Community Brag Posts

Shoe Organizer

Submitted by moemoore on Mon, 10/08/2012 - 04:05

Between my husband and I, we routinely have 10 pair of footwear by the front door. In Hawaii, its tradition that you remove your shoes at the door. Unfortunately for us, our condo doesn't have much room by the door. As such, there would often be a pile of footwear as you entered the unit, which is the kitchen. I have tried various shoe organizers over the years, and none really fit the bill, or the space we had. So I built one myself.

Its a pretty basic box, with 1 fixed shelf. All joined with my Kreg jig (of course). I also attached some casters on the bottom to make it easier to move out of the way if needed. After assembling and painting, I picked up some moulding and added it to the bottom, which helped to hide the casters. Then I used some old liquid nail/caulk I had to fill in the holes.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
white paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

John Deere Green Barn Shelf

Submitted by Veronica P on Wed, 07/30/2014 - 22:08

After finishing my boys' new John Deere room and tractor bunk bed (also posted), I saw this plan and thought it would be the perfect thing for some extra toy storage.

Yes, I know, barns are supposed to be red. Everything else in the room is John Deere green and I had paint leftover, which is not cheap. So green it is! I used my new paint sprayer for the first time on this project and am thrilled with it. I would recommend it to anyone who dislikes painting as much as I do. I bought the Wagner Flexio 590 which comes with a detail sprayer as well as the full size and I'm very happy with both.

Thanks to Ana for the well laid out, easy to follow plan and also for helping me create a big boy room that my boys love!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
John Deere green paint plus primer, black & white paints, white paint marker for the shingle detail and satin polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Veronica P

Thu, 07/31/2014 - 09:38

Thanks so much for your comments. It's so nice to hear positive feedback since I'm very new to this! My 3yr old is quite particular about everything being in its place, I'll pass along that you liked his animal placement. Lol :)

Homework Table and Chairs

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 11/13/2016 - 14:08

Needed a small "homework" table for my 6 year old. Looks more appealing in the living room than the Disney Princess table she's has since she was 2. Super simple build and very affordable!! This is my 3rd project from Ana White and definitely not my last.  

Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Kids Toy Outdoor Storage Box

Submitted by MattCad on Sat, 08/01/2020 - 20:28

First time making anything half decent and it turned out ok. Followed the Cedar Box plans with a few adaptations. I live in regional Australia so used different materials, also extended the length. Used an app on the phone to convert the measurements to as close as I could. Worked out well, a few teething issues but does the job.

Estimated Cost
70 AUD
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Intergrain Merbau Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Lillian's bed

This is my first attempt at building furniture. My wife found the plans and after some research of how much it would be to purchase a bed that would be similiar, my wife decided I was building one. I must admit at the time I was not very thrilled about this idea, but I have experience with building so I thought I could handle the challange. My background knowledge is in framing and deck building, not so much furniture building and finish carpentry. I printed out the step by step plans for the bed from Ann's website and went to work. I added the stairs and the slide and build them to fit perfectly on one wall of her room. I built a small door so she has a hide out under the slide which she loves to go in and read. Under the stairs I built in some storage. After this was done, I was really happy with it. My wife, my daughter and my brother also helped during the process.My daughter loves this bed. For a week she was running around the house saying "I have the best dad ever!" and to this day the first thing my daughter says to people who come to our house is, "Do you want to see my bed?" Looking foward to building more.

Estimated Cost
550.00
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
The pink paint is called very sexy pink. (My daugher picked the colors) Latex based primer and paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Cornhole Boards

Submitted by djsaffer19 on Sun, 08/03/2014 - 20:08

Custom cornhole boards, made with pocket joinery

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Spray paint, stain, decals, always covered with polycrilic
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Kids chair

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 11/16/2016 - 09:25

Childrens chair 

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Dark walnut stain. Lemons edge Valspar paint. Sprayed the whole thing with clear gloss spray paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Fence Picket Shed

Submitted by EDempsey on Tue, 08/04/2020 - 11:45

Using the Small Cedar Shed plans as inspiration, I created this 3'x6' shed using pressure treated fence pickets as the siding. I also made the shed one foot taller than the original plans to have a taller single door instead of the double door in the plans. Used 2x4 framing to strengthen the shed. Overall, I am pleased with the results. This was my first time constructing any type of building.

Estimated Cost
$475
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Trestle table

With two small boys it took me several days to make. I had some problems in the beginning because I cut the legs using a carpenter square and not a miter saw. But it worked out in the end. I love the way it came out!

Estimated Cost
60
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Miniwax Dark Walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Rebecca Media Center (kind of)

Submitted by Medickep on Tue, 08/05/2014 - 22:02

I've been wanting to build some built ins in the recessed area surrounding our fireplace for awhile now. I wasn't really sure how I wanted to tackle this and at first it was just going to be shelves from the floor up. After browsing around, I stumbled onto Rebecca's media center and could see how I could turn this into my built ins!

