Community Brag Posts

Antique workbench console bar

Submitted by aem4v2000 on Fri, 04/24/2015 - 18:14

This project was much easier than I originally anticipated. Even cutting the legs at angles and sanding them down to appear curved was easier than I expected.  I also used early american stain by Minwax. I used only one coat though and in hindsight might have done two to make it a bit darker. I used Minwax clear paste wax (two coats) to achieve a low sheen and protective layer. I was able to find a toilet paper holder similar to the one Ana used at one of my local big box stores. I wasn't able to find anything else I liked better. 

 

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
less than $100 including the stain and towel bar holder
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Early American stain (one coat) and Minwax clear paste wax (two coats)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Triple Pedestal Table & Bench

Submitted by Lishpav on Wed, 09/06/2017 - 19:56

It's turned out way more beautiful then I had thought. It was all the mini details that took the longest but made the look worth it 

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Gel gray stain for the top gel prairie wheat for the legs
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

My First Project

This was my first project I did close to a year ago. I was so excited about the site I decided to go big right away and do a table and benches for our first house we hadn't moved into yet. I had help and it was quite the learning experience. I think I would start with something smaller first but in the end we got a wonderful table in our dining area that has had plenty of use!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax ebony stain and satin poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Farmhouse Bed

This is my favorite build so far! I love the look of this bed! 

One thing I wish I had known was how long it was going to be. The bed is a good foot and a half longer than my mattress, which is a standard queen. I would recommend measuring and cutting your side rails according to your mattress - I think I am going to go back and shorten mine. 

Also - I used my bed rails, instead of the slats this called for. I also used bed rail hooks (I ordered them from Amazon for $20) so that I can take this bed apart. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Customized Corner Desk

Submitted by DTeague on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 21:21

This was my first build I have wanted to get this particular desk from Pottery Barn but don't have the space for it.  I used the corner desk plans but on one side I used the plans for the legs used on the smaller desk. Since it wasn't too big I made the desktop one piece.  All in all it was pretty straightforward.  The only problem I had was when I put the legs on the wrong side, I didn't realize until after I had used wood filler and painted. 

Estimated Cost
$175.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
For the desktop I used Red Mahogony Minwax Stain and Minwas Wipe-on poly. For the base, used a Benjamin Moore paint for Metal and wood in black.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Conner Side Tables

Built a set of Conner Side tables for my Daughter and Son-in-law that live in Austin Texas. 

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Polyshield Ebony
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Loft Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/07/2021 - 16:28

My 8 year old really wanted a loft bed. We were homeschooling and he was struggling with fractions so I decided to use carpentry to teach him fractions. He was hands on in every aspect of this project and did 80% of the work. I’m very proud of him!

Comments

Doll Bed

This is the doll bed from Ana's plans! My 6 year old wanted to make one for her friend's birthday. She helped with nailing, sanding, painting, sanding, painting oh and painting! 

We did a base coat of a dark pink, then top coat of lighter pink, then sanded to distress it a little. Also instead of sewing a "mattress" I used spray adhesive to adhere the fabric to the plywood, then sewed a pillow and little blankie to match.
Estimated Cost
$5
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
primed,sanded, base coat dark pink, top coat light pink, then sanded in some places to reveal dark pink
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Cedar Deck Box

Submitted by tsmonkey on Mon, 06/03/2013 - 19:09

I used cedar siding that was removed from a home remodel. I had to rip all the wood down on a table saw to work with the plan. I was glad to put this good wood to use for my recycle bin and it looks good on the back porch. I had to change the plan a bit to fit my bin.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Gloss Spray Varnish
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Counter Height Table & Chairs

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/10/2021 - 17:42

Built this amazing table & chairs a few years ago for a customer.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Childs table & chairs

Built this set for our 2 year old for christmas!!! He loves it and it is sturdy enough for me and my hubby to sit at to.. Of course the brothers fit around the table as well and they all color or play with playdough. 

Estimated Cost
$40 for everything
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
3 coats of stain and poly and painted chairs and base of table.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

X end table

Submitted by Bergenj123 on Tue, 06/04/2013 - 19:52

Another project in keeping with my original theme of farmhouse style furniture. I liked the style of this table but wanted to make a smaller end table than the plans. So I scaled down a bit and used 1x4 for the top and bottom shelves and used 1x also for the X. It measures standard height for an end table but its only about 18 inches square. I added some hardware, but not the L brackets on the corners. I have young kids and was a little worried about the edges.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
50.00
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Classic Gray by Minwax and a satin finish top coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

cmaycock

Sun, 12/04/2016 - 18:21

Hi, 

 

I love the smaller table! what angle did you need to cut the x peices to? 

