Community Brag Posts

Folding Work Bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/11/2020 - 16:03

First build.

The plans and cut list were a tad off but I made a saw guide a cut it down from 36 to 24 after assembled.

I had HD do all my cuts but have since done my own!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Not sure bought tools, wood and hardware at same time ($160)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
None
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Little Blue Bed

I used scrape wood for the headboard to save money. Wood cost approx $15, paint from oops section $3 and screws from my Kreg jig box set.

This was my first real project and I'm hooked.

Thanks Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Olympic One in Semi-Gloss Teeny Bikini
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Husky farmhouse table

Submitted by Dhoppe on Sun, 08/10/2014 - 20:11

My first DIY project that I built as a wedding present for my soon to be wife. Got my inspiration from Ana White's husky farmhouse table. I made the table a 4'x4' top and a counter height 36".

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$165
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax dark walnut base stain sanded, minwax classic gray stain, then paint and sand to finish the base. Table top is two coats of minwax classic gray with three coats of minwax fast drying polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Mid century dresser

Purchased a dwell studio mid century dresser, and only the legs arrived. The company let me keep the legs since the dresser was out of stock, but I had it in my head that I wanted that dresser so decided to replicate it! These were my first drawers ever and getting the inset spacing perfect was challenging but fun! 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax water based wipe on poly, American decor maxx gloss paint in white.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Patio Benches and Table

Followed Ana's plan and built two benches table. Pretty happy with the results.
Cost was about $250 including the paint which was $100.

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
BEHR MARQUEE Exterior Semi-Gloss. Two coats with sanding in between coats.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Collapsible Candle Display Stand

Submitted by ivyfamily5 on Sun, 07/28/2024 - 14:28

My teen is selling handcrafted candles at her first craft fair, and she needed a beautiful display. Ana White’s Cupcake stand was our inspiration. I added my own tweaks to make it come apart for easy transport. The shelves are tight enough to make it stable, but slide off with a little muscle. My favorite part was teaching my daughter to sand and stain.

 

Built from Plan(s)

Sweet pea bunk bed

My husband and his father-in-law made this bed together for our daughter. It took about 3 months working every other weekend. My father-in-law is an engineer and he modified the bed so we could more easily assemble and disassemble it to get it up the stairs and into her room. My mother in law painted it, added the flowers and made the roof shingles out of craft foam sheets.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

booksnotbombs

Wed, 08/13/2014 - 11:55

What a lucky daughter you have! How old is she? I'm 28, and I'd LOVE to have this bed! ;) You can tell a lot of work went into this and the details. Great job.

White Bunk Beds

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 11/29/2016 - 21:51

This was a pretty straightforward project. The building itself was simple and quick, although the sanding and paint took a while. I wish I had sanded before putting the boards together to make a cleaner look. The bolts had to be awkwardly close to the edge to avoid the 2x6s on the headboard and footboard, but it ended up working ok with some serious pre-drilling. I used 9 1x3 slats to create the platform for each mattress (18 total). It would probably be better with 12 so they are closer together. 

Overall, the bunk bed is super sturdy (and heavy!) and the kids LOVE it. 

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Custom DIY Guitars

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/02/2024 - 14:23

I’ve been making guitars and charcuterie boards to keep myself busy

Back Door Shelf and Coat Rack

Submitted by rjh2006 on Tue, 10/30/2012 - 13:26

We wanted something by the back door for our jackets and hats'n' mittens. This came out better than we thought!

Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Nightstands Per Daughter's Specifications From Ana's Plans

Submitted by pondrider on Mon, 08/18/2014 - 13:12

Our newlywed daughter was searching for nightstands for their new home. When we gave her a Daddy gift card for the Ana-White plans Nightstands she accepted as she would be able to decorate per specification and not because of some store color. She also received a superior product to what she was shopping.

Estimated Cost
Estimated cost for both is less than $75.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Painted per our daughter.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

pondrider

Wed, 08/20/2014 - 09:43

I wish I had figured out how to post it better with clear linkage to your plans and a better picture but our daugter is happy. The locker I built 4- 5 moves ago is a real success story.

Piano Desk

Submitted by Jonesey on Sat, 12/03/2016 - 15:55

Step 1

Getcha a FREE PIANO and some help to move that heavy sucker!  You can find these pretty easy on Craigslist.

Step 2

Get a hammer, pry bar and a sawzall and start taking this piano apart.  Make sure to wear safety glasses and gloves because those strings will pop you good if you're not careful.

Step 3

Sand down the pieces you are going to use.  If the piano has laminate on it leave it if at all possible.  If it's already curling up then you're going to want to invest in a power hand planer.

Step 4

Assemble the studio station according to your equipment you'll be using.

Step 5

Stain, Paint or just poleyurathane to your liking.

Step 6

Make some music!  You can buy my album on Itunes or wherever you download your music.  FYI!  There are 2 Jonesey's.  One uses profanity.  This is NOT me.  None of my music will ever have profanity in it.

Jonesey-My Favorite Day-EP https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/my-favorite-day-ep/id1087791540 

Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Gray Farmhouse Console Table

Submitted by boneill on Mon, 08/17/2020 - 18:56

Happy Fall Y’all. Love the Gray / White Farmhouse Colors. I can share the plans I modified for this build if anyone wants to build their own .

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Gray Stain, White Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

dheald

Sun, 09/06/2020 - 07:05

Hello! This looks great and it’s exactly what I’m looking for in an alternative build. Would you be willing to share the plans with me?

Thanks!

