Community Brag Posts

Easter Baskets for the grandkids.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 04/15/2017 - 13:37

Great idea for a quick project and it'll definitely make the grandkids happy.

Estimated Cost
Cheap.....you could you any scraps you have lying around.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Spray Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Vegetable Bin

Hand-made vegetable cupboard. Fun and easy project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$75
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Provincial
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

4x4 Truss Beam Table

My wife and I built the 4x4 Truss Beam Table and 4x4 Truss Bench.  We used Rustoleum Dark Walnut Stain and Satin Polyurethane.  The only difference from the plans jointing the edges.  We didn't like how simply screwing the 2x10s together left cracks due to the rounded edges.  We ran the 2x10s (and 2x8s for the bench) through the jointer 3 times on each edge.  This eliminated the cracks for a nice smooth table top finish.  We distressed it with a hammer, screws and a file, then put one coat of stain and 3 coats of poly on it.  We bough IKEA chairs.  My wife reupholstered the smaller chairs and made the covers for the end chairs.  Enjoy!

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Dark Walnut and Satin Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

HawgDriver43

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 16:13

Thanks! We just used #2 yellow pine for the 4x4s, the 2x10s for the table top, and the 2x8s for the bench top. This is just the standard construction type material. The only place we could find non-pressure treated 4x4s in our local area was Lowes. Hope this helps!

4x4 truss beam table

Submitted by mpkerling on Mon, 07/26/2021 - 12:20

A quality table big enough for the whole family without costing a fortune! I was able to tailor this to be the perfect size for our family’s house in the country.

Built from Plan(s)
Finish Used
50% special walnut, 50% classic grey

Comments

4x4 Truss Beam Table

This is my 2nd table built from plans on the site. I built the pocket hole farm table originally and our family used it for 2 years and then I sold it to another family to enjoy! I built this one a full foot longer and used a 2×10 in the center to widen it. We host large gatherings so I wanted the additional space. The dark walnut came out beautiful if darker than the plan table. We love it!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Painter's Ladder Shelf for Back Yard

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/04/2021 - 11:49

I came up with the idea of having something on my back porch to hold all my outdoor stuff.... things I wanted handy, like Pool Towels, Gardening tools and gloves, Sunscreen and Bug Spray. I started looking around for something to buy and finally decided to look for something to build. I was looking on the HGTV website when I found this and thought it was perfect. I'm not sure what exactly made me take it one-step further, but I found a small link embedded in the article and I clicked on it, and a love affair was born. I found the Ana-White website with tons and tons and tons of plans to make all the things I've dreamed about making. So, I signed up, printed the plans and got to work. First time I have built from plans and had to work slowly and not rush to complete it the same day. Snuck away in the evening, after dinner and cleanup, and spent about an hour a night in the garage with the heat and the mosquitos. BTW, tucking dryer sheets in your clothing does really keep the critters at bay. And here is the finished product .... doing exactly what I had planned and fitting perfectly in the location I wanted. On to the next project..... I have several printed out and haven't decided which to start on..... Is it the toy box for my son's toys that scatter around the living room.... or the queen-sized Farmhouse bed for my daughter who has been begging for more sleep room. Or the bookshelves for my room..... So may choices.... and I love that about this webiste.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Picnic Table

Submitted by Medickep on Mon, 05/06/2013 - 07:39

My wife started looking at expensive patio sets, which I thought were not worth the price, so I decided to build a picnic table. This is not the cheapest table out there, but it's built to last for years!! I used a high quality cedar as I got a price cut from a friend. I also used deck screws, so there would be no rusty screws!! The table top measures 7' long and looks like one you would see at a state park, notHome Depot!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Cabot Australian Timber oil: For this project I went with an oil project so I wouldn't have to sand it every year, like so many in my area with their decks. With this product, you simply clean the table and reapply!!
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Medickep

Thu, 09/05/2013 - 13:04

Thank your hanks for the kind words! This was my first real project and I was pleased with the results!

Gerry Czerniawski

Thu, 08/25/2016 - 09:48

Really like the picnic table - do you have plans for this? (I'm new to this site so apologies if they are here but I just could not see where?).

best wishes

Gerry

Adirondack chair

Easy and fun. Don't worry yourself over the angle on the left side of the stringer. The 15 degree one matters, the other, not so much. Buy an extra 1x4 unless you want to spend a pile of time figuring out how to cut them to maximize the space!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$35
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
None yet.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Tilt Out Garbage Bin

Submitted by stephie_00 on Thu, 04/23/2015 - 19:16

Modified the plan to use pallet wood and stained it classic grey for a weathered look.

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Min wax Classic Gray oil-based stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Post Office / Bank

I used Ana's Library Base Plan and modified it slightly to include cubby holes on the bottom and an acrylic "window" at the top to create a post office for my daughter. This now also gets used as a "bank" and a "fast food window"! Lots of fun!!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint, Stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Adirondack Chair

Submitted by nateDuncan on Mon, 06/03/2013 - 12:10

I had built a few of these chairs a year and a half ago similar to the red ones that you have on the step by step instructions. That was my first time at customer building and painting anything. Needless to say, my skills have improved over time.

So, I wanted to build this chair for my dad for fathers day. He had an old plastic Adirondack chair sitting in his backyard that was really gross. I wanted to replace it with something nice. So he is obviously a UK fan and I wanted to see if I could paint the logo on correctly while also giving myself the opportunity to build something and see if I can make this chair a lot better than the ones I had previously built.

