Community Brag Posts

My husband and I love entertaining, but our small kitchen table was just not cutting it for both our space and our hosting abilities. We decided that instead of searching for the perfect table and spending a ton of money, we would just build our own table. We found that Ana's Rustic Table plans best matched what we were looking for, but my husband being the detailed person that he is didn’t just want to take her measurements and run with them. So we taped off the floor around our old table to decide how large we wanted our own table to be.

We basically followed Ana White’s plans to a T. Until it got to the legs. Ana White used 2×4′s for her legs, but we decided we liked the look of chunkier 4×4 legs instead. We also did things in a different order, like attaching the legs to the apron before attaching the table top. This did make everything way easier when it came to painting, no tape needed. We also stained the bottoms and sides of the tabletop boards before attaching them to the apron. After the top was attached I stained the top side and applied about 3-4 coats of Matte polyurethane. I like the matte finish because it doesn’t add any sheen and makes things look even more rustic; however, we’ll have to add a regular coat of poly as well because the matte is too soft for something that will see such rough use over the years. And now for what you’re all wondering about, how much did this project cost us?

• Wood – $86
• Stain (Dark Walnut) – $7.77
• Paint (Olympic Snow Storm) – $11.97
• Polyurethane (Rustoleum Matte finish) – $11.93
• If that is all we needed to buy then our total would have been: $117.67.

Just finished this project...took a little longer than I expected...it was a low cost project...I had most of the stock...but probably would cost around $75 to make. Paint and stain were the most expensive items. This was a lot of fun to make...Now to make the matching table...LOL

Kids gear was getting so mildewy in between practices. This was easy to build with scrap wood I had laying around and really helps the gear dry. - KuhnTosa

From Closet to Reading Nook ... it took me a month from start to finish to complete and worth every minute spent on it! Come by to see the full story ...

http://www.joy2journey.com/2013/01/01/reading-nook-before-and-after/

No plan was needed for this project, just imagination :)

Hugs and Happy 2013!
Bj
http://www.joy2journey.com

The kitchen remodel left me with 400sqft of old-growth-pine laying around(60year old subfloor). While still pine, this was too good to throw away. So I decided to build a kitchen table and some benches.

Given these were old tounge and groove 2x6 I spent a lot of time with the planer, so hardly a weekend project. Further more I decided to use biscuit joints. The table probably took me like 5-6 weekends and the benches another 4...

My kids already managed to put some dents in the table, but that just makes it look more rustic.

fire pit bench

Mud pie kitchen!

After building the Cabin Bunk system for my 5yo son, my wife wanted a buffet for our foyer. It took ma a Saturday to build and about $150 in materials.

Built using the plan except for removing the back angle supports and creating a top that resembles a live edge look.  Most of the build is done with pocket hole screws, glue and nails. 

We needed a way to store our 6 month old's toys in our main living area. We were previously keeping them in a pack and play and that wasn't going to cut it. We decided this plan would do the trick. It works even better than we anticipated. Built exactly the same as the plans with the same finish as well.

The 4-foot "classic beadboard" wall shelf is simple and cheap to make and it looks great for hanging pictures or decorations on the wall. The project requires only about $10 in materials, but it does required more advanced tools such as a chop saw, table saw, jig saw and router. Comparable shelves sell at between $60-$80.

I can build the project is about 1-2 hours, but it may take longer if you don't have all your tools set up. The plans are free on my woodworking blog at: http://www.jrlwoodworking.com/

You can also make the shelf in 2-foot and 3-foot lengths, simply shrink all the horizontal dimensions by one or two feet.

The wood came from a 60-70 year old barn that was torn down out on a friends property. The wood was fee and materials cost around $175. Took a couple weekends to build. 

My daughter loved Crate and Barrel Atwood bed so I built her this bed that is very similar. 

This was my first project and I LOVE it. We desperately needed to get a new table for our kitchen, and thanks to Ana... here she is. I love it. I cannot wait until I build more things. The Handbuilt Home is ear marked for many projects. I am such a geek, I have not only the book, but the digital version as well. This is so helpful because the digital version is on my phone and I have it readily available when I go to the store. I cannot recommend this book enough. Ana exudes confidence and that helped me to pick up that circular saw. NO FEAR! Ok, I was petrified that first cut, and probably all of the other cuts too, but it didn't stop me.

This table was so time consuming because I have three children and those little stinkers take up at lot of time. I am positive if I could have dedicated a day or two just to this project, I would have been done sooner. I underestimated how much time needs to be dedicated to sanding and staining and sanding and sanding :) I also underestimated how heavy this table is. I needed help to turn this table right side up.

All in all, I could not be happier with the finished project.

This was built using Ana's plans plus an inspiration photo my daughter took at an antique store in Chicago.  Notice the lower shelf stabilizing the bottom of the table. It also had to break down into sections to be moved three hours north to her apartment in Chicago.  Used lots of glue, and my trusty Kreg jig.  In the background is a tufted ottoman I also built at the same time.

I'm really happy with how this project turned out.
To attach the beds together I deviated from the original instructions and instead attached the headboard header to the headboard itself instead of to the feet of the upper bunk as directed. I used 3/4" dowels to attach the two beds, drilling 3" into the bottom bunk (through the header and into the posts), and 2" into the legs of the top bunk. This way the beds will easily come apart. They are incredibly secure, and incredibly heavy!

Was inspired to build this table after a visit to R.H. with my wife and realized a table this size and style would cost us about $3000.

So I decided to build myselft.  With a little help from Ana's plans and my own modifications, I think I got pretty close to the Restoration Hardware Trestle Table.

I bought the pedestals at Osbornewood.com and asked them not to drill the leg holes and ordered it in pine.  That was the most expensive part of the table, about $380 a piece.  The rest of it is Douglas Fir.

I created a template and shaped the feet myself out of 4X8 beams.  I was able to use my jig saw and a Bosch 10" blade.  I made the rough cut with it and then sanded the rest of the shape using my belt sander.

The pedestals have a hollow center and were too tall so I cut them down and created plugs and glued them into the pedestal.  The bottom plug has a large threaded rod and is glued and bolted to the feet, and the top plug was used to create the horizontal supports for the table top.  I too created a template for this and used a jigsaw to cut the shape.

I then used Minwax American English, then weathered oak, (Like in one of Ana's stain posts).  I then wanted to give it that weathered/reclaimed wood look so I add a fair amount of the White Pickling stain.  I wanted a little less of the red tones and more brown...I may sand and refinish it someday, but it is in the house for now and can't wait for our first dinner party.