Community Brag Posts

Small bench

Submitted by Miaya39047 on Sat, 02/16/2013 - 21:00

My husband and I needed a small bench for our long hallway. This plan was perfect! Somehow though we bought extra wood, I followed the shopping list exactly. Took about an hour to cut and put together. Painted it a matte black and sanded edges to looked distressed, and then 1 coat of polycyrlic. Cost about 15.00 to make.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Black matte paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Loft bed turned into bunk beds!

I needed bunk beds for my girls and found the camp loft bed - perfect! I liked how it used all 2x4s and 2x6s... made it easy to do everything with the chop saw. I customized the bed by lowering the overall height so that the actual bed is only 3 feet off the ground, and then I still had plenty of room for a mattress underneath for my three year old. I was strapped for space so I made the deck half the size so that the stairs stayed in between the bunk bed posts. I also added a little fence to the side of the deck since it's not up against a wall. I am so happy and proud of my work and I thank-you SO  much for these wonderful easy-to-follow plans :)

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Sanded, unfinished
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Beautiful Modern Farmhouse Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/24/2017 - 10:56

I added black accent brackets to this project to give it a more unique feel. Love it!

Estimated Cost
$175
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Dark Walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Grandy barn door console

Submitted by oms321 on Sat, 01/23/2021 - 10:50

Slightly modified Grandy

Built from Plan(s)
Finish Used
Stain and chalk paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Rosie's play sink and range

Submitted by bbomer on Mon, 02/18/2013 - 10:58

I built this using the plans in the book, which are basically the same as the older plans linked here. I did not intend to build a nearly identical set to the one in the book, but that's basically how it turned out.

Modifications:

I used a 1x12 (plan calls for 1x10) for the shelves in both the sink and oven and ripped it down by 3/4" making it 10.5" in width. This allows the oven door to rest against the shelf when closed. It also allowed me to attach a magnetic clasp to one side to keep the door closed.

I also used a router table to make a rabbet around the inside opening of the oven door so that the plastic sits flush to the door surface.

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Shellac seal coat (prevents discoloration from knots), 3-4 coats of flat latex applied with an HVLP sprayer, 3 coats water based poly (also sprayed)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

1x3 Whitewashed Sawhorse Desk

My boyfriend followed Ana's plans to construct me a Sawhorse Desk for my office. To complete the look, I gave it a healthy coat of whitewash stain. More photos can be viewed on my blog: http://shawnaleeann.com/2014/09/22/we-came-we-sawhorsed-we-conquered/.

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Whitewash Pickling Stain from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Minwax-1-qt-White-Wash-Pickling-Water-Based-Stain-61860/100376216
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

My First trash can project

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/26/2017 - 18:23

So decided to make this from the plan. Have a plan for the door before going in I made mine with slme

leftovers also recommend don't not cut all the face frames first my measurements were on but due to shifting ect or something I ended up handing to re adjust almost each part it wasn't a a pain just more of the learning process as I begin learn something every time 

Estimated Cost
20-30
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Dark walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Console table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/27/2021 - 17:59

So the x's were hard but by the fourth one I got better. This table is super easy if you do the clears for slats. I cannot imagine doing all those pocket holes!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$36
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modified Kitchen Island

I have been wanting to build this island for years! Seriously. But we finally got to the point that we had some extra time, and no other projects were screaming at us! We decided to make our island 24in x 36 in. So 12in shorter than the original plan. This was an easy adjustment. We also added another shelf, which we love.

The only issue we had was the slat length. Almost all of the pictures I looked at showed that the aprons, and side supports weren't exactly lined up with the front or back of the 2x2 legs. I'm guessing they were put in the middle, but I couldn't find that info in the plan. So we decided to make our aprons and sides flush with the front of the 2x2 leg. This added about an 1in to the slat length. Sadly, I didn't figure this out till after we cut the slats. After re-cutting, things went smoothly! It was my first time using a Kreg Jig, and it was great. We had to use A LOT of spray paint to cover it, but I am so happy with the final result! It's not perfect, but it's homemade, sturdy, and I hope Ana-White would be proud!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$75
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Rust-Oleum Heirloom White Spray Paint (2-3 coats), and Rust-Oleum Clear Coat )2-3 coats).
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

superchou

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 13:53

I am about to do the same project... love seeing what others are doing with it :) nicely done.

Tall Secretary Cabinet with Modifications

Submitted by Stacie on Mon, 12/29/2014 - 08:15

I built this desk as part of redesigning my homeschool room, and made a few customizations to better fit our needs.  It's taller and deeper than the plans, which allowed for a larger work opening for a larger computer.  It also gave me much needed extra storage space.  

 

The cabinet is made from 3/4" and 1/4" PureBond birch plywood cut down to size using my Kreg Rip-Cut.  The frame is built from pine 1x2s and 1x1s.  The three cabinet doors are pine 1x6s and 1x2s joined together with biscuits, and trimmed to the correct size on the table saw.  Because the secretary desk is deeper than the plan and the mail slots are small, I finished with stain and polyurethane prior to assembly.  This saved a lot of frustration of trying to stain in tight spaces.

