Changing Table
Changing table built for my first grandchild!
Changing table built for my first grandchild!
Fun and quick build. Made this one out of maple and African mahogany (khaya) for the laundry area of the garage.
I know this website is more about building furniture, but I spent the last year refinishing this dining room set in my spare time (between working full time and going to school part time). I bought it at a garage sale for $100, and with a lot of love, time, and energy, it is finally ready for family dinners!
Sun, 09/09/2012 - 22:30
Very good job. I myself love finding old pieces and giving them new life.
This Project was my second build. I had a few issues finding the materials required to even build it. Everything was found easily except the 4x4s. Everything here in my part of NC is either already pressure treated or cedar. Since everything else is Pine that really didn't float my boat. Plus for 1 4x4x8 of cedar cost $29 and for a color i didn't even want it wasn't even considerable. After calling around to a few places and no success i finally though of calling a lumber mill.
The Lumber mill had what i wanted for really cheap 4x4x8 for $5 but they were in rough condition. I had to do a lot of sanding to get them into workable condition. oh and by the way these are really 4x4s none of that 3.5in stuff here and man are they heavy.
Once i Started building my girlfriend decided she wanted the footboard to be higher and she didn't want to see any plywood for 1 we were going with a light finish and didn't think it would look to good. Instead of the footboard being at 20in high we raised it to 26. This allowed me to use some existing wood i already had to fill in the holes of exposed plywood. I used a 1x12 and 4 1x4s, i really only required 2 1x4 but to continue with the raised look of the footboard i used 4.
As far as the headboard goes i had to change that up a little bit as well. Im not sure if it was just because of the queen size or the fact that the lumber place i used to buy the 1x3s only had round edges so i opted to go with the 1x4s. Well because of that when i got to the last row of shims it was less than 1/2 the size. So resolve this issue again i used a existing 1x6 and replaced the top 1x4 with it. i made a line on the 1x6 which was taller then the headboard and cut it off with my circle saw so its now like a 1x5. Also on a side note when it came to the shims i cut them all 6in long due to the fact the center of the head board was 60in. it gave me an easy 10 shims per row. i used wood glue to hold them in place.
When it came to hooking the headboard and footboard to the bed frame i used 3/4s in-7in Lag bolts. this allows for easy on and off plus theres no way im breaking through them.
I loved this build but man those shim took forever. Sanding the 4x4s took me about 2 days. This job took me about 1 week to complete it working on it a few hours a night. But it was well worth it. I loved the way it turned out. its bigger than i though it would be but its workable.
Sun, 01/05/2014 - 18:13
You've really done a beautiful job! And I don't even like light-stained wood typically. Beautiful shim work.
Made a couple modifications:
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!
Our little guy decided at about 2 years old that his crib just wasnt going to cut it anymore. My wife and I had a blast throwing this together. A good tip is to use leftover pieces from the headboard to cut slats. We love our wood projects, check out our facebook page. Wyvace woodworking.
We had some very old Adirondack chairs that just broke on us (in the middle of summer, no doubt) so I went looking for some new ones. They were so expensive I thought I’d make some but I have limited tools (circular saw, drills, etc. but no band saw or mitre saw or table saw). Found these because they were fairly simple and didn’t require fancy tools.
It took me a couple of weekends to build four of them, and they still need another coat of sealer, but I’m stoked with the results, and they're SUOER comfortable too!
Thanks Ana for these awesome plans!
I had to change the plan to better fit my son's room. I changed the depth to 22 and the width to 34 to fit in the corner. Big lesson learned don't use the worst wood possible where the drawer slides go, yikes the rigging I had to do was awful. Atleast no one can see it is all under the desk. :)
I saw these here on Ana Whites site and fell in love and wanted to make one for my 3 year old. Well at the time (we now no longer have it) we had a huge chalkboard wall upstairs for my 4 boys and therefor the hubs told me there was no need to build these....but I have a friend who has twin girls and I new that was the perfect opportunity to build these cute things as their birthday presents! So that is what I did. I also made a zipper pouch to hold the chalk. The girls love them :)
I had a half bathroom in my guest room but wanted a second full bathroom, so removed the sink out of the half and installed a shower. I built the vanity in the room and added a make-up area with seating. I used my Kreg beaded faceframe system and to add a bead around the faceframe and built inset doors and drawers. I used Behr paint and used valspar antiquing glaze for the finish. I used the leftover shower tiles to make the countertop.
I found the Christmas tree shelf plans and since I had drawn my wife's aunt's name for this year I knew she'd appreciate this build. I chose 1x6 top choice pine and a wider piece for the base since she may decide to set this on the floor instead of hanging it. I also had some oak plywood I used for the back. I screwed all the pieces together, countersunk and filled the screw holes with wood putty. The paint I used was Benjamin Moore, the color was Balsam (567) and I really like how the color came out. I painted the back and the bottom with standard black interior paint just to protect the wood a little. I coated it with a couple of coats polycrylic and bought a couple of Christmassy items for the shelf to get her started. Can't wait to see what she thinks on Christmas day.
This can easily be built in less than a weekend depending on your skill level. I had to recut one of the boards when I caused some damage while putting it all together. The sanding, painting and finishing takes as long as you want depending on the finish and care taken.
Utilized the plans from this website to frame out the general idea, but as typical with my projects, I took it to a little further and utilized more traditional joinery (mortise & tenon, oak dowel pins, dado). Guard rails are bolted with carriage bolts. Hand planed all boards and added chamfers to every edge (zero sandpaper). Both beds are joined together with 1 inch oak pins (x4 legs). Each bed breaks down very easily by knocking out the three 1/2 pins that join the legs to the stretchers (x4 legs).
