Community Brag Posts

Pinkpinkpink sandbox

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 03/23/2019 - 11:26

I let my kindergartener  choose the color, so we have a pink sandbox! I live that this has a full lid, as the sand generated a lot of interest from our chickens! Plan egg followed as written, with a few minor detail changes, love it! Note, 320 pounds of sand was a just right amount for this sandbox!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
50, but I used heavy gate fixtures and expensive exterior paint and an additional finish, it could be made for less.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr satin finish exterior in high maintenance pink
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

My first build - storage daybed!

Submitted by lbadger on Tue, 10/25/2011 - 06:50

I finally did it! I purchased mattresses for our two girls (2 & 4) which have been just sitting on the floor for a while. Wanting to build some simple frames just to get them off the floor I ran across Ana's site. Oh boy! This site is amazing! We have a small house with very little storage so when I saw the storage daybeds I was smitten! The extent of my power tool comfort zone is dimensional lumber and a compound miter saw. Not plywood and definitely not the table saw, so I was a little leery about starting this project. In the end, I tackled it and am so glad I did! Even used the circular saw! Full disclosure, there's probably nothing square about the thing (see additional photos), but like mulch in your garden, trim covers a multitude of sins! I learned a lot and will take my time measuring and squaring for the next one. Also, as some readers commented, I would prime and do at least one coat of paint prior to assembly (that part was definitely time consuming). I also wanted the storage to go all the way back to the wall so I didn't include the center piece of plywood but instead trimmed down a 2x4 to a ~2.5" width and glue/screwed in into the plywood at the top center under the top piece. So far so good! On the finish, I wanted a distressed finish and started using a dark walnut stain but did not like how much it adhered to the paint as well as the sanded down edges. When I picked my daughter up from pre-school that day they had been doing flower rub pictures. I saw that the centers of the black-eyed susan’s and cone flowers came out a beautiful brown color. So when I got home my daughter and I went out and cut some old flower stems and we finished the other two cubby cubes that way. I think it turned out really well! I didn't end up top coating it with anything, I liked the scuffed up paint look. A big THANK YOU to Ana for doing all this work so we can too!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$135
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Benjamin Moore Smoke and Dark Walnut stain for distressed finish on one cube which was replaced with the centers from our black-eyed susans and cone flowers.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse Bedside Table

Submitted by Amanda G on Sat, 10/19/2013 - 07:39

After finishing the farmhouse queen bed, I was eager to start another project. I needed bedside tables and I came across plans for the mini farmhouse bedside tables. After the building the first one, the second one went much quicker. Very happy with the results :)

Estimated Cost
$50.00
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
White paint, top and bottom shelf are stained with Minwax Special Walnut and sanded edges and corners to look a bit aged. Finished with 3 coats of Minwax polycrylic, sanding between coats.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

mom of 4

Tue, 10/22/2013 - 09:21

Really nice work on the bed and the tables. I love the look with white legs and stained top/shelf.

In reply to by mom of 4

Amanda G

Wed, 10/23/2013 - 19:34

I was very happy with the way they turned out. I just finished a storage bench with the white bottom and stained top, I'll post pictures when I get a chance :)

Sliding Barn Door Media Cabinet

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/05/2016 - 10:27

Thank you so much for the plans! Very excited for how it turned out!

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

Comments

Tracyjoe

Sat, 01/06/2018 - 18:52

I have built the cabinet part of the sliding barn door cabinet. I am trying to build the doors out of the 1/2” plywood for the back as suggested. The plywood is warping and I am not sure what options I have to salvage the plywood.

Apartment Perfect Dinng set

Submitted by Tbacks on Sat, 03/30/2019 - 19:17

We modified the farmhouse table and bench to make a table for our daughters apartment. We made the table 54” long which turned out to be the perfect size for the apartments dining room space.  You may also notice we built a dog bowl table to match the farmhouse table style.  Love the design!

