Community Brag Posts

Sawhorse Desk and Toy Shelf

Love these two projects in getting my son's room organized, and he loves having a desk for his lego creations and his "projects". We used poplar for the sawhorses that we had cut from family land and planed down ourselves, then purchased a premade project panel for the top. Used a paint sprayer for the blue and finished the top with Rustoleum stain in Wheat with several coats of Rustoleum Satin poly. For the toy shelf we just purchased pine and finished with the same stain and poly.

Estimated Cost
around $100 for both
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint for sawhorses, Rustoleum wheat stain and satin poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Loft Bed

Submitted by Jessi_ites on Sun, 12/11/2016 - 12:17

Loft bed made from the camp loft plans. I used 4x4s for the legs for extra support.

Estimated Cost
$85
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Outdoor loveseat

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 17:43

Just wanted a nice looking bench to seat at the porch! This turned out great!

Built from Plan(s)
Finish Used
Special Walnut and oil based polyurethane

Train Table

Submitted by Mdcary on Thu, 11/08/2012 - 04:26

We started with a play table from Ikea, added a 1X3 lip around that and then built a train table top to the same dimensions as Thomas the Train tables, trimmed it with 1X2 and glue thin felt on the base. I built cleats uner the top to fit snuggley over the base table. The train top can be lifted off and the under table is perfect as a leggo table when my grandson is old enough for leggo.

Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
clear polycoat
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Rustic Esky Cooler

Submitted by naomi on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 06:55

Months ago while browsing online I stumbled across a cool coke bottle opener. I had no idea what I would do with it but I knew I had to have it! So after months of procrastination I finally decided it was time to use it.

I found a cheap esky at kmart and decided that I would be able to make an esky stand and use the coke bottle opener on it. So after a trip to Bunnings for some new timber I got to work. It only took about a week to get it done including staining it.

Estimated Cost
$40.00 - Esky
$3.00 - Bottle Opener
$20.00 - 2 stainless steel hinges and screws
$15.00 - 3 Handles
$5.00 - 2 Hooks
$7.00 - Brass tap and tap hose
$50.00 - New pine
TOTAL= $140
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Teak Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

In reply to by Drew N Heidi 07

naomi

Wed, 09/03/2014 - 08:00

Thank you so much. I had so much fun doing this build. Some builds can feel like they are dragging on a bit but this one was fun every step of the way.

2 farmhouse tables and benches

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/15/2016 - 10:15

I am one of 11 children. My parents purchased a new home this summer that had a huge dining room.  I new exactly what I wanted to do for them for Christmas. I collaborated with several of my brothers to build them the tables and benches. I used sketchup to modify the design and then to create a cutlist.  My brothers and I worked on the project over several weeks as time permitted. The results are 2 tables that measure 14'4" long and 44 inches wide and benches to match. All the material was purchased at Menards. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax water based stain matches to dark walnut and Polycrylic finish
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Loft Bed w/desk

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 08/29/2020 - 09:05

Our daughter has been asking us to build her a bed for months now. When eLearning became a reality for our household, we knew it was time to get to work. We usually do two to three big DIY projects a year, and have built from many of Ana White's plans. We often refer our the time together DIYing as "couples therapy".

We used Ana's plans for the Loft Bed and included the tall bookcase and desk system, with a few of our own modifiations and personal touches, such as:
- elimated the plywood backing on the bottom shelves of the tall bookcase
- only used one (1) bookshelf for desk system
- used toungue and groove paneling for back of small bookshelf, adding it to the sides as well
- made the desktop 19" wide
- added a framed magnet board
- added a sliding keyboard tray

Estimated Cost
$600
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Desktop: Minwax Ebony stain
Everything Else: Zinsser 123 primer & Valspar Cabinet & Furniture Enamel (Snowbound Semigloss)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Ana White Admin

Mon, 09/07/2020 - 20:33

This is so cool, I'm sure it's a dream come true for your lucky girl!