The whole thing is mostly boxes placed next to one another with trim that covers all of the seems. The bottom left and right cabinets were inspired by her media center side base and the middle of the bottom row is a modified version of the center console piece. For the top I combined the console side and hutch piece to get something that would work for me.

I learned a lot on this project and tried to take my time. Using trim across the entire project help make it look like one big piece of furniture. One thing I would do differently if I was to do this again is to use higher quality trim, such as hemlock as the pine required lots of wood filler, sanding and time, all which exceeded the cost difference between the two types of lumber. I used the Kreg drawer jig for the first time, which was nice and also used the Kreg shelving jig after I decided to make all of the shelves adjustable. It to was a nice and easy to use tool. A must for anyone who makes adjustable shelves.

I sanded, sanded and sanded some more and than put two coats of high quality primer (57$/gallon) from Rhodda, which was a God send. It hid all of the imperfections and created a nice smooth area to paint, which I used foam rollers and the Renaissance paint also from Rhodda. They said it went on and dried like a oil paint, which I love, but cleaned up with water. It was awesome paint to work with, but we'll see if it gets that hard eggshell layer that oil paint gets. It's already pretty hard the night I painted it!

The hardest part for me was going to the local Woodcraft store and deciding what hinges I need and how to adjust them perfectly! This was so hard as the tolerances were minimal and I wanted everything to be uniform. I could probably adjust them a little more!!

I included a picture of what the area looked like before!

The idea I had, which was the best, was when it came time to decide on a color, I had my friend who is handing in Photoshop, show me several colors on a picture I took. This changed the planned several times and save a lot of money in paint. In the end, we decided to paint them the color of the walls to make them look like they were always there. It also worked with the stained mantle next to them!

Estimated Cost
More than I want to calculate!
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Rodda primer 2x coats. Rhodda Renaissance paint 2x coats.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Medickep

Wed, 08/06/2014 - 10:15

The build was much easier than the finish work, which surprised me a lot! I learned a lot on this project including having good corner clamps!

Booksnotbomb-

You can totally do this, which is why I included some of the earlier photos showing it was just a bunch of boxes! PM if you need help getting started!

corner cupboard

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/19/2016 - 16:25

Finished it with two coats of shallac and used black iron hardware.

 

I built it for a cabin I am building. Thank you for the palns, they were great!

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Around $100
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Two coats of Shallac
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Rustic X desk

Submitted by carlino203 on Fri, 08/07/2020 - 07:04

The wife wanted this desk for her computer. Thank you for the plans

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

Wall Cubbies for Kitchen Chalkboard/Schoolwork

Submitted by teresap on Sun, 10/21/2012 - 10:45

I loved Ana's cubbies the first time I saw them. :) I used different measurements and set mine for one large cubby to hold class papers and the others each fit a mason jar that holds chalk/ eraser cloth/ misc. Measurements/Wood Used: back: 4" x 1" x 44" bottom: 3" x 1" x 44" front: 3" x 1" x 44" I miter cut the insert separators to go edge to edge. Setting was 31 degrees and sanding to finish top point to back I added the inserts last after distressing the front/back/bottom assembled. I stained the inserts with no distressing and slid them in and used finishing nails to hold them to place front and back as my last step.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
painted background with our closet/laundry room paint color to bring in that accent color (rusty orange) let dry completely. Added black acrylic to knots and edges and random places around the piece and then covered it all with our home trim paint and then sanded back with power sander to distress
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

mrssem (not verified)

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 10:54

I love this project! You did an amazing job. I also love that you put the inserts in at the end, that would have been so much easier!

American Flag Themed Adirondack Side Table

Submitted by kieseroll on Fri, 08/08/2014 - 05:09

I built this in small spurts over a week. The most time consuming part was waiting for paint to dry. I painted all of my wood before I assembled since it would be too hard to get in the crevices after putting together. I painted the table top at the very end after it was assembled. I used painters tape to make sure I didn't goof and the stars are stenciled on. I extended the table to 20 inches wide so it would look more like a flag and just adjusted my other cuts to make it work. I built one for my Step-Mom and had to build another for my Mom after she saw how cute it was.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$25-$30
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Outdoor/Exterior paint + primer in red, white, and blue. I don't have the names in front of me right now to get the exact paint color name.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Restoration knock off shelf

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 11/22/2016 - 19:50

I modified the plans to fit my space. I needed a shorter wide shelf. This project was easy and fun. Turned out great

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Planters and bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 08/12/2020 - 04:42

Tall planter that we modified to hold our light post and the bench waiting on cushions. The bench is on the wide side of things and is heavy, but these are good things as we are tall people. The only thing we would change is the seat size maybe not so wide. Otherwise it was an easy and very affordable project.

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