Community Brag Posts

IGBuilders Challenge Bailey Console

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 07/22/2016 - 06:31

My entry into the IG Builders Challenge. Modified the Ana White Bailey Console a few ways. Instead of 2 large drawers, I installed 2 doors on each end, with 2 drawers in the middle. Century old barn wood used throughout. The legs are reclaimed oak floor joists, front stretchers are oak, rear stretchers are poplar. Heart pine planks users as door and drawers fronts. Heart pine front the same barn used as the top as well. Barnwood skins used on each end and the middle of the backside. Reclaimed shutters were used on the door compartment bottoms, and the rear.  I may eventually add a lower shelf with some of the leftover poplar and barnwood skins at a later date. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$85
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax polycrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Fancy Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by aennali on Sat, 07/07/2012 - 00:08

This bed has been a true labour of love over the last few months!

I made all cuts with a hand saw, and mainly used a kreg jig to assemble the bed.

The 'insert' in the headboard is made from macrocarpa window trim and tongue-and-groove panelling, which was leftover from when my parents built their house. The rest I bought from a local supplier as rough sawn timber, which I got dressed by a woodworking guy who lives nearby. Had I bought all the timber I used, the cost would have been closer to $400.

I didn't add the moulding that is included in the plan - it's just my preference.

It took a bit of work to convert Ana's plans into metric measurements, but I got there in the end! I love my bed

Estimated Cost
NZD$300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
I started with 2 coats of Danish Oil. After deciding I wanted a deeper colour, I applied one coat of Briwax furniture wax, in Rimu, with super-fine steel wool.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Debi_G (not verified)

Sat, 07/07/2012 - 05:36

Your bed is fantastic! Love everything from the clean style to the finish. Congrats!

From Scrap to Sweet!

Submitted by Jake on Wed, 04/23/2014 - 11:12

A friend wanted a small box for her cosmetics. She gave me the dimensions of her present container but my mind and my saws envisioned a different end. My only promise was that she would get three drawers. To keep cost low I used only scrap lumber I found around the garage. I added oak dowels for strength and decoration.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Finished only with a lot of sanding, two coats of Danish oil, and two coats of poly. Also once it was completely dry a coating of Johnson's paste wax.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

booksnotbombs

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:51

I happened across your profile this morning, and I've spent a good part of the afternoon looking through your projects, as you've posted more brag posts than most people I've seen on Ana's website. I loved seeing all your projects and experimentation! Your sense of humor doesn't hurt, either. :) Keep it up, and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.

Jake

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 14:32

Over the past four years I have learned a lot. The most important lessons are experiment and don't let the frequent screw ups get you down. Lately I have been concentrating on learning to weave seats (reed and rush), build small boxes, and turning wood. Today was terrible. Nice bowl blank I cut from a Hackberry log turned out to have cracks and a really nice scoop built up of poplar and walnut broke into two flying pieces when my gouge caught at 1200 RPM. Only thing to do is start over and hope you learned something.

If you are new to woodworking check for square at every opportunity and be safe. Accidents happen in milliseconds.

I HEART Ana White Outdoor Chaise

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/24/2016 - 19:57

THANK YOU ANA FOR ALL THE GREAT PLANS!!

 

I am in southern california (mild weather) so i just used pine and coated them with urethane. 

Estimated Cost
$60 each
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Urethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse Table & Benches

This was my first time building a piece of furniture on my own, so it was a lot of learning and trial and error on my part. The plans were fantastic for the most part (I thought the bench plans could have used a little more specification and couldn't seem to find a pocket hole version). We completed the project over the course of a couple months, simply because we revisited it when time allowed. It could easily be done in a much shorter period. One thing I will say is this -- add a step to the plans and utilize a planer and jointer on all of the boards. I had the table put together at one point and whew, I wasn't sure what I did wrong, and I went back and had followed all the steps. While this might sound obvious now, remember it was my first time doing something like this, so I followed each step to a T. I also used a belt sander on the table and bench tops to level things out even more, and went across the grain to make a smooth surface with an 80 grit belt, then hand sanded with a sanding block with 120, 220, and 320 grit. I also modified the bench plans to cut about 5 inches off so that they would fit under the table.
We used Minwax pre-stain conditioner, then one 10 minute application of Mixwax Honey stain, followed by Mixwax Satin Poly. It turned out great and we are already moving on to other projects!

Estimated Cost
About $400 inclusive of lumber, stain, poly, and sanding.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Pre-Stain Conditioner
Mixwax Honey (10 minutes then wipe off)
Mixway Satin Poly (3 coats, sand with 600 grit after coat 1, 800 grit after coat 2).
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Workbench and Hutch with modifications

I decided to do some modifications to the original plans to make it more like the Pottery Barn original. I made the legs 4x4s like the original, as well as the horizontal bases of the legs. The major change that this entailed was in the bottom shelf. I notched the edges of the 1x12 so that it would fit flush, then connected it to the legs with pocket screws. The lowered ledge on the table top is two 2x4s on the bottom, a 2x4 on the front and back, and a 2x6 cut to size for the ends. I then attached it using pocket screws on the front, and just 2.5 inch screws from the back. The rest is pretty much the same as the plans. For the back of the hutch, I used 1x4 carsiding to give it a more finished look. It only cost a couple cents more for each 8 foot piece.

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax wipe on poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Getting Started, slow on posting

Submitted by pondrider on Fri, 04/25/2014 - 09:42

Thanks to our daughter who gave me plans from Pintrest for the popular locker. This is my first project in a long time. It has been followed by a few projects which have been inspired by plans or skills from the site.

Thanks

Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

My first real project

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/26/2016 - 12:56

I started woodworking about 6 month ago and I love it! 