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Off-white paint wash bases with a weathered wood treatment for table, bench and chair tops
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Reclaimed Wood Headboard (air quotes)

Submitted by AlexWS on Mon, 10/31/2011 - 11:07

OK, first off this is not in any way, shape or form the Ana White plan for the Reclaimed Wood Headboard. However, I had to include a plan link and it IS a headboard made with reclaimed wood. So yea, air quotes. Second, I apologize for the poor quality photos of my recent brag posts. The digital camera is gone so these are iPhone specials. On with it now. This is my quick and dirty way of making a headboard, and kind of cheating. All you're looking at in these photos is some 2X3s and 2X4s around an old door to the root cellar in my basement. That's right, for once my main source of building material was not a pallet. As I took the door off the old rusty hinges and cleaned off the dust and cobwebs it occurred to me that this was probably original to the house from 1920. With that kind of history in mind the only thing I could do was take a saw to it and hack off 18 inches, oops. The 2X3 posts on the side were actually supports for a shelf that was made from a door(more on that to come). That shelf was actually found in the root cellar the door was for, this house has been pretty beneficial to me so far. The 2X4 top is from a pallet and aside from a 2X6 at the bottom to attach it to the bed, that's it. After that it was simply a matter of some oops paint on the trim(that would be the red) and a bit of sanding once it dried. The white is simply the condition the door was in.

Estimated Cost
Free
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Oops paint and a quick sanding for the trim, years of aging for the main portion.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

debandtom25

Thu, 11/10/2011 - 06:53

Totally attaching this to my Pinterst acct. I love when items are re-purposed and you did a fab job here!

Small Table

I made this little table for my sister-in-law. She needed a specific size to fit in between some bookshelves. She is going to put a lovely fish bowl on top. It cost me about $10 for the wood and paint. I modified Ana's plans for the "simple, cheap and easy console table" to fit the space.

Estimated Cost
$5 for lumber, about $10 total with other materials.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
I used Rustoleum Gloss Black paint/primer in one. Then I used minwax polycrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse Table soon to be desk

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/07/2016 - 06:32

I built a narrower version of the farmhouse table with a few modifications to be used as a temporary dining table, and eventual home schooling desk. I used 5/4 boards for the top and for the apron in order to get a smooth top and have a beefier support. I used a 4x4 for the cross brace with a half-lap to give more support to the stretcher and to stabilize the legs.

Estimated Cost
Under $100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
A 50/50 mix of Minwax Provincial and Ipswich Pine, with two coats on the top and apron and only one on the legs. In the post it shows how much darker the legs were after the first coat of stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Printer Stand

I designed this Printer Stand in a style to match the Easy Three Cube Benches I had already created for my craft room.  I built the box out of whiteboard plywood and used good pine 1x2s for the legs and trim.  I added doors made from trim, luaun and sheet metal.  I thought it would be cool to have the doors be magnetic and also chalkboard.  I cut out the door inserts from luaun, then bought an inexpensive piece of galvanized sheet metal, cut the sheet metal to the size of the luaun and glue it on.  Then painted it with chalkboard paint and glued them into the frames.  This project only took a day to build the basic box with trim.  The doors took a little longer, and it took about a week to get it sanded and painted.

Estimated Cost
$50-$75
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar Furniture Paint in Ultra White
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Benjamin's Deck Chair

Built this for my 2 yr old son. It's adorable!
The only trouble we have is that when he climbs in it wants to tip forward, a weight or stake into the ground on the back cross brace would probably solve it.

Estimated Cost
Scraps!
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

A Lovely Pair of Planters with Finials

Submitted by Shelly2215 on Fri, 10/25/2013 - 05:46

I wanted a fairly simple project to get started with, something I could make use of around my home and to help me get familiar with my new power tools - well, this project did the job nicely!
I'm extremely happy with the way the planters turned out and have already had other people asking me about them as they would like some too.
These planters worked out fairly expensive for me as the materials were extremely good quality and very heavy duty in size, I think I could get away with using slightly less robust materials to bring the costs down next time.
I had difficulty finding finials for the planters so I used some wooden turned eggs that I already had from my collection of pyrography blanks.
I can't wait for my next project now which will be a little more ambitious. I absolutely love Ana's website and can't wait to see what else I can make.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
£80 a pair (UK)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Black Ash exterior wood paint from Culprinol.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

4x4 truss beam table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/07/2016 - 22:01

Great instructions, easy weekend build. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Stain finish with hand rubbed wax sealer
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Fancy Jewelry Box built by my daughter and me

Submitted by wowmom_cs on Tue, 05/07/2019 - 09:25

My 10 year old daughter is always creating. She recently decided that she wanted to do a woodworking project with me. We started by searching online for a design that looked doable and came up with the Fancy Jewelry Box from the Ana White website.

