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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

A few alterations I made to your original design plans:
1. I went with 1/2” plywood and bead board for the back. This gave it a little more stability and a complimentary design element to match other pieces I’ve built.
2. I used 2x3’s instead of 2x2’s since the selection was much better at the lumber store.
3. For the bench top I used a black walnut slab cut to size finished with a danish oil and satin poly top coat.
4. Instead of the X, I enclosed the sides and used a pair of parallel 2x3’s backed with poplar boards cut to size.

Thanks! I hope you enjoy.
Chad Cote

We were looking for outdoor furniture for our deck, and for the size and amount we needed it would have cost us at least $2000. We really like the idea of having an outdoor sectional that we can also use for dining, and we had trouble finding a set we liked. We found Ana's plans for the 2x4 Outdoor Sectional, and i loved the look. After seeing what others have done with the plans, I thought I would be able to modify it to get everything we needed for much less cost than buying a set.

We ended up extending the size of the 2x4 outdoor sofa by one 24" section, for a total length of 96". I then used the same design to make two outdoor chairs, just reduced the length to 24". I modified the 2x4 outdoor coffee table plans to create two ottoman's that can be moved around to make the seating more lounge style Finally, I modified the coffee table plans to make a 5 foot outdoor dining table. All in all, it took about a week and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

We built this composting toilet as one of the first things we did on our piece of vacant land. (How can you build anything else without somewhere to go when nature calls?)

An eco-friendly design was important to us, so we used cedar fencing instead of plywood. Otherwise, we followed Ana White's simple outhouse plans. It came out perfectly! It even has a rain barrel for hand washing.

Happy Fall Y’all. Love the Gray / White Farmhouse Colors. I can share the plans I modified for this build if anyone wants to build their own .

I built this picnic table while I was pregnant with my youngest. It was an addition to our outdoor kitchen. Came out pretty good, thanks to Ana's plan.

Super fun project for a beginner. I almost want to do it over now that I have a pocket hole jig. Love Ana White plans, easy to follow.