I made our kitchen table and nightstands.

 

This was a real test! The drawers took as long as the frame, if not longer.

It's all worth it when it turns out this good though!

 

Thank you for all the wonderful plans, my wife practially has all the furniture in our house in line to built by me. 

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Jacobean
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Chaise Lounge Chair

Submitted by dsipe on Mon, 05/18/2020 - 13:34

This took way longer than anticipated. I didn’t account for how much time would go into sanding, priming and painting the wood. Also, the plans were changed to use 2x6’s but didn’t take that into account for the stop block. Still trying to figure that part out when fully reclined. Other than that, it turned out really good.

Estimated Cost
$65
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Small Day bed

My niece is here for the summer! We needed a guest bed fast, that didn't take up an entire room! She chose this day bed!

Her bed is in the computer room, so there isn't enough room for a twin size bed. I modified the plans to fit a standard crib mattress. Now, when she isn't using the day bed, it doubles as a lounging spot to read. It is soooo cute!

For the storage baskets, I cut shipping boxes to size and mod podged fabric to them, and added some cute little knobs.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Early American by Rustoleum followed by 2 coats of satin poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Sam's New Loft Bed

Submitted by blouden on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 23:18

Built my daughter the day bed, and my son needed his own bed. But with a 2 bedroom house they have to share a room for now. So I seen the loft bed and well this is what I came up with. I stained it cherry, and routed the edges to give it a little touch.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Cherry Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

TommyHawk

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 07:57

This looks great! I like the way you kept it simple yet more rustic type appeal without adding the top board (laying flat).

TommyHawk

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 07:57

This looks great! I like the way you kept it simple yet more rustic type appeal without adding the top board (laying flat).

Twin Panel Bed

Submitted by Luckysme on Thu, 05/01/2014 - 12:45

Thank you so much for these awesome plans. When I saw the original twin panel bed, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to build for my two daughters. I love super high head boards, and these are exactly that. I am in love. I did make some changes to the plan. I went with taller side rails, and used metal bed rail brackets. The brackets were super important. We move every few years being in the military, and I wanted something that would with-stand time and moves. I am also quite impressed how solid these beds are. I could never find anything this amazing in a store. I would also like to thank my husband for his help. It was our first build, but definitely not our last. Thank you!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
200 per bed.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
I used Annie Sloan Chalk paint. Paris Grey, and Old White. First I Clear waxed it, then finished it with a dark wax. This gave it more dimension.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

spiceylg

Thu, 05/01/2014 - 18:02

These came out beautiful and especially for a first build! Seriously impressive. Love the whole ensemble. Really pretty.

Danib

Wed, 06/11/2014 - 13:31

This bed is beautiful. You did a wonderful job on it. Could you please tell me where you got the big base molding for the inside of the headboard and footboard? Would love to try this for my granddaughter.

In reply to by Danib

Luckysme

Wed, 06/11/2014 - 17:27

Thank you for your very nice comments:
Here is some info, let me know if I can help further more.

This is what we used for the base molding and the headboard molding at the top. http://www.homedepot.com/p/House-of-Fara-5-8-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-MDF-Base-…

For the the inner molding we used two pieces of molding: This is the style (link below) we used, but ours was a little bigger, 5 1/4 inches. Couldn't find it on the home depot website, but this is exactly the same style.

The addition molding below is a finishing molding that we had to use since the above molding was not flush to the back board. It finished really nice. Glad we added this addition dimension. You can easily skip using it with different "above" molding.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/American-Wood-Moulding-LWM47-9-16-in-x-4-1-4…

http://www.homedepot.com/p/American-Wood-Moulding-WM100-11-16-in-x-11-1…

For the side rails we also used 10 inch boards. I thought it made the bed look more proportioned. I will add additional pics of the molding, so re-check pictures. Again, let me know if you have further questions.

In reply to by Danib

Luckysme

Wed, 06/11/2014 - 17:27

Thank you for your very nice comments:
Here is some info, let me know if I can help further more.

This is what we used for the base molding and the headboard molding at the top. http://www.homedepot.com/p/House-of-Fara-5-8-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-MDF-Base-…

For the the inner molding we used two pieces of molding: This is the style (link below) we used, but ours was a little bigger, 5 1/4 inches. Couldn't find it on the home depot website, but this is exactly the same style.

The addition molding below is a finishing molding that we had to use since the above molding was not flush to the back board. It finished really nice. Glad we added this addition dimension. You can easily skip using it with different "above" molding.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/American-Wood-Moulding-LWM47-9-16-in-x-4-1-4…

http://www.homedepot.com/p/American-Wood-Moulding-WM100-11-16-in-x-11-1…

For the side rails we also used 10 inch boards. I thought it made the bed look more proportioned. I will add additional pics of the molding, so re-check pictures. Again, let me know if you have further questions.

Farmhouse storage platform bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/23/2020 - 20:01

Fellow Alaskan here!
Wood and screw Materials costed $320
The metal storage buckets are outdoor drink buckets from Home Depot $200 for 8 of them!

There are 4 storage buckets on each side! We took this from your farmhouse plan and altered it for king size. And in after thought he made a baby co-sleeper to match, 30$ to make!

Estimated Cost
$550
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Weather gray stain
Watered down white paint
Poly on top!
Corrugated rusted metal is restored from a local barn that was getting torn down.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

DIY Wooden Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/05/2024 - 08:36

We needed a solid queen-size bed for our rental cottage, and Ana White had the perfect plans! Easy to follow, fun to make and such a beautiful big solid bed! We are so proud of ourselves. I can't believe we made this! I am really looking forward to my next project. Thank you Ana!

Built from Plan(s)
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