Building is our couples therapy, sounds like a t-shirt in the making:)

2 Bunk Shared Bedroom

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/23/2024 - 11:08

Old bunk beds were only ¾ width and dark brown. So the room was dingy. Really like how these turned out. I painted the underside of the top bunk white to keep it lighter. Thanks for the plans!

Karen

Built from Plan(s)

Smaller Fancy "X" Desk

Submitted by NEmomof3 on Mon, 11/12/2012 - 12:21

this is a much smaller version of the $55 Fancy "x" Desk. We did not have the space for the larger version and my son liked that one best, so this is as close as I could come. I also made him the Higher Chair. He is six and very tall with it, but a standard height table and chair still make him sit low enough that writing and working on projects can be troublesome. He loves this, and we had fun working on it together.

Estimated Cost
Under $50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Ebony on bottom and English Oak (don't remember the brand) on desk top. the Ebony took several applications to get the darkness I wanted, if I did it again, I would probably just paint the bottom. The desk top got 2 applications plus a coating of Parks Super Glaze Ultra Crystal Pour On Epoxy Finish Kit, Clear Gloss. The epoxy was the most expensive part of the project, but the easiest.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Swinging Fun Loft Bed

Submitted by sverdell on Sat, 08/30/2014 - 20:40

My little boy asked for a "big boy bed with a ladder", and we wanted to make good use of space in his room, so I built this loft bed. I continued the 2x4's down one side instead of adding stairs, and raised the height of the bed a bit. I added space in the middle of the ladder section for him to have room to climb in safely. I also added a rope swing on the bottom, where he now spends much of his days looking out his window.

Estimated Cost
$125
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr paint and primer in one, Twilight Blue
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/18/2016 - 20:37

Awesome plans for the farmhouse table. Very easy to follow and the pictures were very helpful.  It took longer due to my schedule but the top took about four day to poly. The bench is also from Ana White. 

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Dark walnut stain worth 5 Coats of poly. The base is white paint sanded with ebony stain quickly wiped off.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Cedar Planters

Submitted by ajmorfeld on Mon, 08/31/2020 - 15:03

Very easy fun build. I laid out the fence boards and marked the 5 degree angle but cut them with a miter saw as I was not confident to use the hand saw. Also numbered each section to easily put the sections back together. Miter saw was set to 5 degree angle also. I initially built with 7 boards and then took off two of them as it was really tall.

Estimated Cost
40.00
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr solid stain in Cordova Brown
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Picket fence topped end table

Submitted by AnnieO on Fri, 11/16/2012 - 16:21

I wanted a table that would double as a file cabinet of sorts - so I made this end table with an opening big enough for my file box and the right height for my couch.

The top of the table and the lower shelf and made from pickets from a picket fence that was taken down and the rest was from leftover 2 x 4 s from other projects around our fixer-upper.

Estimated Cost
Free to Me
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
semi-gloss poly and house paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Holiday Fireplace

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 12/23/2016 - 09:54

After living in a house with a fireplace for 7 years, we recently moved to a house without one. When unpacking the Christmas box, our boys asked where we would hang our stockings this year and that got me thinking about how much I'd like a mantle for the holidays. After searching online, I found Ana's plan (of course she has one!) and scaled it down to fit the one small open wall in our living room. I didn't trust myself to cut an even arch, so I used an idea from another brag post and added architectural elements with leftover 1x2 & 1x3 to a 1x10 (which was a better size for our scaled down version) Lastly, I knew I wanted a chalkboard backing, but having no scrap plywood, I covered a large piece of cardboard with chalkboard contact paper and tacked it on the back before installing. Super happy with how it turned out and look forward to using it for many years to come! 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100 (only because we recently moved and didn't have much scrap wood)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Clear polyurethane on top and body color Valspar paint in Lost Atlantis
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Side Street Bunk Bed

Submitted by scottyboy on Fri, 09/05/2014 - 15:18

I made some slight udjustments on the ladder and rail. Other than that i folllowed the plans and flew through this project. My mother in laws boys love it.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
English chestnut
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
Back