very first project.
We mashed up the headboard featured on Ana's site with a different design for the platform. Turned out good, not perfect, but this was my very first project.
My wife and I loved the version that Finns-Dad made but we wanted it to be rectangular. The top is 1x6s around the edges with 1x4s in between. The frame is 1x4s. The bench tops are all 1x4s with 4x4 legs. There are 3/8 inch lag bolts in the legs. We did 4 coats of the urethane.
This was my first major project, and while there are many things that I would do differently if given the opportunity, we're still very pleased with it.
Thu, 01/01/2015 - 09:04
I really like the changes you made to this table, it looks really nice.
Created this door with pine wood tongue and groove lumber and pine wood planks. Purchase barn door hardware / track from Jet.com and door handles from Hobby Lobby.
This replaced my Master bath door and I think came out pretty good. Thank you for the ideas!!! Jeff M. Brownstown, Mi
I used Ana's planter box plans and I designed and built the bench out of pallet wood, and purchased the power coated trellis's and custom fit then to the planters.
Modified the double lounger plans into 2 single loungers. I liked the idea of the boards running the long way rather than from side to side like the single lounger plan. These were pretty easy to build. All assembled with a Kreg for hidden screws. Made with Sanded and super polyurethaned cedar (3 or 4 coats). turned out beautiful with the matching boards running from head to toe!
We needed a way to get all of the lawn & garden stuff out of our garage and organized. I found Ana's plans for the Small Cedar Shed & adjusted them to fit our space. We used 2x4s as our studs & added front walls on the sides. Our shed measures 9.5'x30". We had a concrete slab poured for our foundation. We are experienced DIYer's but had never taken on a project of this scale from scratch. This project was much easier than I was anticipating, and we were able to complete it in one weekend! Similar shed kits were way more expensive and not the size that we were looking for. Thank you so much for the inspiration!
I used the basic framing plan for the project, but extended roof overhangs, added engineered siding / trim and cedar shake roofing. I put 2x4 bracing on for the platform.
2nd project, but learning quickly! :)
I first started with the wall treatment, love board and batten walls, they add such a crisp look and tons of character, but then the entry way was a little bare. So I needed a table for our keys and some lighting...so this table was perfect, narrow and Pottery Barn looking...
It took about 1 hour to build, including cuts and everything....the staining was the task...my God was I impatient!
I started with the wood conditioner, which only gives you a 2 hour window to add the stain, but do need to wait 15 minutes to start...then I did 2 coats of dark walnut stain and after 8 hours of drying time came in the top coat...which takes 4 hours to dry and then a 2nd coat needed to be added (which I skipped) but I love the color, love the turn out.
So light, I carried it ALL by myself. :)
OK, I think this build may be my biggest project yet! It is definitely the heaviest. With the strong winds we can get here in Florida we needed substantial outdoor furniture.
I did make some modifications along the way measurement-wise so the sofa would fit my front porch better. All in all, this took 2 full days. I built the sofa first, stained it the next day and then decided (due to trying to get stain in all the nooks and crannies) to stain the chair pieces first before putting it together.
I am so happy with the results and so far, almost a year later, this furniture looks great and hasn't moved an inch in any of the thunderstorms we've had! Thank you Ana!!
Planters build by Urban Wood Solutions
Fri, 03/31/2023 - 04:23
These are incredible. They look a little deeper, and would be good for vegetables. How deep are they?
I made this coop twice as wide like Ana suggested since I have 4 chickens and wanted to make sure there was some extra wiggle room in case “chicken math” got the best of us. I made a nesting box to mount on the outside. I also used plywood for the sides like Ana did in the video. I installed a Run Chicken automatic door that opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. I added some hasps and clasps to make sure all my doors would close tightly. I put hardware cloth across the top before installing the roof panels. I stapled and buried hardware cloth around the perimeter for predator protection. I also spray painted the hardware cloth flat black so that it would be easier for us to see inside the coop. I stained the rest of the wood with Varathane Semi-Transparent stain, color “Carbon Gray.” I also added some roosts and cedar shingle siding for some extra protection during our New England winters at to match our house. Working 2-4 hours a day, off and on, with a bum shoulder and weak hands, this took me about a week! Thanks for the great plan, Ana!
One day project with hubby! Wanted a wood set, but couldn’t find a reasonable price. Bought tools, wood, supplies, and cushions for under the cost of one online!
They were simple to make and the plan was easy to follow. The only modification I made was adding the 1x3 topper in place of the longer legs sticking out of the top.
