Community Brag Posts

Square Dining Room Table

After yet another move (this time to Monterey, CA) and with a baby on the way, it was time to build the girls some big-girl beds of their very own. I was going to need to re-convert their double bed back into its original crib form by September, so in June, I started looking for plans. When I stumbled on Jenny's "Sweet Pea" bunk beds, I knew I'd found a winner! She also made it sound so easy, and I'd only assisted my dad on remodeling projects, never built anything from scratch. But I was familiar with the tools and terminology, so six months pregnant and in a serious nesting phase, I got to work. My hubs helped with the heavy lifting and I had some friends assist with sanding and priming -- many hands do indeed make light work! It took just under a month working four to six hours a day (on average), five to six days a week. I used screws for EVERYTHING, as this baby has to come apart easily for future moves (and does it ever -- Jenny's not kidding when she says you can have it up and down in ten minutes!). I'm most proud of the roof -- I had originally planned on finding real cedar shingles, but those babies are expensive! So I came up with idea of using door shims. A pack of 12-15 is only a couple bucks, and it took about 24 packs to cover the entire roof. I found some light wood trim and glued/screwed it to the edges, slathered on some pink paint, and voila! A wood shingle roof! The whole project ended up costing nearly double what I'd originally budgeted, but I'm so happy with it and my girls love it so much that I don't really care. Plus, if I'd had this baby custom made, it would probably have cost quadruple (at least!) what I paid in building materials. Let me know if you have any questions -- I'm happy to share what (little) I know :)!

Junior Loft Bed

Closet by Joanie

This is a very simple project. It measures 8' x 8' and is 11" high. I simply used eight 2" x 6" treated pine boards and one 8' 4" x 4" treated pine post. I used an 11" 4 x 4 cross member in each corner and an 11" 4 x 4 in the center to connect the 2 x 6's. I used 2 coats of a water based natural cedar deck stain as a finish. I connected everything using 3 inch deck screws.

This was my first project ever and I'm so excited how well it turned out!! However, I did modify the length and height for my space. The table is 40" long and 33" tall. The finish is Benjamin Moore Tawny Day Lily (awful name) with their high gloss wood finish. Thank you Ana!! You made this project seem easy and now I'm excited to build more!

Thanks, Ana for the plan!  We were remodeling a nearly 60 year old bathroom and a store bought vanity would absolutely not fit. Using your awesome plans, we were able to get a vanity that would fit, and be one of a kind.

Built this for my desk at work.

Started off as the rustic farmhouse bed, but I couldn't help adding bits to it - dentil moulding, panels on the headboard and footboard.

I am so very happy on how this bench turned out. I am new at building things and so I asked my husband to help me we did this in a day. now I have 3 people that want one (family of course.)

I used Ana's pattern, but modified it a bit to suit my needs and my materials. I used a large pallet I got for free from a local building supply company. My total cost was $8.00, which was for the hinges and the screws. I am so happy with it, and very grateful to Ana White for providing the plans!

I got tired of the aluminum framed bunk beds in my kids room, and wanted to build something they can enjoy for years to come.

My 7 year old didn't have the luxury of one of our dogs jumping up on his bed, as he was on the top bunk, and my wife and I didn't interact with him as much as we would have liked during his reading time prior to bed.

Only one thing to do....build the boys some beds. Although they have a little less room in their bedroom, they have their own individual beds and storage nooks.

In an effort to reduce wasted space, I took a similar page out of birdsandsoap's book by hinging the footboard to create easy access to the void under the slats.

The head and footboards were 'tiled' by simply cutting 1x2 and 1x3 pieces and attaching them with wood glue.

Between the sanding, staining, and poly coats, it took about a week (on and off) to complete the set, but overall am very happy with the finished project.

Only 1 bed is included in the pics, as the other one is identical.

Handcrafted amish style table easy to do and gorgeous

I decided to build a table and followed your plans (loosely). You inspired me and now love my outdoor harvest table.

My husband built this for me because it cost as much for one pedestal as it did to build this. I got storage and height for both my washer and dryer for the price of one pedestal. My husband built it, We painted it and I stenciled it.

This was really a quick project. It's sized to fit a standard American girl doll. I tag-teamed with my mother to make a Christmas gift for my 4-year old daughter. I built the bed and she sewed the mattresses, reversible blankets, and pillows. My daughter loved them. My only regret was using plywood instead of backboard for the box springs. The plywood was too thick making it a tight squeeze to get the dolls in the bed with the pillows and mattresses.