Community Brag Posts

This pantry cabinet was inspired by a design from Ballard Designs.  I needed something a little less deep for my space and couldn't afford the $1900 price tag.  I was able to build this one for just around $100 and was able to customize it to fit my own space requirements.  The arched doors and half round moulding add a nice touch.  This versatile cabinet could be used for linens, kitchen storage, crafts, or just about anything else you can think of! 

I am kind of a visual organizational neat freak and I have been annoyed by all the little things taking up good shelf space in my pantry for a long time now. This just kept getting pushed down the list ya know, not a major project. Anyway, grabbed an extra board at the store the other day and knocked this one out. I LOVE it. I made it short because I want to build a trash bag holder for the bottom half of the door. We'll see how long it takes me. I did use a 1x4 instead of Ana's plan which uses a 1x6. I only needed small things to put in here.

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 the Christmas tree shelf plans and since I had drawn my wife's aunt's name for this year I knew she'd appreciate this build.  I chose 1x6 top choice pine and a wider piece for the base since she may decide to set this on the floor instead of hanging it.  I also had some oak plywood I used for the back.  I screwed all the pieces together, countersunk and filled the screw holes with wood putty.  The paint I used was Benjamin Moore, the color was Balsam (567) and I really like how the color came out.  I painted the back and the bottom with standard black interior paint just to protect the wood a little.  I coated it with a couple of coats polycrylic and bought a couple of Christmassy items for the shelf to get her started.  Can't wait to see what she thinks on Christmas day.

This can easily be built in less than a weekend depending on your skill level.  I had to recut one of the boards when I caused some damage while putting it all together.  The sanding, painting and finishing takes as long as you want depending on the finish and care taken.

We built this table for my brother and new wife's wedding present. We modified it to use as an outdoor dining set. Instead of using the 1x10 for the tabletop we used 2x6's and for the legs we used 4x4's. We attached the top boards with a Camo fastening system we used last year on our deck (works great to conceal the screws). I stained the frame in Behr Cordovan Brown and the top boards in Behr Cedar Naturaltone. It was our first attempt at building a table and I think it turned out great, only problem was giving it away!

I have been looking at sewing furniture for years, but the prices always made my jaw drop. I have a small craft room, so I needed a table that could also triple as a cutting table and fabric storage. Thank you so much to Ana White for this plan! I built exactly to the plan in The Handbuilt Home, and it's the PERFECT size.

So the sewing machine can sit flush with the top, making working on big sewing projects way easier, I traced the outline of my machine on the MDF and cut it out with a jig saw. Then I built a small shelf using a 1x12 scrap and 2 1x3 scraps. Putting the 1x3s on top of the 1x12 made the shelf 3.75 inches deep, which is exactly the depth I needed. I attached it to the underside of the tabetop using a pockethole jig and screws.

I built 2 boxes using 1/4 inch plywood, and installed drawer pulls on them, giving the illusion that the table has 2 drawers built in. This is where I keep my ugly stuff--interfacing and fabric scraps.

I got the color scheme for the table from the entryway console plan in The Handbuilt Home. In order to make the MDF top look like it had a wood grain, I applied mahogany gel stain with an old washcloth in very thick strokes that spanned the length of the tabletop. It soaked in and lost the "grain" look in some places, but the majority still looks like wood. I did have to apply several coats of polyurathane over the stain; the MDF has a prickly texture that grabs fabric and makes it hard to feed through the sewing machine.

My only complaint is that I didn't quite think through the fact that seating is bar height and I'm 5'7". It's a little difficult to reach my sewing machine pedal. I may build a small stool for the pedal to sit on so I don't have to half sit/stand to sew.

This is the first woodworking project I've done alone from start to finish: from going to Lowe's and picking out the wood, to cutting the wood with a circular saw, assembly, and finishing. (My fiance did carry it up the stairs for me. :) )

I'm so in love with this table! And now to finish the quilt I started 6 months ago....

The Kids Adirondack Chair. I love these little chairs! Simple and easy to build. This one was a birthday present for my niece's daughter. Read more about this project on my blog.. Thanks Ana!!

I designed and built this canopy bed without knowing Ana had already done a toddler canopy bed! Talk about reinventing the wheel. I should have known she already had plans up. ;)

Full plans are on my site, but I thought I'd add this as a brag post instead of a project plan since Ana's plans are already here. They're different, but the end result is very similar!

Farmhouse table from plans. Shortened length to 6.5 feet to fit our area. Good plans.

I made this bed for my 6 year old daughter. I loved Anna's Loft Bed plans, but she wanted a bigger play area underneath. So I modified the twin loft bed plans to fit a queen mattress. I also added extra supports for the mattress, and I used PureBond plywood on top of the supports for the mattress to sit on.
That's the Farmhouse Toddler Bed underneath. My younger daughter inherited her big sister's twin bed, so the toddler bed was put to use in the new "playhouse."

This is my first furniture build!!! I needed a narrow cabinet (from the wall) and found the plans on your site from Shanty2Chic. I LOVE this cabinet and I LOVE the Shanty girls along with you Ana! I finally put the doors on after I found the handles at a restoration store. I needed to make something 42.5" wide to fit under the mirror so I adjusted the length & height measurements of the original cabinet. This cabinet is 42.5W x 43H x 13D.