Community Brag Posts

My husband wanted a table next to the grill and he wasn't going to build one after working on our deck for 2 weeks. I thought to myself maybe I could build one that had a built-in cooler. Of course, my source of inspiration came from Ana White. I had to detour a little from her exact plan to accommodate our need. We had a basement egress window coming right at that corner near the grill so we would need a table that cover that area perfectly to make a good use of space, hence the measurements and plan had to be altered a bit. Ana White’s plan has 2 built-ins, ours has only 1. It turned out great and we enjoyed it ever since. Now if only the weather just got warmer!

My girls originally wanted a bunk bed but I didn't want to give up the storage that comes with the twin bed (it's an Ikea bed that has a lot of storage underneath the mattress). This loft bed was the perfect solution. I chose not to build a ladder as they use the lower bed and window sill, without any trouble, to get to the top. This was my first build.

First I'd like to say THANK-YOU Ana for this incrediable site and for all the work that you do.  You are an inspiration to us all!  

This was my very first project.  I have been stalking this website for about a year working up enough courage to build something - anything for that matter!  Finally my husband bought me a great Drill / Driver for Christmas and VOILA!  I am putting it to great use.  

My son's room is rather small so I opted to eliminate the stair leading up to the landing area and just added a couple of 2 x 4 for him to climb up to the landing area

I love it - He loves it.  Before I could never get him to play in his room or sleep throught the night without coming into our bed at 4am.  Well let me tell you...Since I built this bed last week he sleeps like a charm and actually wont leave his room!  Hhahaha  

This is my one and only woodworking project so far, and I am so proud of it. I used reclaimed 2x6 redwook deck boards for the top and had to modify the design to make the table a little bigger. I also added an umbrella hole to the center. I'm hoping to add benches one of these days, but with two daughters and a baby, I'm not sure when that will be! Thank you, Ana, for your design!

I wanted to make a large porch swing but just couldn't find the exact design. I wanted to be able to stretch out and take a nap but also be able to have a back to lean against. Most plans that I found were just basically a box you could put a mattress in and then hang. So I found Ana's plan for a basic daybed and chopped off the legs and raised the back just a little. It's perfect!! Thanks Ana. The plans were very simple to follow. This is my first project and I think it turned out great.

Love this bed.  I found the Cassidy plan and immediately fell in love with the decorative detail of the headboard.  It wasn't until I was in the process of buying the wood that I decided to go in a different direction and use wood from my giant scrap piles to create the headboard instead of the wood shims.  I followed the plan with a few minor modifications to work with our existing metal frame as opposed to building the one in the plan.

The basic headboard and footboard went together in one day, but creating the design with the scrap wood for the headboard took an entire Saturday.  It was time consuming cutting pieces to fit and then staining each individual piece.

I marked this as a week long project because it does take several days to stain everything and then poly it.  Most of that is wait time not actual building time.

I used the Farmhouse Table plans and just extended the measurements to build an extra-long outdoor table that seats 12.

We made this sling chair for our 2 year-old grandson, Cedric.  As you can see, he loves relaxing in it as he 'reads' his books. My husband made the frame and I made the sling. I also added a headrest, made from the same fabric as the sling backing with an appliqued starfish and stuffed with a bit of polyeser fiberfill I had on hand.  The frame was made from select pine and was sealed with clear outdoor varnish. I made the sling and headrest with indoor/outdoor canvas from JoAnn Fabrics so they can be easily cleaned and will hold up to outdoor use. Fabrics are P/K Lifestyles Outdoor Fabric Stars Collide Nautical (front) and Solarium Outdoor Canvas Fiera Marinem Outdoor Canvas Fiera Marine (backing).  Since they are 54 inches wide, I have enough fabric left to make slings for two more chairs.  Now, I just have to talk my husband into making more frames! 

I love how this bookshelf turned out! I made the bottom part 6" taller so I can fit my shredder in there. I'm using this in my office/guest room so I can have office type stuff, but have it all contained in one place, so it doesn't take over the whole room. Ana's instructions were great! There are slight issues but they are so minor it still turned out great! Overall I am very happy with how this turned out. :)

I wanted to make this project for my son-in-law for Christmas and use up wood I already had in the garage.  I also thought using 2x4's was a bit chuncky for the size of the coolbox, so while I used the idea, I did not really use the plans and made up my own.  I only used screws to attach the wood for the two shelves, all the other joints were cut and glue joints and at one point I felt I was making a jigsaw puzzle! 

Other changes I made were:

No water drain tap - The drain in the cool box is set slightly above the base of the coolbox.  I loved the idea of a tap for the external look of the finished project but for a practical purpose, it is very fiddly to install and you would still have to emply the bottom of the coolbox with a cloth as the water would not completely drain from the box.  I did not remove the handles and made the wooden box slightly bigger, just big enough to raise the handle and remove the coolbox for emptying and cleaning.

Decorative Bottle Caps -  Instead of putting these on the front, I designed the lid so that it could be covered with a layer of bottlecaps and grout (having first glued the caps on).  The provided a surface for putting hot food on should you want to use it as a 'hotpad' (although you would not be able to open it if you did) - but mostly, I thought they would be less likely to fall off, it povides a rain/weather barrier, and futher insulates the box. So the lid in my version is framed with wood, then has a layer of insulation, a layer of 3/4" wood, then the bottle caps/grout.

Bottle Cap Catcher -  I added a bottle opener to the side opposite the shelf and attached below it a 1/2 circle terricotta planter which comes with a hole in the bottom to catch bottle caps.

The whole thing was painted in 3 different layers of Anne Sloan chalk paint, waxed and sanded to give it the distressed look.

I have a list of the wood used (with sizes) if anyone wants it.  I plan to write the plans up better, but for now this is what I have.   

Our new 2x6 outdoor sofa looks great, We liked the look of the 2x6s better then the 2x4s, and we added a taller back to support the cushions better, plus we gave the back a 12 slant for more comfort. Cushions are from Lowe's, 3 fit perfect.

very easy to put together!! Thanks Ana

I used the plan more as inspiration. Most of the boards are from an old barn and had to be planed down. The cabinet holds 30 bottles. I also found some old hardware on a couple of drawers that were in the barn. 

Took a little longer than I anticipated.  By far the hardest part was finding straight boards at Home Depot.  Used Cedar 4x4s for the post to avoid treated wood.  Had to make a few adjustments for our king mattress, but well worth it.   Bed and platform came in right at $300 for the wood, screws, paint, etc.  Thanks for the plans!