Community Brag Posts

Built a new outdoor furniture set using the following plans:

Ryobi Outdoor Couch (linked to in the One Arm Outdoor Sectional plans)

Armless 2x4 Sectional

2x4 Outdoor Coffee Table

I also built the Tryde End Table with Shelf & 2 of the Modern Outdoor Chair from 2x4s and 2x6s, but they will be in a seperate brag post since I can only link 3 sets of plans per post.

I built the armless middle sectional piece exactly to plan, to fit 25x25 outdoor cushions. The bench is a little deep for sitting, but great for laying out. The 2 side pieces I shallowed to fit 19" cushions, since they are cheaper and easier to find and are more naturally sized for sitting. I also added a support board under the back rail, which is missing from the Outdoor Couch plans but is present in the Armless sectional plans and I wanted everything to match. I stained everything with Thompson's water sealing stain, since it was going to be exposed to the elements at all times (though this picture was taken before the staining was completely finished, hence the untouched lumber visible under some of the cushions).

Project took a 3-day weekend. Day 1: measuring and cutting. Day 2: assembly. Day 3: sanding and staining. 

This was actually my first build. I had just about had it, went with all three kids, got the wood, and built it while my hubby was at work (24 hr. shifts at the fire station). And yes, that was after I finally Googled, "How to unlock a Dewalt Compound Miter Saw" after 30 minutes of unsuccessful prodding! :-) I'm super happy with how it came out (despite the poor flashy picture)! And it was great "practice" for doing my girl's farmhouse beds.

Since moving into our house almost 3 years ago, I have wanted a large piece to house the tv. The husband did not want glass, I wanted shelving on both ends and it had to hold a 60 inch tv (not pictured). To avoid paying thousands of dollars to a furniture store, I decided to build my own.

I used 1x2's, 1x3's, 4x8-3/4" plywood (sanded on one side) edge banding (super easy to use), nail gun and wood glue. I spent roughly a week building and staining, interrupted by 2 kids. The staining being the most tedious part. Cost was around $450 for all the pieces. I did attach the bridge piece by drilling holes through the bridge to the side hutches. I then installed nuts and bolts through the hole to attach it all together. Makes it easy to take apart when moved and I am not constantly drilling screws into the unit.

My husband is deployed so this was built solely by myself. My experience level is novice, this is only my 3rd piece of furniture, but I am hooked. The plans are easy to follow and use.

I was just thinking "Where can I put their backpacks and folders this year so we don't lose/forget so many things this year?" Thanks Ana! Modified the plans to make use of my scrap pile. I ordered the vinyls off Etsy from, The Vinyl Things in Life, she custom made them to my dimensions and I love the pop of color! Sorry I can't get better pictures, our entry is tiny.

My 14 year old son wanted a piece of furniture to put under his TV.  We made it 20 inches less in length but kept the other dimensions the same as the plans.  I made the cuts for him, but he did all of the work putting it together, sanding and staining.  He loves the outcome and it only took us about 6-8 hours over the course of two days.

Thanks for the plans!

I used Ana's plans for the play stove, fridge and sink. I LOVED Crafting Chick's take on it so I copied her great accessories. I found my knobs at Walmart and my hooks at Hobby Lobby. I also found the fabric at Hobby Lobby. I used 3/4" hardwood plywood, but if I could do it again I would have used MDF. It's much smoother! I still love it though! Oh... So do the kids ;-)) You can read more details at http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/07/play-kitchen-reveal.html.

My kids (11 & 12) made these in about 3 days. We have to work during my 2 yr olds nap time so I would say 6-8 hrs total. We always have a lot of scrap wood lying around so this was a great way to use it up. Unfortunately, sometimes when using scrap wood, it is not always the exact measurements that you need but some plan reworking and measuring as you go can fix that. On this particular plan, the only thing we changed was the thickness of the top and a little fudging on the drawer box. We also used our router to round over some or the edges and we made our own drawer tracks along the bottom w/ scrap furring strips. Honestly, those studs you see in the picture, did most of the work and since their skill set usually involves a reference to the newest video game out, I would say this was defiantly a simple project! ;-)

A little late uploading these. Made these for Christmas 2014.

Burned wood finish with stain and lots of coats of poly for protection and shine

This was a father's day present. My husband was quite impressed!