So I decided to curve the back of the chair and curve the ends of the arms. I recently got a nice dewalt random orbital sander which helped out alot in getting it nice and smooth. I made my own wood putty using the leftover sawdust and glue mixed together. I also fastened the wood together using glue and polymer coated screws. Which are supposed to last alot longer than regular wood screws when using pressure treated pine.

I took my time to make sure the pieces were all square when assembled which was better than previous building projects. Also, as far as finishing the chair, I primed it and then put 3 layers of the Kentucky blue Outdoor paint with a brush (which seems like it took forever). I made the stencil by just printing the logo on a piece of cardstock paper. Then I cut out the logo with a razor, then I wrapped the paper in duct tape to make the stencil it a little stronger and to fix the areas that ripped when cutting the card stock paper. Then I cut out the duct tape where the logo is. I made a couple of test paints using the stencil on some scrap to make sure my technique was good. Then once I felt comfortable, I painted 4 coats of very thin paint on the chair where the logo is. After all was dry, I did a light by hand sanding to make it smooth and then sprayed some clear coat on it for an extra level of protection and to make it shine a little.

It was a fun project and my dad really liked it.

Some things I would have done differently for next time would be to use a router to flush cut the seat slats and also use the router to give a nicer rounded edges for the arms and all of the slats as well. Also, It would be nice to mount a stainless bottle opener to the chair to open your drinks (maybe on the outside of the arm of the chair.

Thanks for the plans. I check your site all the time for ideas.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
primer, paint, clear coat
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Mini farmhouse bedside table w/ hidden compartment

Decided to add a secret compartmet on the bottom of this stand for small personal items.  Used piano hinge and cabinet push latch.  Wanted to hide the hinge but kept it easy and simple so I painted it black and you can barely see it.  This site is amazing and I cant wait to make more projects.

Estimated Cost
$20-40
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Varathane Black cherry with 2-3 coats of tongue oil
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Pipers Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by Plug5 on Tue, 06/04/2013 - 16:25

My wife, and I wanted to upgrade my 5yr old daughters bed. Hopefully this will give her enough encouragement to actually sleep in her room!

The bed turned out great, and my daughter loves it!

This project took a little longer than usual, because with the exception of the couple pieces of plywood all the parts are made from rough maple lumber. The longest part was planing, and gluing all the parts up.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Dura Clean Satin Paint with sprayed on white primer.

I used a 4"mini roller with a slight texture for the finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Cute Vegetable Cupboard

Submitted by kristyzed on Sun, 10/01/2017 - 15:33

I made this cupboard to hold all of my onions, squash, and potatoes that were previously sitting in piles on the laundry room floor.  This little tower has the perfect amount of storage.

 

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$75 CAD
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I finished this off with 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of Trim White by Sherwin Williams, and 2 coats of clear coat. All coats were done with disposable foam brushes.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Modified Easy Bench

Submitted by wkilmer23 on Sat, 04/02/2011 - 08:03

Sorry for the poor photo.  I will take a better one when I find my camera.  We made this bench for our little shih tzu but it soon became a bench for everyone to test out.  If I had to repeat this project, I would probably keep the legs from the original plan.  These store bought legs don't seem sturdy enough.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
My wife bought the fabric at Jo-Jos and the legs are from big blue.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Fireplace Wall Remodel

I needed a solution to my shelving problem. I wanted something clean looking, modern, and white to flank both sides of my fireplace. Count on Ana White to come up with a plan. Within seconds of sitting down to surf her site, I found that perfect plan to build four floating shelves.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

{mini} ten dollar ledges

I knew I wanted some of these shelves in my daughter's room but it seems bedroom sizes in Australia are quite a bit smaller than the US! I couldn't spare a long wall to fill with books so chose this narrow space to the side of the window.

The length of time I took for this project was for several reasons:
* I was a total beginner!
* I had to cut all of the lengths of wood with a hand saw & sand with sandpaper wrapped around a block of wood.
* It took about 5 coats of paint to cover the wood properly.

I adjusted the measurements from Ana's plans to fit the smaller space & while daunted at first at the prospect of attaching things to walls, I was so thrilled with how they turn out. I'm looking forward to challenging myself with something a little more complex next (perhaps with some power tools this time to assist!).

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Birthday Kitchen

Submitted by katrinaj55 on Sat, 06/27/2015 - 00:01

This was a pretty good and at times challenging project but it was fun and totally worth it when I saw the look on my daughter's face

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Door Spice Rack

We just moved into our newly built home, I love to cook, and realized really didn't have a good spot in the pantry for all the spices. This was my first project and in doing internet search for ideas came across Ana White's website, not only did I find the spice cabinet plan I was looking for, but a treasure trove of other projects and ideas. New to this so I have found Ana's site to be such a blessing. Yes, this made me a hero to my wife!

Built from Plan(s)

Market Stand

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/16/2022 - 06:17

Plans were easy to follow and we were able to build it using scrap and salvaged wood, and leftover paint. Only had to buy screws and the chalkboard sign materials, so very affordable to make. Birthday boy LOVES it! We set it up with some bakery toys, but the dramatic play options are virtually endless. This is one of those type of toys that will be part of all kinds of play with kids of all ages. The size is great for him at 3 years old but I expect it will be usable for many years before he outgrows it. Well worth making.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Fancy arch bed

Submitted by Rdw0711 on Sun, 02/04/2018 - 07:35

Beautiful bed. Arches were a little difficult to achieve symmetry. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$120
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Jacobean stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate