Community Brag Posts

Fun project!

I had a friend ask me to build this for her daughter. The bars are bungie cord that you can order by the roll. I made 3 frames the same size then put 2x2's on the inside corners and counter sunk the screws the stapled the bungie cord at the top and the bottom. I would highly recommend securing this to a stud in the wall incase a little one tried to climb on it.

My Wife asked me to look into a night stand for her. I am so so so thankful that I was able to come across Ana's site. I showed the site to her and she asked me to build this night stand as opposed to going out and buying her some expensive poorly built nightstand. Thank you Ana for this wonderful site and the inspiration that some of us need to "get started."

One thing that I didn't think about when I started this project:
The cut list is a suggestion of what you will need to cut. I only ran into one major issue and that was with the inset bottom of my pull out drawer. I cut my drawer sides to the dimensions on the cut list (not paying attention to the note from Ana) and had to adjust my cuts for the drawer. I ended up ripping down the remainder of the 1x12 and paired it with the 1x6 that I had left over. Using the Kreg Jig I now had a perfect fit for my drawer.

I would have liked to have had a darker stain (more of an espresso) and that is my fault for not buying different stains and testing them on my wood choices. As far as my wood choices I used 1x6 and 1x12 "white board" 1x2 and 2x2 precut pine and bought a scrap piece of 1/4in plywood for the backer.

The Kreg Jig made this project very easy to complete as well as my counter sink drill bit. Although not impossible to complete without these two tools it is remarkable easier to complete.

I cannot be happier with the final look of my new bed. I decided to take on this task with intentions to make small changes in the plans based on my needs and preferences. The process was easy and original plans were definitely easy to follow. I had the head or foot boards completed in about 3 hours (without the herringbone pattern). I saw where someone else decided to add a herringbone design and I liked it so I did the same. It was a little tedious but overall not hard at all. Building the frame was easy as well and didn't take long at all. I started running into problems when transporting the footboard. I dropped it from about 2 ft and the leg post snapped off. I thought the pocket holes were not that strong from the beginning. This was not a problem though because I just followed the special note in the instructions and added a 2x2 to the back of each side and attached them with 3 inch wood screws. I did this for the head and foot board and it made me feel more comfortable with the stability overall. I was going for longevity for the bed so I wanted to make it easier to disassemble and move around (screwing the frame in would wear out with a few moves). I went to a woodworking shop and picked up some 5/8 inch insert nuts and bolts to match. I added one to each corner and tightened accordingly. This was by far the biggest headache for me. If I could do it over again there are a few things I would change.
1. I would have sanded my cedar post before attaching them
2. I would have attached my cedar post with the 2x2 and not used pocket holes (I l like pocket holes but not for such a heavy load)
3. I would have drilled and placed my insert nuts on the post before attaching anything to them (this would have helped to ensure a level hole).
My wife and I love the natural look of the wood but it doesn't really go well with the modern contemporary look in our home so we are having a hard time deciding on paint or stain. We are leaning toward stain because we love the grains throughout the bed.

I made the sectional from pallet wood

Needed extra wood for legs to be stable. I made these under the house, and unfortunately had to take apart to get out! luckily  i used screws.

I made to measure after getting the outdoor cushions first.

Taught me heaps

Great plan, I used knotty pine boards for the entire build, including glue up for 2x4 pieces. And the hooks came from a recent visit to England. The wood was reclaimed from a tear down of our family cottage. Using the material gives our new home a sense of history.

I recently landed my first teaching position, and unfortunately my predecessor left quite a blank canvas for my classroom. I will be teaching math and definitely needed a lectern to hold my book as reference for examples during instructional time. However, I was completely unable to fork over $200 for a lectern...so of course I turned to Ana White! I saw the Podium Plan that another had submitted, and used it as a guide with some changes:

1) My dimensions are 15" wide by 21" long by 43" tall (I'm shorter than your average bear).

2) Used the table saw set at 45 degrees to create mitered joint edges with my plywood

3) Inset the shelves into the frame for added stability using a router.

4) Added casters to the base for maneuverability

5) Added an easily-removable laptop shelf for the side for easy hook-up to the Promethean Board in the classroom.