SImple and easy to make. I had leftover wood so all I had to buy was 1x2"s. I'd say the total cost was $15. It's sturdy and holds a lot of books.

This is the second farmhouse bed that i've built from these plans.  I made a slight modification to shorten the headboard for this bed. Overall, it was a fun and enjoyable project. 

I needed a bed frame to go around my adjustable mattress and cheapest I found for pre-fabricated was greater than $200 and I thought why not go on Ana’s site and see if I could build one cheaper and I found this design.  I did everything in the instructions but build the platform as I was only getting it as a frame around the base that I already had.   I ended up using carsiding as it was cheaper than 1x6’s I also did not use pocket holes I just used regular screws that I countersunk and it gives it a bit of a more rustic look   I did have to adjust a few things as the side rails the 2x4 toppers went over too much on the adjustable portion of the bed and I didn’t allot for additional width on the head and footboard so I had to remove them -  to me it presents a little bit of a cleaner line I figure I can always go back with a 2 x 2 if I want a capped look.  The weathered recommended product turned it to a grayish purple hue no matter how much I sanded it -  it grew on me but definitely not the same color probably different tannins in the wood I was able to find not sure.  

The build took about two days total I built it all on my own the bed hardware was tricky though after failing to find anything local I ordered bed rail hardware off of Amazon for 12 bucks it’s a lot easier and your able to connect the side rails to the head and footboard on your own.

Total cost with the bed hardware probably about $130 if I took off the stuff I wasted it may be closer to $115.

We remodeled our basement and added a master bathroom. The vanity space we had needed a custom vanity. We saw the Balin Console Table here and thought it would work nicely. It does! The four 12x12 drawers hold everything we need to use and keep discrete and the storage space underneath works nicely for extras that need to be away but quickly accessed.

These were the inspiration pieces for the 1-Board cedar desk accessory set plan. These were made entirely of scrap wood. These sets are all painted, they will be gifts for the girls at work.

The wood for these is some 3/8" plywood (crate and pencil cup sides), 1x2 (bottom of business card holder and ends of pencil cup), some 1/2" x 1 1/2" craft board (sides of paper clip trays, business card holder), 3/4" plywood (bottoms of paper clip trays), some small squares of Wainscoat paneling (sides of gray pencil cup), some 1/4" plywood (bottom of pencil cup), some 1" strips of some old painted lauan (old project, pulled apart and the wood is being repurposed) and a couple of little pieces of 1/2" x 3/4" S4S (fronts of business card holders).

You can see the mishmash of different materials in the shot of an unfinished set, and also the stack of them waiting in the wings on my work table (it's starting to look like a Jackson Pollock painting :) heehee)

All the paints and materials were left overs from other projects. I hadn't decided on the finishes yet while I was building. These would be even easier to make if I had finished all the pieces first!

It was fun building these, it's great to be able to take something that may have gone in the bin, and make it into something lovely. I'm hoping the girls like these!

I've got a cube drawer plan in the works (a 1-board cedar with 2 drawers, and also have measurements for a 3-drawer from 3/8" thick craft board and 1/4" plywood, like the one on the table). I'll get to those soon.

Followed the original plan but substituted branches from an oak tree for the X brace to give it a more "Adirondack" look.  Geneously sprayed the branches with a clear polyurethane coating to seal the bark.

Enjoyed building this with my son.  Thank you Ana.

Built this a little smaller - only 15" deep and 42" wide for use behind the couch with multiple functions - laptop desk, dining room buffet table, and behind-the-couch-set-things-on table. Love it!

Tricky parts - the drawers. Because I changed the dimensions, I built the drawer box to fit my new dimensions and installed it. Then, I cut the sides of my drawers 10" deep (the smallest drawer slides I could find and a perfect fit). I laid the Hettich ball bearing drawer slides (from my local lumber and cabinet supplier, not big box) in the drawer box and trimmed down my drawer front/back until they fit nicely. If you're interested, it was 15 1/8" wide.

Nail gun is a must on this project!!! And remember to glue and use 2" nails.

I used the Kreg jig to build my drawers because I'm familiar with building drawers that way and feel comfortable getting them squared. I highly recommend the Kreg jig!

Then, I attacked it with my orbital sander until it was nice and smooth.

Love Ana's great patterns!