Both beds were built out of structural southern yellow pine lumber. The boy's bed was merely varnished with Danish Oil (dark walnut) all over - on Southern Yellow Pine, this color choice gives it a rustic look. Girl's bed was two toned: painted white and stained with Varathane (Kona), to give it that country look.
I think the total installed cost of the beds was just over $300 - $350 for the lumber, oak pins, any hardware, and finish material. This was a while back, so with lumber prices high, I'm not sure that's easily done anymore. But, it's solid as a rock and will last an extremely long time for our family.
Great project. Thanks for the ideas! Steve
This is the Ipex bookcase (plans on this site). My husband built it for our almost 11 year old's room. He modified it to be 36 inches wide rather than 48. Painting scheme done by me - she is into black and white/zebra.
We are pleased!!
When we first bought our house, one of the things that appealed to me was the walk in closet off the upstairs foyer. A walk in closet in a house from the 20′s? That’s unheard of! I know I could have designed this in a way that fit more, but I switch out my shoes seasonally, and I personally wanted slanted shelves. Come on, they’re so much prettier! Shopping List 1 – sheet of 1/2″ plywood (4 x 8′ sheet) 2- Primed 1×2′s @ 8′ 1 – 1/2″ Square Wood Dowel (like this) 2- Chair Rail @ 8′ (like this) Kilz Paint Primer Behr Semi Gloss White Paint Indoor Caulk Wood Putty 2″ Screws 2″ Nails Cuts Plywood- 5 pieces at 23″ wide and 12″ deep. Cut either of the 23″ end at a 45 degree angle. Plywood- 1 piece at 23″ wide and 12″ deep 1×2′s- 10 pieces at 12″ with ends cut at 45 degree angle. Then measure 1″ down from the top of the front piece, and cut it straight across. 1×2′s- 2 pieces at 12″ 1×2′s- 1 piece at 21.5″ Wooden Square Dowel- 3pcs at 23″ Chair Rail- 6 pieces at 23″ How To Build 1. I first figured out how far apart I wanted my shelves to be. I don’t have particularly tall shoes, so I had the first shelf 17″ off the ground in the front, and then they were set approximately 12″ apart after that. I located the studs, and screwed in the 1×2′s on the walls directly into the studs. 2. I then added the wooden dowels to the tops of 3 of the shelves. I didn’t even nail these down, just used wood glue and caulk. I set the wooden dowel 2.5″ from the back of the shelf. 3. After that I dry fit the actual shelf on top of the 1×2′s. This was probably the hardest part because of course this house doesn’t have even walls. Why would anyone ever need even walls? What a silly concept. I ended up having to sand a lot of the edges to make them fit. Caulking will help fill in those gaps! I then nailed in the shelves to the 1×2′s from above. 4. I slowly worked my way up the wall. When I got to the top shelf, I knew that I wanted a flat shelf to store boxes of shoes. I also added an extra 1×2″ to the back wall just in case I really decided to stack those shoes high. I followed the same process as I did for other 1×2′s, and screwed this into the stud. Closet 1x2 All Shelves 5. Then I used the chair rail and aligned it at the bottom of the 1×2″ and nailed it to the front of the shelf. It sticks up higher than the front of the shelf, which is great for catching shoes that tend to slip down. 6. After this I, I ended up using wood putty and caulk to fill any gaps. They work miracles on wood. 7. Finally I just painted everything and viola! Budget 1 – sheet of 1/2″ plywood (4 x 8′ sheet) – $28.97 2- Primed 1×2′s @ 8′- $5.98 1 – 1/2″ Square Wood Dowel - $1.75 Chair Rail - $16.00 Kilz Paint Primer- already owned Behr Semi Gloss White Paint- already owned Indoor Caulk- already owned Wood Putty- already owned Screws- already owned Nails- already owned TOTAL: $52.70
I used 1 x 10s to make the bookcase a little shallower, and left the back open. Thanks for the great plan.
18” Doll horse stable modified with a third stall turned sideways to house smaller horses for 12” dolls. Added shingles to the roof since I didn’t like how the plain plywood ended up looking. I kept the finish plain, but I may paint the base white and stain the shingles darker at some point. To add the third stall I just extended the base to 36”, built an extra truss but left off the bottom rails and added rails to both sides a instead of 1. I then added two posts with rails extending sideways to create the smaller stalls
Wed, 06/19/2019 - 20:35
What did you use for the shingles? I love the way yours turned out.
Mon, 04/20/2020 - 14:11
Sorry for the late reply! I used wood chips sold at hobby Lobby meant for doll houses.
Loved building this and especially love that those who have seen them in person are asking me to build one for them. Thank you Ana White for making your plans easily available.
I've always wanted Adirondack chairs but found them way too expensive to buy. I found Ana's plan a while ago and promised myself I'd make one this summer. Well I enjoyed it so much I did three of them!
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 08:31
Those are awesome! All you need to make now is a doll adirondak chair and you've got a complete set of Ana White Adirondack chairs! ;)
Norwegian version.
Wood sizes in millimeters:
Can be bought from Byggmax, Monter or Coop Obs bygg for example.
36x48mm
48x98mm
48x148mm
Lessons learned: Dont buy cheap tools and make sure the wood is straight.
We love this little desk for my 3-year-old's room. She chose the light blue color and helped me paint it. We used Valspar chalk paint and wax and love the look. We didn't have room for the double-sided storage so we used pre-made table legs for the other side. Thanks again, Ana!
p.s. Sorry about the photos rotation. I have no idea why they are all sideways.
I just wanted better organization and shoe racks up close to the front of the closet instead of in the back but I also didn’t want them too deep. These plans fixed that.
Wed, 01/02/2019 - 12:14
This is awesome!!!! I'm so excited to see the closet built and to read that it is working well for you! Share some more pics sometime!