6) Decoupaging my name to the front for some visual interest...(and of course to claim ownership...:) )

My room is painted yellow, and all of my accessories are teal, lime green, and brown. This is gonna look GREAT in there, and best of all, it's attractive AND functional!

I had a lot of leftover pieces of wood from other projects and really wanted to use them. I have been wanting to build the Liberty Wall Art for a while so I finally got to it. I already had a 2x2 piece of a 1/4 inch plywood so I made my piece smaller, fitting my plywood. Obviously, since my piece was smaller I cut and played with the pieces until it looked good to me and this is how it turned out. I glued everything to the board first and then nailed it from the back because my husband didn't want to see the nails. Also, he didn't want me to distress it so I went with his wishes. I think it would have looked nice distressed but oh well, still looks nice. With my husband being in the military, I really wanted this piece and now it's featured in our dining room! Thanks for the idea Anna! As always your plans are great. We have already build several items from your plans and I can't wait to post these brags!

So we had our grandchild Emily needing a play table and chairs, a limited budget, an old play table but no chairs! Ana White to the rescue! We made 4 chairs and painted them and the table to match. As you can see Emily has made lots of new friends over tea! 

We just purchased a rolling island to replace our old kitchen table. We wanted to make stools to fit under it properly at the right height. We used all recycled wood and it’s painted with and exterior black semi-gloss paint that I had on hand that I use for my outdoor barn quilts. I covered it with 1” foam, a layer of Dacron and some off white(to match our kitchen cupboards) heavy vinyl. We really like our new look❤️Thank you Ana for sharing all of your plans. We are going to be using more in the future. I just know it.

Laundry closet makeover. I was tired of having only the one wire shelf to store laundry supplies. So I added a cabinet, hanging rod, and counter-top over the washer/dryer for folding clothes. Also, behind the curtain on the left is a built-in garbage can for lit. Recovered small ironing board in same fabric as curtain and hung it up so save space.

I followed Ana's plans to build the Bristol Outdoor Lounge Chair. I used White Oak for the chair. The plan was pretty easy to follow and i enjoyed the project. I am excited to build a second chair as well as other items that i will find of interest on her website.

James

We have 3 (almost) teenage boys and needed the storage of the Brookstone bed for their sport gear, etc. I built 2 of them and my 15 year old built his. I can't get over how easy they were to build! This was the first building project I ever made and they turned out beautifully! The headboard took about 2 hours to build and the bed about 5 hours. I was pretty slow though, checking and double checking measurements, glueing and clamping like crazy, being careful not to rush. Still, 7 hours to make the bed and a couple hours to paint, not a bad days work! The lumber cost $144/each so we were happy with the cost of the beds. I would highly recommend furniture movers underneath them. I used 4 huge ones under the ends of the 2x2 supports and small squares under the legs/headboard. They move so easily with them! Thanks, Ana, for a great plan!! We are so thankful and love our new beds!!

We decided to follow the Club House bed plans, but we added another bunk below. We did this by adding a foot to the height and duplicating the slats and ends etc. My boys absolutely love this bed! We actually enjoyed building it. I can't wait to try more Ana White plans - they were so easy to follow and it's so satisfying having made something cool from scratch.

Fun project!

I built this for my wife for an anniversary present. She had wanted a garden bench for some time but the ones that she wanted were between $500-$700 which is ridiculous for this type of bench. So, I did a search on here for garden benches but there weren't really any plans for them and the few brag plans were not really the type of bench I was looking for. I printed off a few pictures of benches that I liked and got to work. The front and back legs a 2x6 and a 1x6 glued together and then cut to be straight. I wanted something thicker then just a plain old 2x6. If I had to do this again though, I would have just glued 3 1X6's together. The reason being, is that 1x6's usually do not have a rounded edge and a 2X6 does. So needless to say when you glue them together you have a nice little gap on either side. Without a table saw to take this off, its pretty difficult to get a straight cut. But I ended up getting it right after sweating for a few hours in the garage. The bench stands 36 inches high, 48inches wide and about 18 inches deep. The seat height is right at 18in also.

In the unfinished pictures I actually had the depth being 24 inches. After sitting on it though it was just way to deep. So I pulled it apart, made the adjustments and its now much more comfortable to sit in.

If anyone has any questions or wants more details feel free to drop me a line!

Thanks!