We decided that using the full thickness of 1x stock gave the piece a bit more of a clunky look than we were after. And since I have a thickness plainer, we milled our stock down to just under 1/2”. But that meant that we had to rework many of the measurements on the plan. This also made the drawers deeper and wider. Which is nice. A happy mistake happened when, while rough cutting the individual pieces before milling them down, I inadvertently cut the pieces between the drawers too narrow. We ended up turning them 90 degrees which allowed them to fit. This is why you see the end grain on those pieces. But we like it.

We also altered the plan a bit so that the edges of the plywood on the faces of the drawers and doors do not show. We added a nice border to the top of the box with a curved router bit. We lined the drawers with felt and then added some dividers here and there using some scraps of oak which we sawed thin with a bandsaw.

The original plan was to paint the box, as opposed to staining it. It wasn't until after I had nailed on the top and the drawer fronts that my daughter decided she wanted to stain it. That's why you can see those nail holes!

We had such fun making this Jewelry box. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
I don't remember. Not much.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Stain and water based polyurethane. We used 2 coats of poly "sanding" it between coats with fine steel wool.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Bunk Beds

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/03/2023 - 13:34

Built these bunk beds from Ana’s plans as my first build. I had to modify a bit but my 8 years old love it! We have a boy girl twin so very fitting they can modify their area as much as they want.
These are beds from Pottery Barn style. Cost us about $700 per bed to build, minus the mattress. These are very sturdy and they have been sleeping in them for about a year and a half, no issues.

Comments

Bella's bed

Submitted by EmuJane on Sun, 11/13/2011 - 15:25

Since my daughter loves to climb and was starting to get a gleam in her eye when it was time to get up from her naps, the time had come to give her a big girl bed. I'm not ready for her to be in the twin bed that we have because it's so high off the ground, so the toddler farmhouse bed is perfect for her. We did have to edit the plans for our crib mattress

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$70.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax water-based stain in Vermont Maple, 2 coats Minwax Polycrylic, final coat of paste wax
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Ana White

Thu, 11/17/2011 - 01:02

So sorry for the tech problems. I can't wait to see your toddler farmhouse bed! If you send me images I will upload to the post. Thank you so much for taking your time to submit a brag post. Ana

Knockoffwood(at)gmail.com

Angie Overton

Sun, 04/14/2013 - 12:19

I've been looking to make a toddler bed for a friend and this is the perfect one. I like the headboard without the arch and I too need to be able to fit a crib mattress in it. Would you happen to have the dimensions that are needed for it to fit a crib mattress?

X-Large Dog Crate

Submitted by Sanna on Sat, 10/26/2013 - 21:19

Found these plans for the dog crate and decided to build one for my large Rottweiler. It's large and tall enough for him to stand in (29"W x 41"L x 32.5"H). It didn't take long to cut and put all the pieces together, the longest part was staining the top and putting the urethane coating on it. The cost was really reasonable, I purchased the wood, used paint and stain I already had from previous projects. I plan on building more projects soon.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Black spray paint on body and Maroon latex paint for accent panels. Stained the top.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

AllegraYazz

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 03:22

I would like to build the X large kennel for my dog.
is it possible to have the measurements for the X large version.
the large version is not big enough for my sweetie.

thank you so much

AllegraYazz

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 03:22

I would like to build the X large kennel for my dog.
is it possible to have the measurements for the X large version.
the large version is not big enough for my sweetie.

thank you so much

Fancy X Farmhouse Table

Submitted by rjgold on Fri, 05/10/2019 - 11:17

While mine is not as good as some of these projects I am pretty proud of it.   

I came some 12"x1"x18' (Actual size) redwood planks that were removed from the roof of a building here in town, built in 1876.  Essentially these were milled over 125 years ago.   You can still see the the blade marks.   I did not want to shorten the planks too much so I built this table, just made two frames.  I used rough redwood 2x4 and 2x6  for the frame.  I made it a little taller.

Its the highlight of the back yard, we have dinners out there regularly now

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$40 (I did not have to buy the top planks)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
thompsons wood sealer
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Boot Room Before and After

Got bored, built a boot room! Thank you Ana White for the plans!

Comments