Seasonal And Holiday

In Drawer Knife Organizer

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/06/2024 - 10:53

Thank you for another amazing plan! I used another readers tip and notched some 1x2 with my table saw to add steak knife storage. I’m completely in love with this all-from-scrap, done-in-an-evening, organizer!

Andrea F.

Built from Plan(s)

Laundry Dresser

Submitted by rosiejane on Fri, 11/02/2012 - 23:32

Really happy with the final product and the hubby is glad I have finally finished a project. This project was an answer to the piles of washing crowding our small laundry. I found 3 sturdy family sized (huge) rectangular laundry baskets for $10ea at Kmart and then used Sketchup to adjust the plans to allow for the bigger baskets (Sketchup is so much fun to use). I ended up having to buy an extra piece of wood for the top because I forgot to allow for the thickness of the sides when measuring the top and base. (I know, I know, measure twice cut once...) I used the piece I had cut for the top as the base and then got a new piece for the top. When I finally got all the pieces cut to size it all went together pretty quickly. I used melamine for the box because it was cheap and I wouldn't have to paint it. It did chip a little bit along the edges when I cut it but it's not too bad. I used 30 x 30mm pine for the basket supports and had to countersink the screws 1cm so I could use 30mm screws. I used iron-on melamine edging to finish the exposed edges of chipboard and used paint on the back and supports. Actual construction didn't take long but the painting took about a day by the time I'd done one basecoat and two top-coats.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$40 (AUD) incl. screws. Already had the paint.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Dulux Prepcoat & Dulux Aquanamel White on back and basket supports. The rest was white melamine.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

rosiejane

Mon, 11/05/2012 - 01:06

Thanks for the feedback. I cut the melamine myself. I clamped a straight edge on top of the melamine (allowing for the distance from the edge of the saw to the blade) and then used my jigsaw to cut. My local bunnings didn't seem too interested in cutting specific sizes. They were happy to just cut lengths down so I can fit them in my car but said their saw could be inaccurate up to 10mm from one end of the cut to the other. (Personally I think the guy just couldn't be bothered) Since I wanted my project to be square I figured it was much easier to just do it myself.
With sketchup I just play around and learn as I go. I got the hang of it pretty quickly although I'm still figuring out some of the more complicated stuff like using the protractor tool to do angles etc.

Npledger

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 22:05

I love this. These baskets are very sturdy. Is there anyway you can post the measurements. I have never made anything but this looks perfect. I have never used sketch up. Please let me know if you are able to post the measurements. Thanks!

Adirondack Chair

Submitted by JD-LIN on Wed, 08/20/2014 - 11:14

This was my very first build by myself (besides cedar plank planters). I made this for my boyfriends daughter so she could have her own personalized chair to sit by the fire pit. I actually used the plans from Ana's Handbuilt Home book.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
32.00
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Olympic Paint in Florentine Pink
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

JD-LIN

Thu, 08/21/2014 - 08:38

I wouldn't mind at all. I just made a stencil out of an 8.5x11 piece of paper. The hardest part was hand painting it in. Brought back memories of coloring!

Modern wood dresser

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/08/2016 - 08:07

We didn't paint it, but I think it turned out well. We followed the plan almost exactly and it came out great!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Double Camp Loft bed

I used the plans from the Camp Loft bed and adjusted to exactly what I needed. Two twin beds in a small bedroom without losing any floor space. I found the slide on craigslist while I was building this and it made the best addition. I also added a shelf along the base of one bed for the boys to have a play table and adds stability to the base of the bed to keep it from rocking.

Estimated Cost
200-250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
I have not yet added the finish as I needed the beds up asap. I plan on spending a weekend when the kids are gone by simply adding a coat of poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Lois (not verified)

Mon, 11/05/2012 - 17:38

Great Bed! Can I get the plans the way that they were modified? I am a beginner and definately need the step by step plans. This would be great for my nephew's!

Raye Lin (not verified)

Wed, 11/07/2012 - 14:09

I just made the first bed as the plans had. Instead of doing the stairs I just did an extra 2x4 across the legs so they can get up onto the platform. For the 2nd bed I followed the same instructions as the first but only doing one end and the rails (made a giant L) then flipped and screwed right into the side of the other bed. I used pocket holes all around so it went together very quickly.

Natali (not verified)

Wed, 11/07/2012 - 20:57

I really like this bed!my boys will love it! I am a beginner can I please get the plans and tell me how to make the bed with 5 feet high for more space
It will be my first time I can't wait. Thank you !

theprovocative…

Mon, 06/24/2013 - 10:36

I have scoured the web for this loft for my two youngest girls! As I am terribly untalented at drawing up plans PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP make your adjusted plans available? I have until the end of next month to build this for my princesses birthday and I'm more than a touch frazzled that I cannot find these plans anywhere. Take pity on the less talented and please post your plans? Or email them? [email protected]

Thank a ton in advance!

SuperDaddy4

Mon, 12/08/2014 - 13:48

Great work with the modifications! Can you please share the new plans for the changes you made or let me know what exactly that you did to achieve the finished results. Thanks in advanced!

SuperDaddy4

Mon, 12/08/2014 - 13:48

Great work with the modifications! Can you please share the new plans for the changes you made or let me know what exactly that you did to achieve the finished results. Thanks in advanced!

mideastmom

Thu, 06/30/2016 - 20:16

I know it's been a while, but if you would share your finished plans, that would be great. We have the original camp loft, bought from someone else who built it, and we'd like to modify it to be an L-shape loft.

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