Community Brag Posts

Daybed with Storage Trundle Drawer (Modified)

Submitted by Honeyb65 on Sat, 09/26/2020 - 10:05

Great plans for a really useful storage daybed! I modified the plans to include a slat back and rustic x sides, as well as changing the Trundle drawers to a single drawer to fit my exercise equipment. I finished the daybed with stain and chalk paint in old white and Paris Grey distressed for the perfect shabby chic look!

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Varathane stain in Dark Walnut, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White, color wash over the white with Paris Grey and then sanded for the white and some of the stain to show through.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Light Wash Sideboard

Inspired by the RH Salvaged Wood Panel Sideboard. No measurement adjustments to deviate from the Planked Wood Sideboard plan.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
375
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
General Finish Milk Paint (color: Linen) custom wash. Finished with a glaze in Van Dyke Brown.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Storage step stool

I made this step stool in around four days. It took longer because of the five coats of paint. It has two coats of paint and three coats of finish. It should stand up to many years of use. With the storage area empty, the lid dropping closed can be somewhat loud. I added felt bumpers underneath the top step to dampen the sound. It's light enough for my 18-month old to push around.

The jigsaw cuts weren't always perfect. I filled any gaps and countersunk screws with wood filler. I used a mouse sander to smooth everything out after screwing it all together. The longest part was the painting. I painted every surface, hidden or not, to protect the wood and hopefully make it last forever.

I didn't list an estimated cost because I had to purchase several tools, including a jigsaw, sander, and countersink bits. It was probably user error, but the countersink drill bit was a pain to use. The locking nut couldn't be tightened enough to keep the adjustable drill bit in place.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Two coats of Minwax Polycrylic over two coats of Behr Premium Plus Ultra semi-gloss paint (color: Old Fashioned Pink).
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Great storage

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/05/2017 - 18:35

I made my shelves 16 ft by 6ft by 2ft - added another plank to each shelf to increase the width. I compensated for the slope along the garage wall by offsetting all the screw-in points in the front legs half an inch. This thing is HEAVY.

 

I anchored the unit to the wall by securing 2 scrap 2x4s to the studs - 1 at the 2nd set of legs and 1 at the far right legs - and screwing the unit legs into the 2x4s. This way, I didn't have to line the unit up precisely with the studs.

Estimated Cost
$190 lumber
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
None/natural
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Extra Tall Bar Stools

Submitted by TCnTash on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 09:21

My wife and I built our whole bar, from the shelves, bar, and the kegerator! We needed stools to round out our endeavor but we werent willing to shell out the kind of money required.  My wife found this plan and we morphed it a bit to meet our needs.  The KREG JIG saved us big time! The seat upholstry took us a bit of time, but we figured it out thanks to YouTube.  Great project for a weekend, took us a tad bit longer due to the arrival of our daughter but, we still got it done!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
~$150, this got us three stools. We had bigger measurements than the plan called for, so you could definitely squeeze another chair if you stick to the plan.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Wheat color stain, and spray on Satin polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Modified Wide Cabin Dresser

Submitted by dbwalk on Mon, 01/12/2015 - 20:02

This build was for my daughters.  They needed a new dresser and I figured I could pull this one off.  

 

I used regular boards from the Big Blue Box store.  I went a step up for the birch playwood because it would take paint better.  The drawer pulls are stainless steel.  

 

I modified the given plans so that I could add two more large drawers.  I made a few modifications to pull it off and give the dresser more support.  For example I added some supports under the top plywood board and in between each row of the drawers.  You can see that I added a middle support under the bottom set of drawers as well to keep the weight of the drawers from saggin in the middle.  I also had never installed drawer slides before.  This was way harder (and frustrating) than I was expecting.  My drawers don't have slides but they still work well.

 

All in all this was a moderately challenging build for me.  However, the paint and finish ended up being super nice.  My girls love it and I think it is going to last for a long time.  I am now working on modifying these plans to build a matching side table with drawers.  I hope to have pics of that soon as well!  

Estimated Cost
$275. The wood cost around $200. The handles and paint cost about $75.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Teal colored paint and primer in one. Before and after each painting I sanded the wood.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

DIY Folding Workbench

Submitted by suzeet305 on Mon, 10/18/2021 - 18:32

I'm a beginner DIYer and I knew one day I was going to have to make a workbench. I made mine 24x48 so I wanted a little more support to hold up the drop down leaf. I searched your site and found another plan with these gatelegs and knew this is what I wanted. I love the way it came out. What do you think?

