Community Brag Posts

Benchwright Console

Made this for my lovely friends Melissa and Lance and their adorable little boy Rylin.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
I think about $100 or less
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Oxidized the edges with vinegar & steel wool, 1 coat of Minwax Special Walnut, 1 coat Minwax weathered Oak, Random rub n buff spots of Minwax Dark Walnut, distressed with a dirtbike chain, hammer and a 1x2 with 6 nail tips poking through, hit the peice all over with those objects to create wormholes and random distressed markings
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Home Office Project

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/20/2015 - 13:43

The Classic Collections was exactly what we were looking for when we decided to re-do our home office.

Estimated Cost
>$500
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Rosewood gel stain, Poly and Semi-gloss White paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Photo Ledge from $10 ledges, slightly modified

Submitted by sshelby on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 06:47

8 foot long photo ledge inspired by $10 ledges project plan, http://ana-white.com/2010/10/ten-dollar-ledges.html

I used a 1x4, 1x3, and a 1x2 and added some crown molding to the bottom for a little something extra.

Estimated Cost
$15 in lumber
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Reclaimed Pine and Poplar

Submitted by Richard714 on Thu, 10/03/2013 - 07:43

My friend saw the Gaby Kitchen Island that I posted on FB and asked me to make a wine display for him. I immediately went to Anna's site to look for a design. Added LED lights from IKEA.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Water based Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Standing High Chair

Submitted by stacynabby on Thu, 12/24/2015 - 07:49

I modified the "standing high chair" from Ana's plan and from Blame Crayons blog post...so, I did a little freestyling. The standing platform is adjustable height, just like Ana's. My friend asked me to make this for her mom for Christmas.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$30-40
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

maxstout

Thu, 08/25/2016 - 08:36

I lovel your modification to add the entry-step to Ana's plans. I think I will try to re-create that myself, any special tips on adding that extra step?

Open Shelving for our tiny cabin

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/19/2019 - 06:07

We wanted to get rid of the plastic contractor’s cabinets in our tiny 1930 cabin on the Delaware River.  Found your plans and video and went straight to Home Depot. Took only a few hours and we love it!

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Early American stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Farmhouse table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/15/2023 - 14:45

First time doing anything this big. The crosses on the side kicked my butt but I think I got them figured out.

Comments

Kitchen play set

Submitted by amym on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 12:13

I made this for my daughter for Christmas last year. Well, actually Santa did, or at least that's what she tells people. I had one of the big companies cut the lumber for me, but a few boards were cut incorrectly. I live about 25 minutes from a local hardware store and needed to have them re-cut. Luckily for me, my father-in-law is handy and he brought out his circular saw and helped me even out my boards. Then, for Christmas I got a gift too - a table saw.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used a tip from Ana and looked to the OOPS section at Home Depot. I had this color matched with a swatch, it didn't come out quite the color I intended, but I am happy with it. Its a little difficult to see in the picture, but the finish is quite flat.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Red library cart

Submitted by Nomads on Sun, 10/06/2013 - 10:59

I've been eyeing the Land of Nod library cart for months!
...However, I wasn't sure about the price tag, so I started researching how to make it myself.
This is our first of many projects!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr Premium Semi-gloss
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Grandy TV Stand

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/27/2015 - 12:20

Modified the plans to make smaller and shorter to use as a flatscreen tv stand to fit up to a 60 inch tv. It has room on each side for baskets that I will put in later!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$120
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax polyshades in Mission Oak satin, and Behr premium plus ultra in satin Ultra Pure White
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Modern Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/26/2019 - 08:33

I made this as part of a room makeover for my teenager. It was my second furniture project, the first being Ana’s original farmhouse bed. This was my first project with the Kreg jig and I watched a great YouTube video by shanty2chic to learn the basics of pocket holes. This was also my first staining project and I love the results. My daughter loved it so much she had me stain her closet doors to match! The lumber for the bed was only $120, I spent an additional $80 on wood and screws for the slats to support the mattress, my new kreg jig came with enough screws to make the bed frame. I spent another $80 on wood conditioner, stain and poly since she didn’t like the first stain (Briarsmoke, which I will definitely use on another project).