Fri, 07/19/2013 - 06:36
Adding these to my to-do list for spring (yes, I plan ahead). I'm thinking of elevating and elongating them to fit around a bay window.
This is my build of the sliding door console. I built this for my wife after she insisted we needed this for our dining room. The build overall was pretty easy, after my wife decided to change the paint color 3 times (yes, after we had bought the gallons, and I had it completely painted every time). I will say though that if you plan on painting this then you should use plywood for the front facing boards of the frame. I built mine over the course of about a month and after I had painted it I noticed significant wood shrinkage on the areas where boards came together. Plywood shrinks minimally if any at all so it should take care of that issue.
P.S. Don’t mind the unfinished construction in the background, we are in the process of installing bigger baseboards, and the planked walls are still unfinished.
Fri, 12/11/2015 - 19:53
Looks awesome! We have ours built (except the doors and hardware). Any tips? Thanks!
Wed, 12/23/2015 - 15:00
Hey, Im so sorry for the late reply. I hope you were able to get that doors/hardware done without problems! The doors werent bad at all, I added right angle bar below the door into my plan to keep them gliding smoothly and in line. Also we have a 1 and a half year old that would most definitely figure out a way to get the doors off without it. As far as the rest of the hardware, I used the link that Ana posted on her original post for building it, it wasnt too bad at all. I had to improvise on a few things, other than that I just followed the instructions. Let me know how yours turned out!
Sat, 03/26/2016 - 08:44
Looks fantastic! Where did you purchase the barn door hardware from? Finding it difficult to find some that won't break the bank!
Fri, 07/22/2016 - 23:56
I recently completed this project with a few changes. I used 1/4th inch aluminum flat bar for the track and the hinges . For the wheels I used metal screen door replacement wheels. I originally had the pully wheels, but when they are on flat bar it's very difficult to move and has a rough time sliding across the flat bar. The screen door wheels were about $6 and gives you a nice smooth glide for your door, because the wheels have ball bearings.
Sat, 01/09/2016 - 17:53
Hello. I have one built, about 90% done just need some staining and paint. My wife and I went to home depot today to look at paint and looked are your intellectual because we really like how yours turned out. Intellectual looks to be a dark gray? In your pictures it looks like there is a possible tint of a blue? What finish did you get? We bought a sample and painted a piece of the wood to see how it would turn out in our room. Doesn't seem to match your color.
I made some dimension alterations to our, will post picture when its complete.
Tue, 02/16/2016 - 20:14
The color is intellectual, but the light coming in might make it look a little blueish. Also the color we have our walls painted behind it is "steel blue," so it may be making the buffet look more blue than gray. The finish we used was satin. Sorry this is a late reply but I hope you got yours all finished and love it!
Fri, 01/08/2016 - 20:24
Can anyone recommend where to find 2x3 pieces of lumber like she calls for in this plan? We can find 1x3 and 2x4 but no 2x3s anywhere!
Fri, 01/15/2016 - 14:43
Is that a 1x10 or 2x10 on the top. All 2x10 I find are rounded on the edges and yours look squared. Ran threw the table saw but now I am short and to big of a gap.
Tue, 02/16/2016 - 20:18
I used 2 2x10s for the top but I jointed them first so that may be why it looks squared. I ended up rounding it over a little bit anyway to soften the edges. I ended up cutting off more than I wanted also and while I didnt have a gap on mine - the edge doesn't hang over on the front as much as I would like.
Fri, 01/15/2016 - 18:31
Did you use a 2x10 on the top? I can't tell. If so where did you find one with squared edges??
Fri, 02/05/2016 - 10:29
what color stain did you use? and when you painted it, did you spray it or roll it on? I'm struggling with the quality of paint job I can do once I finish a project
Tue, 02/16/2016 - 20:22
The stain I used was Miniwax "Special Walnut." I actually used our paint sprayer that we got for a christmas present for the first time! It took a lot of practice and I ended up having to sand off a bunch before I got the technique down, but in the end it was worth it. The sprayer makes it look much more professional and finished. Just be sure if you use a polyeurathane for a sealer, that you get a water based and not an oil based.
Thu, 10/27/2016 - 11:08
Do your doors stop when sliding open or can they slide off? Great Work!
Sun, 01/15/2017 - 07:07
Sorry for late reply, I never get notified when there has been a comment. At the moment they slide all the way off, but there is a simple pin system you can use that stops them from sliding off. Thank you!