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Fancy Jewelry Box

Submitted by JoanneS on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 14:35

One of my friends at work is going to a new job, and this build is her going away gift. It is a variation of the Fancy Jewelry Box, with the following modifications:

Made from select pine, no plywood is visible on the outside on this build.
Slightly smaller, the box is made from 1x6, the back is a ½” x 5 ½” craft board, and the door outsides are 3/8” x 5 ½” craft boards.
The drawer boxes are ¼” thick craft board and the doors and overlay drawer faces are 3/8” thick craft board.
Overall dimensions are 13” wide, 5 ½” deep, and 14 ¼” tall.
The select pine worked very well for the luxe stained finish I was trying to achieve.
Used fancy knobs instead of wood knobs (also swapped out the included screws for shorter ones).

I really took my time on this to get everything just so. The project took about 15 hours in total, including the build, finishing, and decorations - - a bit at a time, spread out over the last couple of weeks.

I'm very happy to say the gift was a big hit!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$90
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Finish: 2 coats of Varathane Stain + Poly in Early American, with a top coat of Minwax Polycrylic in Gloss. The drawers and doors are lined with embossed felt, and the box bottom and drawer bottoms are covered with sticky-back felt. The ring holder is a scrap of high density foam covered with sticky-back felt. The knobs are acrylic crystal and the back has flat hinges in antique brass (swapped out the included screws for shorter ones on the hinges and knobs). The hooks are ¾” brass shoulder hooks.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Paper towel rack

Yea, I know these were posted way back in 2013, but I only recently found them. Was looking at some kitchen organization ideas and I knew I wanted to make a paper towel rack. I liked this idea and went with it. My variance from original was to use a dowel rod for the paper towel holder and I cut 45 degree angles in place of the radius.

Comments

Farmhouse Queen Bed & Kentwood Night Stand

I built this Farmhouse Queen Bed & Kentwood Night Stand for my Granddaughter. She loves it !

Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax water based stain in "Coffee", and then used Minwax white washed pickling to finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Floating Bunk Beds and Desk

This little girls room needed a little happy birthday!  I planked the wall with birch veneer, made simple box frames for the beds and desk, and attached them to walls with heavy duty cable.  Then my friend added her designer touch, and made it cozy and  girl CHIC!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$500
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
white paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Built in dresser

Submitted by dmather82 on Sat, 09/21/2013 - 09:04

This is my favorite build so far! My two younger daughters share a room with an inevitable shortage of floor space. What they do have is a fairly large closet for 1 and 3 year old. I removed the crumby sliding doors and filled the bottom third of the space with the dresser, leaving plenty of room for kids clothes to hang above. I combined two separate plans and adjusted the measurements to fit the space. What I ended up with is a monstrous 6 drawer dresser that I would never have room for in the bedroom otherwise. The drawers are enormous (a must for a house with three little girls. They have more clothes than their mother and father combined).

I took the frame concept from the Shanty2Chic rustic rolling dresser and the drawer concept from the Madison dresser from Old Paint Design. (Thanks Ladies!) It took me some significant math adjustments (I'm not a math guy) in order to alter the drawers for wood slides, alter the frame to fit that, and alter both to fit the 70 3/4" x 24" space.

The finish took the most time with a bizarre mixing of Rustoleum Dark Walnut and Rustoleum Classic Cherry. I love the color now. Clearly I have not fixed the wall paint yet :)

The wood is big box pine as I am still working up the confidence to work with more expensive wood. The top is 1x12's and 1x2's. The sides (hidden) are 3/4" plywood. The hardware is from Lowes.

My daughters were nice enough to decorate the dresser during the build with crayon requiring a 40 grit sanding Grrrr.

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Dark Walnut
Rustoleum Classic Cherry
Rustoleum Ultimate Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

JW

Sun, 09/22/2013 - 12:40

Built-in closet dresser - genius! I am already thinking about how I can make this work for my daughter's room. Looks great, too. Good job!

Family Art Center

So, so happy with this table! I've always been a fan of the Pottery Barn Bedford Project table, but even if I had the $1,200 to spend on a craft table I doubt I could ever justify it. When I saw these plans I knew my dream table was within reach!
This is my second build using Ana's plans. I worked carefully and used the Kreg Jig, and it came together easily. I added an extra trim piece here and there. I painted the whole thing with Valspar color "Storm At Sea", which is a gray. It took forever for me to choose the color, too many choices! Then I used some wipe-on Poly to protect it.
Now my kids and I have a dedicated art station stocked with all the supplies, I can see us spending many hours creating at this table.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Valspar paint and Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Pull-out step stool

I needed a step-stool in my kitchen to reach in my top cabinets. I'm rather short so I was constantly dragging a chair from my dining table over to find things. I did a google search for a step stool and looked at images. As soon as I saw the picture I knew I had to build it, the retailer selling the original one I saw has a starting price of $270 and goes all the way up to $680! It took me 2 weeks off and on and several times of putting together and taking apart to get Ito the size specifications on the retail website.