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I started with a wood conditioner and then used Varathane Early American stain applied with a rag and dry brushed on top of that with varathane Kona, again watching a shanty2chic video for technique. Poly is water based satin finish. I used the triple thick but still had to do 2 coats, partly for coverage but also because the water based poly raised the grain so I needed to do a light sand and a second coat of poly for a smooth finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

okstout4

Mon, 10/19/2020 - 19:49

This is very nice. Love the color too. I used Special Walnut in Behr brand and it came out too dark. Wished I had looked at some of these builds before I did the Behr brand stain.

Custom Accent Tables - by John

Submitted by MadJack73 on Mon, 01/23/2023 - 09:32

The tv table is most recent and custom with acquired skills using your other plans along the way. Coffee and side table are 100% from your plan .  Hall table is modified from a plan as I wanted it to fit the top of stairs landing.  Love your site!   I've done other projects but these are all in my own and built in the last 18 months.  Cheers!! 

Blue Console Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/07/2019 - 13:15

Built from plans

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Chalk paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

King Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by Pswag on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 14:08

Modified the bed so that is was not as tall as the original project plan. We also changed the molding on the top to a 2x4 with a angle cut and then a 1x4 on top. The bed can only be positioned one way in the room and we didn't want to cover the window with a real high head board. Thank you Ana! You rock!!

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
We used Cabot Red Oak stain and sprayed with Polyurethane clear gloss spray.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Picnic Table for Two

I've got a full how-to and FREE PLANS at
http://www.iliketomakestuff.com/two-person-picnic-table/

The whole thing was built for under $60 and could be done with only a circular saw and a drill, in an afternoon.

(optionally, a router and sander can smooth out corners)

Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Project "Garage Organization"

Submitted by tnjyoung on Thu, 12/31/2015 - 06:57

I saw the "Easy DIY Garage Workbench" plans and got motivated for a little garage organization.

Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
None.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Benches that Convert to Picnic Tables

Submitted by Steph99 on Thu, 02/02/2023 - 11:14

Simple benches that convert to picnic tables

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

First real project: Tryde Media Console - success!

Tryde Media Console plans, with slight modifications.

This was my first real project after building a very basic woodworking bench. It might look a bit daunting but is actually very simple - build the box and add some legs. Keep your cuts square and accurate and have a lot of wood filler (putty) on hand for mistakes :)

Tricky parts of this project were:

1) building it here in Australia - our wood sizes are different, and untreated 4x4's are not easily available.
2) hinges - I hate them! Still can't use 'em and may never do again.

I began this project sticking pretty much to the plans Ana posted, just making the width of the console a little narrower as my tv is 36" wide only.

Then I saw a post by the Shanty2Chic sisters who made a Apothecary Media Console with stained doors project and I fell in love. To be honest I wasn't crazy about the open sections on each side of the Tryde Console anyway, and I thought adding doors would be easy. Plus the glass knobs used by the S2C sisters were gorgeous! So I guess you could say this is a Tryde/Apothecary Media Console hybrid.

So this project is pretty much as Ana wrote it except it's narrower, and has doors with faux drawer fronts. And as it always goes the longest part of this project was doing the finish.

Please please read about this on my blog - I go into a lot of detail about the build and finish process and I make a lot of mistakes so you don't have to.

I will be posting the matching hutch project soon as I've finished that too.

UPDATE: You can read all about the matching hutch here

Estimated Cost
Approx $100AUD (not incl hardware, paint, stain)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Wattyl oil-based indoor stain in 'Wenge'
Taubman's Endure interior paint (satin) in 'Milk Paint'
Custom 'glaze' (see blog posting for details)
Cabot's wood putty in 'Radiata Pine'
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

hammertime

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 06:54

This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing all the details on your blog. :-)

Farm House Bed-Headboard

Submitted by V Woodcock on Sun, 10/13/2013 - 16:09

Hello,
I made the head board from the farm house bed project. I used western red cedar for this project and I bolted it to a standard metal bed frame. It came out really well and I'm very pleased with the plans and the results.
Thank you,
V. Woodcock
Minnesota

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax whip on polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

A gift to enjoy everyday and forever

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 01/02/2016 - 10:47

I wanted to make something for my daughter Jaclyn and her significant other Sam for their new condo that would bring memories to the table each and every time they sat at it with memories that would last a lifetime. This was perfect. I made it in a week and was ready just before they moved into their new condo. The top is a slab of maple and the frame is pine 2x4's. I deviated by using a 4x4 center post on each side of the pedestal. I used my keg jig to hide the hole in various places. I used chains, a hammer and nails to distress the top.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
kona stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate