Community Brag Posts

This is the 2nd of two loft beds I have built using Ana's plans - they came out great and my girls love them! I did make some modifications to each, as the girls have different needs. It was a great project and I would like to thank Ana for the concise plans, cut lists, ideas, etc. You made it so easy!

If you are interested in seeing more about this project feel free to visit my blog at www.mothersmusings.net. See you there!

We needed to transition our son out of his crib-turned-toddler-bed to free up the crib for the next spawn, arriving in November. We wanted something we could sit or lie on with him for the reading of bedtime stories, which ruled out most toddler beds and the inexpensive twin size beds. The choice was clear between spending $1000 on some out-of-the-box bed from a furniture store, using a mattress-and-springs-on-metal-frame from the mattress store (which lacks any sort of organized storage potential) or building our own awesome storage-friendly bed that will hopefully last until the kiddo graduates high school and gets his own place.  I love this plan because of the ample storage it provides between the under-the-bed cubbies, the cubbies on the "walled-in" side of the bed that can be used for off-season clothes and less-frequently-used items, even the space between the cubbies only accessible by sliding the mattress off and popping out the slats.  Also, my child is doomed to need glasses at some point in his life, so the headboard with space to stow the glasses, an alarm clock, a glass of water, a couple books ... this plan was perfect for what we needed and what we wanted. And custom-made by dad? Painted Elmo-red (the current obsession) by 7-months-pregnant mom? What could be better?  We are thrilled by the bed and are already planning the expansion we'll do (create a bunk? Just build a matching bed?) in a few years when the new little brother has outgrown the crib.  

We opted to skip pretty much all the hardware on this bed and, with the help of a few nails inserted via nail gun, put the bed together with copious amounts of wood glue and clamps. This bed is NEVER wiggling apart, no matter how much the kid jumps on it.  The exception is the binding of the headboard and footboard to the base itself -- this is done with cleverly placed screws so that the bed can be disassembled if it ever needs to be moved.  The project would've been a weekend project from shopping through painting except that we had to wait hours for glue to dry in between steps. As a result, it monopolized our garage for about a week.  

My first furniture project was Ana's Tryde Coffee Table. All along though, the goal was to learn enough to be able to make a dining room table. I love the coffee table, and I love Ana's Farmhouse table plans, but I was worried about getting food and stuff stuck in between the table top boards.

So I decided to embark on the adventure of learning how to make a solid table top that I could rest on top of Ana's base design. The result is below, and although it took about 6 months of learning, practicing, and prototyping, I am finally done!

Because I made a solid top, I was able to skip the support beams on the base, which hopefully reduced the weight a little bit.

I don't have a blog, but I added some additional comments in my Picasa Album.

This is my version of the Farmhouse table. I got all my wood at lowes. I notched the legs to recive the stretchers. One thing that I did not take into account is that the posts have rounded edges from the mill so that when I put the stretchers in the legs there were gaps.

I decided to go with a different top for my project, in order for it to fit our home better. The top is just stock pine 1x4's from the local lumberyard. I ripped the edges off on the table saw for a tighter joint, and used the Kreg Jig and wood glue to join them together.

So took the plans and added a 1x4 floor on bottom and 2x4 runners on bottom for support and to keep off ground. The used landscaping fabric to help hold sand in.

Thanks for the plans was quick and simple and had done in about 4 hrs start to finish.

I build the Farmhouse Bed with Arch in queen Size. I built this over the course of a couple days and then finished it slowly over a month. I did modify the bed to have a 6 inch taller footboard. Also, the mattress I have has a low profile box spring that's only 4 inches tall. The mattress itself is about 10 inches tall.

Additionally I changed the plans a little bit to make it modular. The legs of the headboard are mounted on with bolts and the side rails are also bolted on. This allows me to take it apart and move it fairly easily. The other modification I made was because I couldn't find untreated 4x4s. I ended up using two 2x4s with a 1x4 in the middle. Cut everything separately and then glued/nail-gunned the leg together.

Also in the extra pictures you can see the set of Tryde tables I made at the same time. That post will come once I get a finish on them.

I loved this lounge chair when I saw it posted. After contemplating them for awhile they became my first building project.

Unfortunately, the cushions from the original design were to expensive for my budget. I resized the lounge chairs to fit cushions I found at my local big box store.

A couple of weeks later I made the loveseat using these plans: http://www.oldpaintdesign.com/2012/03/05/bristol-outdoor-loveseat/. The also resized the loveseat and made it to fit the same back cushions as the chairs and a crib mattress for the seat. I also added three more cleats to add sturdiness to the seat.

I was able to use cedar that I reclaimed from an old sauna in our basement. So, the wood was free to me!

After using the chairs and loveseat a couple of times two of the arms popped off the front. As a result, I added some extra sturdiness to both the arms and to the angled back.

To the arms I added "L" brackets. For each back I added "mending braces".

I'll be adding more information about the modified dimensions and cut list I used on my blog: http://amilliontinylittlethings.blogspot.com/2013/08/bristol-lounge-cha….

I'm very happy with the furniture! Thank you Ana White and guest poster, Shane, for inspiring me into this new hobby!

I wanted to make a small memento box as an anniversary gift, and I used Ana's pirate treasure trunk as inspiration. My cuts are a bit different due to the scraps I had in my "shop", but I still used 1x4 and 1x6s. I loved the idea of the side brackets. They look good and add to the structural integrity of the box. Win-win. I also added a bit of dark red felt to the bottom of the box, which I think gives it a little bit of a fancier look.

My wife and I decided to remodel our laundry room. I built these cabinetsand doors to store soap and cleaners. They are 39Hx30Wx12D. I used the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig and the Kreg Khi-Hinge Concealed Hinge Jig. I have to say, Kreg jigs are AWESOME!!.

This was a fun project for us and our daughter loves to use it to wash her hands and brush her teeth. We used some wood scraps we had leftover so it didn't cost as much! I was inspired by another brag poster to change the detail on the bottom and printed my pattern from the computer. We did find that we really needed better saw blades than what came with our jigsaw - the second side's curves came out so much smoother.

I've posted pictures of these separately, but I'm so excited about how these things came together in my room! This is the reclaimed wood headboard (queen) and the mini farmhouse bedside tables (only 1 pictured but the other is identical). Thanks so much Ana (and friends) for these awesome plans which have given me a fun thing to do in my free time and also inexpensively furnish my house!

I needed to transform my balcony in Australia into an outdoor oasis! I used Ana's plans for the outdoor sofa and modified them to make it a sectional. I converted into metric measurements and modified these to fit some pre-purchased cushions. The coffee table is made from a pallet and cinder blocks. The coffee table can be transformed into a dining table (with bench style lounge dining seats) by adding another 2 cinder blocks under the table. The table also perfectly fits into the space in front of the sofa and is the exact right size to add two extra seat cushions on top to form a full double bed. We sometimes put the tv outside on warm nights, transform the sofa into the bed and create an outdoor cinema...

Thanks Ana!

Love this chair

I saw the plans for the narrow farmhouse table and had.to.have.it! I showed my husband and he liked it but wanted turned legs. This was the compromise. I'm so happy with how it turned out!

From the plans, we added 2x6's to each end of the table to make the table a better size for 6 people, and also used 4x4's as legs rather than the 2x4's suggested. It makes the table much more sturdy and even looks best in my opinion.