Estimated Cost
Around $50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Stain and satin finish poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Bunnie1978

Wed, 10/09/2013 - 04:13

That's a cool idea... mix between nesting tables and stools! Great job!

Mrswhetstone

Sun, 05/31/2015 - 18:27

I just used the picture i found online as reference and built it through trial and error. Unfortunately I don't know how to create plans either.I can tell you the legs are 2x3's cut at a 5° angle and the tops are 2x6's. I ordered the drawer slides from amazon for approximately $12 a piece.

robear529

Fri, 08/21/2015 - 06:34

Hi, I've been looking for the original image that you used as your model in an attempt to find dimensions to start with, but haven't been able to find it. Could you perhaps remember what brand it was or what site you found it on? If you still have the stool, could you maybe tell me the width of your top step and I could maybe go from there? 

Thanks for the picture. This is a brillant idea and exactly what I'd like to create for my kitchen. I'm hoping to be able to use it as a counter height seat as well when I'm working in the kitchen.

Kentwood Bookshelf

Submitted by BeckySmith on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 05:11

This was one of my first bigger builds. I am so happy with the way it turned out!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Golden Oak. I applied the stain with a foam brush and wiped off excess after about five minutes.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

canadianlam

Thu, 05/19/2016 - 19:05

This bookcase wouldn't be out of place amongst the Pottery Barn's bookcases. In fact, it inspired me to go out this afternoon and buy some cedar boards so I can start building my own version first thing tomorrow. Thank you, Becky.

Modern Bench - School Colors

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/15/2016 - 09:29

Great design and project!  I am working on the second one in my wife's school colors.  Thanks!

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Outdoor paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Kids Workbench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/10/2016 - 04:38

Was a quick and simple project, i mainly worked off the pictures rather then the instructions. The best part was that the project required me to go out and buy a Kreg Jig to get the nice pocket hole finish, which i now wish I had done years ago.

 

 

Estimated Cost
Approx $65 after buying all timber and screws from Bunnings
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
None
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Factory carts to coffee tables

Submitted by solohikr on Tue, 08/07/2012 - 00:25

My daughter found some of these online for $400+ refinished. I was able to locate some locally and did all the refinishing myself and saved a bundle. I have finished 6 of these carts to date. They are old railroad luggage, cotton bale, and whatever movers. They were manufactured around the early 1900's. The ones I have done were made by the Lineberry, Nutting and Globe companies. One piece of hardware is actually cast with a date of Feb, 26 1907. These were a lot of fun and hard work. I carefully disassembled each one including the original nails to be resused, I did not repair any of the wood, just presevered it in its original found state. As you can see from the pictures there are a lot of splits, cracks, and checks in the wood. I wanted to keep those as they added to the caracter of the table. As you can see in the before and after pics there is quite a amazing difference.

Estimated Cost
$200 for materials to do 5-6 carts
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax, stain and poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Jennifer Branton (not verified)

Tue, 08/21/2012 - 20:01

Where did you get the hardware ie... the wheels? I've been looking everywhere for the steel wheels

In reply to by Jennifer Branton (not verified)

solohikr

Wed, 08/22/2012 - 06:46

I have one of these carts unfinished with wheels and all hardware, for 100.00 these carts are heavy so shipping may be an issue. my email is [email protected] i can send pictures if interested.

Modern Sectional Sofa

Submitted by reinkense on Fri, 05/30/2014 - 17:22

I looked all around my town for a sofa that meet my needs. I wanted something with tall legs, modern lines and fit my living room. I did not have $3,000 to buy one online so I said to myself why not???

 

Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

reinkense

Sat, 05/31/2014 - 15:58

Thank you! I am really proud of it. I was thinking of putting together some plans.

Samigdal

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 17:48

Are there step-by-step instructions for building this posted anywhere?

walthoca

Fri, 01/06/2017 - 11:06

I am so impressed. We recently spent a small fortune on a sectional, but yours looks equally beautiful. You are incredibly talented! 

Modern Adirondack Chairs. Thanks

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/19/2020 - 16:16

Ana,

Thanks for making the plans available. Was looking for a simple plan and here is it. Needed to replace 4 aging chairs to match a pine table and a bar. Looking forward to another project in the fall. You definitely made a good choice on the pitch of that chairs. Very comfortable.

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Spar urethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
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