Mon, 12/12/2016 - 08:53
So in the materials it lists
2 - project panel pieces 17-1/4" x 36" (may be advertised as 18" wide project panel - measure in store)
What is the thickness of these supposed to be? I cannot find this at any hardware store and was going to ise 1x4 strips instead. My question is, if this is going to have heavy use, do I need to use thicker boards to ensure it can hold the full weight of the top?
This is for my art studio and will hold tools, printer, laptop ect.
thanks!
B
Mon, 12/12/2016 - 12:03
So in the materials it lists
2 - project panel pieces 17-1/4" x 36" (may be advertised as 18" wide project panel - measure in store)
What is the thickness of these supposed to be? I cannot find this at any hardware store and was going to ise 1x4 strips instead. My question is, if this is going to have heavy use, do I need to use thicker boards to ensure it can hold the full weight of the top?
This is for my art studio and will hold tools, printer, laptop ect.
thanks!
B
Sun, 01/15/2017 - 07:11
I believe the thicknesses are the same of 1x material that you find at a big box store. If you are going to lowes or home depot it would be in the back of the section where the nice 1x boards are (pine ranging from 1x2-1x12). They will be wrapped completely in plastic shrink wrap. Hope this helps, sorry for late reply!
For my first woodworking project, I foolishly decided to build a rabbit hutch without plans for my daughters new Easter Bunny. So I literally scratched some ideas on my wood working bench and started going to work. I did some construction over a decade ago, but never attempted to build any furniture before, so I'm pretty happy with how this came out.
I spent a few days researching various rabbit cages and for our place we needed something that was ascetically pleasing and functional as it was going in our living room. I got some ideas from the web and decided the best thing for us would be to have an entry ramp, 2 sets of barn doors for each level (for easy cleaning) and an open roof. We went with linoleum floors since she's already litter trained. The floors could easily be modified to add 1/2" wire mesh if we decide to change things down the line. Also, we chose an espresso finish with silver hardware to accent the wire mesh
I pretty much crashed and burned on the staining as I've never done that before, but it ended up looking ok after all. I did a light sanding, but will probably invest in a planer and jointer to get my wood in better shape before assembling in the future. Also, I'll probably lightly dab some stain on ends of wood before final assembly as it made it difficulty trying to hide the white pine with the dark stain.
Other cages I saw ran around $200-$350.00 so i don't feel so bad about the cost. It's really the time that it took learning and making mistakes. I'm sure if I had plans I could of cut my time in 1/2.
Total Cost came out to around $150.00 but probably would of been cheaper if I had some plans to go by. I probably wasted a few 2x2s and accidentally mis-cut a scrap piece of 1/4"plywood which added another $16.00 to the bottom line.
Here's a breakdown of my total cost.
Hardware - $30.00
Includes 5 latches, 4 sets of hinges (8 total) and a 3' piano hinge
Stain - $8.00
Linoleum Tile @ ¢.69 sq ft - $16
Brushes, Stain Rags - $5.00
Screws - $6.00
Wire Mesh Roll $30.00
Needed 2 rolls at $15.00 each. I used 1" Wire Mesh measuring 2'x15'
Total Wood $50.00-$60
I used 2x3's for the legs - 2 @ 8' - $2.00 each ($4.00)
probably 15-20 2x2's - $1.52 each - can't remember how many I used to be honest ($30.00)
and a few 1x6's for the Doors - $2.00 each ($6.00)
Sheet of 1/4 plywood - $12.00
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 06:24
I bet your rabbit is pumped! What a nice house. Good Job.
In reply to I bet your rabbit is pumped! by Aargh (not verified)
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 06:57
Thanks! The rabbit definitely seems happy.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 08:09
I also have been thinking with the idea of building a two story hutch for our rabbit. I love your ideas so now i have a new project to work on. Thanks for sharing!
Mon, 10/08/2012 - 12:46
I LOVE your cage! We have 2 rabbits and 2 Guinea pigs which means we have 2 ugly cages in our living room. We are planning something similar, but a bit bigger (but lower if that makes sense). And we'll put a 3rd story on for our Guinea pigs. So we have everyone on the same patch of real estate so to speak. I was going to do 3 solid walls with wire "windows" too keep all the hay, poops and such contained. I am also going to put lockable wheels underneath, so I can move it to my office if I ever need to (parties and renovations).
Is there anything that you can now think of that you would like to change on yours? R my research purposes.. :) It looks awesome, I'm just picking your brain for "hindsight" tips.