Modern Park Bench

Submitted by ylopresto on Tue, 05/05/2015 - 12:21

Our deck was lackluster to say the least.  It had been a while since we did anything with it and we didn't spend much time out there because of it.  I wanted to add something cozy to encourage us to hang out there more.  I searched the internet and came across this bench.  It was just the thing!  My son and I spent a couple of hours building it, and another day or two priming and painting.  Now it looks great!  We are out there all the time.  Thanks Ana!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$90 (includes wood, screws, primer, and paint)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover Gloss in Colonial Red
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Outdoor sectional and table

Submitted by sarah252 on Fri, 10/15/2021 - 14:25

First time building anything. I think it came out pretty good! Thanks Ana white for the plans!!

Comments

Our new Ladder Shelf!

Submitted by mtgirl31 on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 22:36

This is our first piece of furniture we built!  My husband William is pretty handy and really enjoys wood-working, and I stumbled upon the Ana White site and this plan a while ago.  Printed it out, gave it to hubby, and he went right at it.  He built it, I sanded, primed, and painted.  We painted it the same Behr 'Creamy White' color that is on the trim and doors in our house.  We love it!  He did modify the plans so it is 19" wide.  Although I wish we would have built it to be the narrower size, we originally intended it for our master bathroom, and 19" wide fits in the spot, but it just ended up looking a little too big and crowded.  Well, the guest bathroom is delighted to see a cute storage shelf in there :)

Estimated Cost
$25-35
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Primed it with a spray on primer, then painted on Behr Premium Plus- eggshell- in Creamy White. Sanded lightly in between coats. Used a spray Krylon Clear coat to finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Providence Bench, Doll Chair and Adirondack Side Table

Submitted by Rose4You on Thu, 06/06/2013 - 23:26

Very excited to have our bench, table & doll chair out on our porch. Thank you so much for your great web-site and all of the wonderful plans. I have already put together a very long "weekend projects" list for my husband to work on.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Calico Critter house

Submitted by bobaina on Sun, 05/10/2015 - 12:21

My husband and I made this for our daughters' calico critters, which they received for Christmas. We wanted a house with few walls, so that all 3 girls could play simultaneously. We used Ana's dream dollhouse plan, but scaled it down to half the size. We also modified it slightly to fit what we needed.

This is just the perfect size for smaller toys like Littlest Pet Shop or other 3 to 4" tall toys.

This was our first build together and so it took us a while to do. For someone with a bit more experience, who also has all their materials and tools ready, this could be finished in 1 day or a weekend.

Estimated Cost
Aproximately $30 for the pine. This is for Canadian lumber. It may be less in the USA.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
We used clear poly urethane for varnish. We painted the roof shingles (jumbo craft sticks) with acrylic craft paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

bobaina

Sun, 05/10/2015 - 13:06

Ana's roof shingles, which are cut scalloped strips, are a better way of doing the roof. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to fix each craft stick 'shingle' to the roof, and manage to keep each line straight. For a beginner, it's not easy. My advice is try Ana's method or you could also just make the roof from 2 solid pieces.

bobaina

Tue, 05/12/2015 - 03:17

thank you for this plan Ana. My girls love their critter house. It's getting lots of use and I'm determined to build more stuff for my girls. I'm so tired of spending money on flimsy plastic junk!

nrc261

Wed, 10/07/2015 - 14:07

This was the plan I was going to use for the Critter's line at Target. I didn't want to buy the plastic houses that they sale so decided to try and build one. How did you scale the dimension? Just by half all the way around? I am a confident beginner so I am not sure how to scale down dimensions. 

Farmhouse Desk with X Detail

Submitted by vendo on Thu, 10/21/2021 - 11:46

I found a loft bed on the marketplace and had fun revamping it! I wanted to add a desk underneath that matched the existing desk surface, so needed to slightly modify the plan to make it the same height and width of the opening. This was a simple build, built in about 2 hours and the finish took about the same. I modified the bottom to be a full shelf, love the way it came out!

Built from Plan(s)