Community Brag Posts

Rustic finish on Ana's Mini Farmhouse Bedside Table

My family of 6 needed and outdoor table that would fit us all. The weather in Arizona is beautiful right now, so I decided to build this so we could enjoy it before it gets too hot. A big thank you to Ana White and the Shanty2chic sisters for this beautiful table. 

I loved Ana's version of the coffee table but it was way too big for my space, so I scaled it down quite a bit and it fits perfectly!

This is a little bigger than the plan, especially in height.... leave it to me to make things WAY more complicated than they need to be! The trundle is made from 3/4" plywood, but the faux drawers are done with 1/4" plywood. Everything is pine. I wanted to have a nice dark warm cherry color for the finish, but it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted. I am still very proud of myself, but next time I'll use a better wood, like maple or cedar maybe. It's not perfectly square, so if I try to turn the trundle in the other way, it sticks a bit. I like that I can shove it against the wall and plop some pillows on it and turn it into a bench if I have people over.

rustic cedar farm house table.  8 foot x 4 foot

This table is made out of Solid Oak and took me +- 6 weeks to complete.

Thanks to Ana White for the plans as I followed them to the "t" with some minor changes in the size

Final size is 10ft long x 47 1/4 inch wide and 29 9/64 inches high

My first project using an Ana White plan and the first time using a Kreg jig (love that little blue thing!). The plan is pretty much straight forward. I had a great (but exhausitng) time building this bed for my 2 year old son. It was pretty easy and I did everything myself. Lowe's didn't cut my boards...I did! Bought a circular saw just for this project.

My only complaint is that 2'' wood screws are not on the posted "shopping list" and are needed for the side rails construction. It is listed in the step by step instructions, but if you are shopping for this don't forget to add this to your list of needed items. I got to the side rails and had to go back out for wood screws before I could add the cleats. Also, if I had to do this project over again, I would sand the plywood panels BEFORE constructing the head and foot boards. My reason being that I used wood stain. I've learned that plywood stains best when it is sanded to a smooth finish and pre-treated with wood conditioner. Once assembled, the slats on the head/foot boards make it impossible to sand the plywood with a power sander (too narrow). I had to manually sand between each slot...talk about tiring! No other glitches though! This was a fun project and the instructions were great and easy-to-follow.

I used Minwax water-based wood stain to finish my son's bed. I had it tinted at the paint desk to charcoal gray. In the store it looked very driftwoodish. However, it came out looking more blueish on the bed. I still like it though and my son loves it. I would wipe the stain on and keep it on no more than 20 seconds before wiping the excess off. I wanted the grain to show through really well and after many, many test pieces this seemed closest to what I was looking for.

In case anyone is interested, the striped fitted sheet, flat sheet and pillowcase are from Target (Target brand for $14.99 I think). The red, gray and black comforter are from Walmart.com (Style Lounge Reinforcements Grey/Multi comforter for $58). I had painted the room white with a fat black stripe shortly after moving into the house. I couple of years later we found out that we had my son on the way to we turned that room into the nursery. I primed part of the stripe and hand painted his first and middle name to overlap the stripe so that it all looked it was painted at the same time. The gray and black area rug was also from Walmart (we bought it in store about a year and a half ago...don't remember the style's name).

Thanks for looking!

I'm pretty happy with the way these chairs turned out.  It was a fun project as I did a few first, which included going to the fabric store (long waits) and got to tackle some upolstery for the first time!  I did end up with a few glue drops that did not take the stain, so I'll be researching tips and tricks to prevant that in the future!  

Also, I made these out of Popular, which pre stain was a must for cherry stain.  Next time, I would use Cherry!

Thanks to Joanne S for the original post and consults regarding the upolserty!!

Made two of these chairs for my little girls. The second one I managed to conceal all the screws too.

We were able to finish this table after work one afternoon and stain it the next day. (we have a 16 month old also, so you can do it! :) ) I wanted a similar style I had found at World Market that retailed for $700 we were able to complete this entire table for $100 including all hardware and stain. LOVE it so much and get SO many compliments on it. Thanks so much!

Shelby
The Dandy Lion

The first project I tackled from Ana White's wonderful plans was a building a sturdy work table for my miter saw that I bought at a garage sale for $25. I was using cinder blocks and plywood as a makeshift work table, and wanted an improvement on that as my first project. So, let the fun begin!

I started the project on Saturday after lunch, going to the lumber yard and picking up wood and screws for about $50. It's about the lumber limit I can haul in my Honda Civic, in the back seat, with the window open.

I followed the instructions, but found that the supports for the top were 13" not 12", and I had 3 2x4s left over (for future projects). I had some plywood in the shed, which I cut 16x40 to make a shelf. I only filled the screw holes on top with wood filler, so sawdust doesn't accumulate.

I finished the table before dinner time. The kids are getting me a bench vise for Mother's Day. Thanks kids!

On Sunday I started my second project, a tool box made out of a dowel and a 1x6 (see it on the ground in the second pic?). I cut the pieces first, then rounded the sides with the jig saw I bought at another garage sale for $3.

Everyone loves the toolbox! I plan on making one for my oldest son, and filling it with starter tools.

Added a little extra back rest. Made a double chair in the process of making a 3 cushion couch.