Community Brag Posts

I made this hanging outdoor bed for our screened in porch using Ana's plans. This was one of the first things I've built, and the plans were very easy to follow. I wanted all of the outside trim to be decorative but it was much more expensive, so I settled for just the top piece. I love this web site and am about to tackle the Board and Batten project. Thanks Ana!!

My husband and I built this as our first project & are thrilled with the way it turned out! We shortened it to 44" to fit our space. It took us a few hours but we got the Kreg Jig working the first try (though on a current project it is giving us some headaches). We really enjoyed building this on a rainy Saturday and received many compliments after posting the finished project on facebook. Looking forward to our next project - thanks so much for all your tutorials Ana & other submitters!

My wife wanted a hutch to store her canner and supplies in. We searched online for hutches and Hoosier cabinets and they were anywhere from $1200-$2000!!. That's when I said "I can build that". I sat down and custom designed on CAD and started my build. I was able to find the butcher block top at Lowes for $50!!.  It took me about 3 weeks to build it in my spare time. I had to special order some of the hardware because I could not find what I wanted locally. I had a lot of fun building it. On to my next project!!

I needed new bedside tables to replace mine that were falling apart. I love the whole Stratton line at PB. I wanted to make something similar, but a bit more sturdy.

So, I made this table with a much more solid bottom shelf and a deep drawer with a full face to mimic the sides and the back panels.

The design for this feeder came from Ana's raised feeder as well and the people who have made these feeders with tile. I had a lot of fun making this and I love how it turned out! I can see how they would be addicting to make. I constructed the wooden base (I just eyeballed how long to make it and how tall to make the legs based on the size of my bowls). I nailed hardibacker to the wooden top and applied the tile with thin set and mortar. This feeder is for my bigger dog, so disregard my small dogs checking it out:) The grout was a dark tan color before it dried, and I really like the color it ended up being. I bought the tile and grout from the habitat from humanity store, which had a big selection of miscellaneous tiles for basically free! Fun project!

I needed a wider bookshelf with doors, to hide all my DVD's. I was able to make a mod of the original design and added panel doors to complete. This took a little longer than expected, as I ran into a complication with my original door plan. Once I found the panel door plan it all came together.

Helped to complete the patio

easy to follow instructions. I work in a hardwood sawmill as a sawfiler. I get a lot of wood from the mill. I bought a kreg pocket hole jig for the first time. Building the doors was easy. I'll never use mortise and tenon joints on small doors again. The door ornaments came from Lowes

We altered the width of the tables to make them fit in our living room, but kept everything else the same. They turned out great!

Modified the plans for the rustic x console to fit in my kitchen. This was my first furniture making adventure, but end product was worth it, even if not perfect. Final product is 41inches by 25 inches and is 36.5 inches tall. I used shiplap for the top, over leftover 3/4 inch birch plywood. 

First furniture project.  Storage table for my daughter and her husband.

I was so excited to start the Queen storage bed - but then I had all that lumber and the cuts weren't perfect, and my measuring skills need work, and I don't fit into 12 x 18" spaces, and my vision isn't great to begin with and I certainly can't see into those dark, dark spaces!
But, in the end, I had fun, and the drawers work, the finish turned out well, I still have all my fingers, my bruises are about gone (2 weeks later, for goodness sake!) and, most important, my son and his wife say it looks great, is sturdy, and the drawers work! Whew!
Next month I'm doing the twin sized version for my daughter - and no drawers, yeah!

Made a couple modifications:

• Used 4x4 for the cross beams instead of 2x4. 
• Used 4x4 anywhere there were (2) 2x4s together. 
• Used a dowel jig to attach the (4) 45 degree pieces on each post
• Sanded down the table top until the seams disappeared.  Thank you, belt sander!

That last bullet was super-important to the Mrs.  She was adamant that the table should not have spaces in between the boards, yet she did not want any seams for crumbs to collect.  The result was that I had to sand down the table top about an eighth of an inch... but the seams disappeared.

Also, we initially used Ebony stain... until we realized it was too dark.  Sanded that down a bit, then went over top with the Kona stain.  Result was a dark brown with some black detailing.  Finished with some minwax wipe-on poly.  Turned out really nice!

Thank you, Ana - This project was a ton of fun, challenging, and ultimately, very rewarding!

Made a 4 foot version of the farmhouse bench. I also used 4x4s for the legs instead of 2x4s. They work great, just makes the bench a little heavy. 

This was my very first Ana project. It probably took me three times as long as it would take anyone with any experience. That said, we love it! I have since made two more for friends! No need to look too close, there are plenty of mistakes.

I made the Restoration Hardware couch and deck chair. I got really nice Sunbrella material cushions for $60 each at HD. I wanted to make a matching coffee table. I just threw it together. It's a little "jacked up".