This was just what I needed! My daughter started homeschooling and we needed a place to neatlly contain her school stuff. I had her working at the kitchen table next to me, but it still felt like it lacked the school atomosphere. I removed the area for the paper holder and instead added a few support scraps to hold her folders and books upright.
It did take me awhile to get the support hinges placed correctly (I almost gave up and went with a rope or chain) but I finally got them placed correctly after placing a pencil mark on where they could lie correctly open and closed - seriously this took me awhile because just when I thought I had it, the brackets when closed would be to deep for the desk or when I placed it it correctly inside when open it wasn't 90 degrees.
The only thing I wish was that I had made it slightly shorter, because when it is open it is a little hard for her to reach the top shelf, but its not to bad and that is the height my scrap bead board was and I was to lazy to cut it =)
I had a magnetic clasp left over from another project and that has worked well to keep it closed nice and tight, I also used some foam board I had lying around for the back so that her things were not tapped/pinned on my wall. I choose the bead board on the front because A: it is what I had lying around and B: it is in my dining room so I wanted it looking a little nicer.
I had everything on hand excpet for the support brackets which cost me 2 something each at Lowes. YAY for projects under $10 bucks! Thank you so much Ana!
Thu, 08/15/2019 - 12:45
What a beautiful desk! I'm so glad you got the brackets to work, they look awesome!
I built this for my daughter after building a ladder shelf for my kids bathroom. It took more time to install and adjust the drawer slides and paint the project.
Sat, 09/07/2019 - 03:32
Hi mltdblack
Really nice finish on the cabinet.
It looks like there’s molding on top of your mirror.
Did you buy a mirror with a frame or buy molding and put it on over the mirror?
What molding did you use an how did you secure it?
What size mirror did you use? Thanks
Fri, 01/07/2022 - 14:14
I am so sorry. This is the first I am seeing your question. The mirror came with a frame and I carefully nailed thru the frame to attach with my 18 gauge nailer. I bought the mirror at Lowe’s and I believe it was 15.5” x 50”. Also, I used full extension soft close drawer slides.
Modified the junior loft plan to add a house design element and storage stairs, by Amy Mott
I was so excited to find the plans for these awesome chairs, I’ve built 7 this season already—the modification happened as an accident, but I loved the result !
Thu, 03/04/2021 - 10:59
This is absolutely gorgeous! I love the modification!
We took some creative liberties on the Williams Sonoma inspired coop posted here. Because we don’t get a whole ton of sun in our backyard, we eliminated the herb garden planter and instead built a longer run. We also made the coop a bit wider to accommodate for the inevitable chicken math. And, you’ll notice the vent both shaped differently and is a bit higher. This was to increase air flow, avoid the dreaded draft, and to lend a more Scandinavian vibe. We also decided to place the chicken exit on the outside wall to allow for more living space under the coop itself. The project took about a month to complete, dedicated to only working weekends. And, it was very much over budget! Who knew wood is so expensive?! But overall, the outcome was even better than I expected. The chickens love it and I don’t mind looking at it!
P.S. this was a pretty advanced project. The fractions alone had me yelling “uncle!” Thankfully my husband is pretty handy, and my father-in-law (career in the construction industry) had a few pointers, so they took the lead in executing. I chose the paint colors and suggested the deviations from the original blue print. ;-)
Wed, 11/18/2020 - 12:55
Thank you! Yes, I suppose everyone is wanting wood for home improvement projects now that we're not leaving the house! Also, I didn't mean to post a picture of my son and his friends. Am I able to delete?
Thu, 01/14/2021 - 07:43
does this roof have the same angle as the 'Small Chicken Coop with Plans'? It seems to be 'less steep'. Wanting to start this project next weekend and trying to get my mind wrapped around everything!. Thanks.
Wed, 03/16/2022 - 09:53
Do you have a run side photo? I am thinking about adding more run onto mine.....
Used the Garden Enclosure plan as a reference, but wanted a much bigger area to walk through and relax in. Dimensions are about 30'x20'. Took a few months with a break for winter because it was just me working in spare time on weekends, would have gone a lot faster with an extra set of hands. Towards the end realized that drainage in the walk path was going to be an issue so I put in a very basic french drain before I weed fabric and mulched.
Really happy with how it turned out. Cost was pretty high, probably about $1500 all told, between wood, garden soil, etc. But we'll be able to enjoy it for many years.