 

Thank you for the plans, Ana!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Dark Walnut, Minwax Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Rustic x console

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/27/2017 - 16:54

I used 2x3 and 2x2 because I had a lot laying around. The finish is steel wool vinegar mixture and tea. Dry brushed the chalk paint on than finished it with a satin poly. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$70
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Vinegar with steel wool and tea.. Artminds chalk paint- sea glass and Varathane water based poly-satin
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Narrow Console (Farmhouse style)

My husband helped with the cutting of the woods :)

Comments

Farmhouse bedside table

Submitted by JimmyE3 on Sat, 02/23/2013 - 09:19

Another project for the wife, though there will be a matching one for my side of the bed in the near future! This was the first plan I constructed from this site.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Hand wiped Minwax Early American 230 - which is why it is not quite as dark as my other projects.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Kaylee's Dollhouse

Submitted by akatherine on Wed, 12/31/2014 - 19:44

My fiance and I built this for my seven year old daughter's Christmas present. I have built several pieces of furniture before but this was our first major building project and I'm proud to say we made a great team!

We didn't make any major changes to the plan, we just chose to leave the wheels off the bottom and we added two boards across the back of the attic rooms so we would have something to attach the back too. We were lucky enough that this project coincided with my dad have his roof replaced and he had spare shingles, so her doll house has real asphalt shingles! They were actually a lot easier to add than I expected, we simply scored the back of the shingles with a knife and then they cleanly broke apart. We used a staple gun to attach the shingles we would be able to layer so you couldn't see the staples, but for those where the staples would have shown we used a hot glue gun.

The only issue we had was moving it around without my daughter noticing because it's so big! My fiance and I actually scratched up a door frame trying to sneak it under the tree after she went to sleep because it's so large (totally my fault, apparently I need to work out more). Other than that everything went smooth and it was fun to build and so exciting to watch my daughter freak out over Christmas morning!!!

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

Rekourt table build

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/29/2017 - 16:16

Adjusted the plans to 7' length to fit room size. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Dark Walnut Minwax stain, Clear Satin Polyurethane Minwax
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

BPluhar

Sat, 07/18/2020 - 11:00

What dimensions did you adjust to get this at 7 feet? It looks beautiful! We are new to building and 7' is what size we were looking for our dining room table.

Farmhouse toy box

Submitted by Jayna on Fri, 02/12/2021 - 13:34

Made a few adjustments to the farmhouse toy box. Made it a little bigger and added Xs out of 1x2s around it to give it a little extra something! I'm using it as a storage coffee table and I couldn't be happier with it! So in love!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax dark walnut stain, three coats of Varathane clear gloss polyurethane, and painted with Valspar white paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Brina Bedside table

Submitted by jlouki01 on Mon, 02/25/2013 - 07:59

Heavy modification to the original plan to accommodate extra drawers and trim. Finished with Min-Wax custom mixed color or Gunstock and English Chestnut.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Min Wax Oil Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Gift wrapping cart

Put this together after Christmas. Not too difficult of a project. Decided not to put casters on to save a little money. Can always add them later if needed. I think if I created it again I'd make more space for the rolls of wrapping paper and smaller space for the trays. We have a lot of wrapping paper.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Cost about $50 because I bought some of the better 1x2's instead of the cheap ones just because I was trying to get straighter boards for the trays so I didn't have to work as hard.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Used Early American stain just because we had some around. Not my favorite stain though but it sits in the closet 99% of the year.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Vertical planter

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 04/01/2017 - 18:45

This planter was so easy to build! super cute, fun, spring project.

Estimated Cost
$30.
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
I Painted the 2x4's. I left the cedar as-is.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Kendra Toybin with Shelves

Decided a week ago that our son's playroom was way too busy and he needed a toybox. I started working on this and halfway through showed my wife how big it would be. She suggested I modify the plans to make it wider, and I'm glad I did!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Small Scrap Wood End Tables

We had shortened our kitchen windows in our above garbage apartment remodel and had 1x2 framing wood left. I did not want to put this wood to waste, so I made two identical end tables in a similar style as the Ikea Besta Burs desk plan, but without drawers. These were the first two pieces of standing furniture that I built for our apartment and was technically free for me to build. The end tables are truly small, being only 8" wide, 2' long, and about 18" high, which is a great size to place beside our low modular sofas. The top is made of 1/2"x8"x4' plywood leftover from a floating shelving project (worth about $2.50). I cut the plank in half and glued the halves to make it thicker. These end tables are strong enough to function also as little benches for me and my daughter. :)

Estimated Cost
$5.00 each, but free using scrap wood
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Olympic Semi-Gloss white (straight off shelf) and water-thinned Royal Indigo Olympic Semi-Gloss to act as a "purple wash" or "purple stain" on the plywood.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

yurra-bazain

Fri, 03/01/2013 - 00:24

Thank you! I actually hadn't seen the Ikea Besta Burs plan until after I built them. It just worked out that the scraps were about the size I needed to build them in that design. I don't think I can take credit for creativity when it was more like serendipity. :)