Community Brag Posts

I wanted to make a built in storage bench for the breakfast nook in our eat-in kitchen, but wasn't entirely sure how to go about the process. After seeing Ana's "Mimi's Storage Bench" I thought the plan could be modified to fit our space, so I convinced my husband to give it a shot. We've done a fair amount of carpentry in our house, but this is the first piece of furniture that we have ever built. Thanks to Ana's plans and our new Kreg jig, it turned out better than I ever imagined. We absolutely love the new bench, where my toddler spends every morning eating his breakfast while staring out the window and giggling at the squirrels in our backyard.

Had a bunch of scrap wood from other projects and random pieces we found in our barn after we moved into our new house so decided to make a new coffee bar to use it up. Modified the Potting Bench plans and pretty happy with how it turned out!

Nate B

We needed a desk for the office. I didn't want particle board - or to pay a fortune! Thanks, Ana!

We have a small rustic cabin that needed a clean, functional outhouse.  We followed Ana's plans, but with a few modifications to include a Solar gray polycarbonate roof to let in light.  We also decided on cedar board & batten for the siding.   We look forward to many years of use.

I had some leftover wood from building my daughters loft bed and after coming across this plan realized i had all the right lumber on had already so after a trip to the store to buy a few bolts i was ready to build. I built one chair following Ana's plans exactly, using 1x2's for the outside frames, the chair turned out awesome and I wanted another. For the second one, i didn't have enough 1x2's left so I used 2x2s for the outside frame. I kept the inside width (24") of the back frame the same and adjusted the rest of the dimensions to fit. While the 1x2 chair was great and very sturdy, the 2x2 chair is rock solid. I rounded all the edges of the boards with a 1/4" roundover bit and spray painted everything dark chocolate brown. The fabric slings are made of cotton duck cloth. I added a 1" foam pillow sewn onto the top of the sling because my head rests right on the top boards and I wanted a little padding.

All said, including wood, hardware, fabric and the foam for the pillow I think this chair cost about $40 to build and finish.

As my 3 daughters piled on my lap to read on night the 2x2 chair has been load tested to about 300 lbs!

Thanks to your clear plans it was easy to make these two chairs from scrap 2x4s. Found the cushions at Lowe's. I'm a grandfather with eight grandchildren live in Iowa.

I wanted a shelf to extend the entire length of our laundry room. It's 76 inches, so I had to modify the existing plan for one slightly longer shelf instead of three 72 inch ones.

Cut list for 76 inch floating shelf:

2 - 1/4 plywood strips @ 76" x 7 3/4" (top & bottom of shelf)

1 - 1 x 2 @ 76" (front of shelf)

2 - 1 x 2 @ 73" (shelf frame)

4 - 1 x 2 @ 7" (ends of shelf and shelf frame)

6 - 1 x 2 @ 5 1/2" (shelf frame studs)

I was able to build this using scrap 1x2 for the studs and ends. I bought two 8 ft 1x2 pieces and one piece of 1/4 plywood, which I still have a lot left of.

I have children and this was my first time building something on my own, so it took me any spare time I could manage over the course of a week.

I can't wait to build again! Thanks Ana!

$10 Ledges made with 1x3s instead of 1x4s and fronted with cute trim pieces I found at Orange store. Finished with Behr Marque sample paint that didn't make the cut for the hallway walls (color: Gotham Gray).