Community Brag Posts

Rustic "X" endtables-reimagined!

Submitted by hurdle1464 on Thu, 04/21/2022 - 13:00

I loved these end tables, but they were too big for what I needed. I made one table to be 20" x26" and two others that were both 13"x26". We modified the top of the table by using quarter-sawn oak that had been sitting in the basement for years. We squared the boards, glued and biscuited them together and planed them to create a beautiful butcher block top. I am so happy with the way they turned out and they fit perfectly in my space. I learned a lot and the time spent with my Dad to create them is priceless!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Modular office small desktop/Narrow file drawer base unit

Submitted by gmamurphy on Sun, 06/12/2011 - 14:00

Combined the modular office small desktop with the Narrow file drawer base unit to suit my needs/space requirements. Used the legs from the narrow farmhouse table because I just loved them! Added beadboard for the drawer faces because it matches the rest of our house.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
painters touch and minwax polycrylic
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

bundaboy

Mon, 04/28/2014 - 22:18

I am about to start on a very similar 4 draw version of this, do you have any more information? In particular I was wondering how the drawer slides were fitted - are the side or bottom fitting? Cheers and well done!

Custom Closet Organizer based on One-Piece Plywood plans

Submitted by shan3d on Sat, 07/27/2013 - 12:39

I used two of the closet organizers to help provide storage and separation in our 131" closet. I had to custom cut the shelving from slightly more than an additional piece of plywood.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Redwood stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

My first woodworking project - 5 Board Bench

Submitted by krisque on Sun, 08/09/2015 - 17:53

This was my first project so I picked one from the starter section.  My fiance helped me to get familiar with the tools and learn to make the cuts.  I am hooked.  My goal is to learn well enough to get to the point where I can build built ins to make the most out of the small space in our home and maximize it. Since we started late in the day and it's Sunday, I will putty, sand and paint it next weekend.  Gives me an excuse to go to Home Depot for materials for my next project wink We made some modifications though, we subbed 2x12 for 1x12 and 1x6 for 1x4.  I wanted a thicker seat, and the local Home Depot was out of 1X4's.  We had 1x8's but instead of ripping them in half we just made the jigsaw cuts a little deeper.  We also used the 2x12 for the legs so those were a little thicker and sturdier.  We'll likely make another and an outdoor table eventually.  Thank you for a wonderful site!

Estimated Cost
I can't remember, we bought the materials some time ago and I have been wanting to do this for so long but kept procrastinating.
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Smokeydog

Mon, 08/10/2015 - 05:45

Congrats on your first project.  Good job!  Wood working can become a little addicting.  I really didn't get into it until I discovered Ana's site and now I  am hooked.  Have fun!

Three Little Sling Chairs

Submitted by LissaNY on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 13:16

My first non-home-repair project. Made three of the sling chairs for my kids. They each picked out their own fabric (regular fabric). We still have not sanded, filled and painted but are hoping to do so this weekend. The kids were very excited to have them. I have been reading your website for months now wishing I had time to make something, and these chairs fit the bill. Thank you!

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Still unfinished. Undecided on how we are going to do each chair.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

RyansMama (not verified)

Wed, 07/13/2011 - 18:16

How old are your kids? My daughter is 6 and I am wondering if the chair will be too small for her.

Cedar Planter

Submitted by webb_golf on Tue, 07/30/2013 - 09:40

This is a cedar planter created using the plans from this website. I modified the legs some and also put a 1x2 across the top to finish it out. It is stained using Cabot Australian Timber Oil Stain in Mohagony Flame. I think it turned out great...and so does my wife!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Cabot Australian Timber Oil Stain in Mohagony Flame
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Little Helper

This was the first project I made from this website...my wife wanted to make it for our 2 year old (at the time).

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse Twin Bed

After making the sling chairs, I decided to give the Farmhouse twin bed a whirl for my daughter. I absolutely love it! It ended up costing us $225 for all of the supplies needed. The only issue we had in making this was trying to make it easy to disassemble. This was fun to make!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$225
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr Creamy Almond Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse Table and Benches

This was the first project my husband and I built and it is for our new home!

 

We excluded the bottom part of the farmhouse table. 

 

After building we conditioned the wood,  used a stain poly mix, and then waxed it. 

 

 

Estimated Cost
Since this was our first project we did have to buy some big tools, but excluding the power tools, we spent about $200-250 on wood, screws, and finishing product and materials.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Coat of Pre-stain conditioner
Two coats of Minwax Antique Walnut w/poly
Waxed and buffed
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Patio Planter

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 04/23/2022 - 11:34

This was built using waste from polycarbonate hurricane shutter project as well as free steel bed frames a neighbor had put out for trash pick -up. Only other materials required were 2 X 4 lumber , caster wheels and paint.

Princess Play Loft Bed

Submitted by fsmumford on Wed, 06/22/2011 - 09:26

I love the play loft bed, but wanted to add a princess twist for my 5 year old's birthday. I found melamine plywood, which helped in the finishing since it was already white. It was a lot of work, but so worth it! I think the kid's favorite feature so far is the slide, which has seen a ton of use :) My favorite feature is all the storage! Thanks so much Ana! If it wasn't for you, there is no way I would have had the courage to tackle a project like this!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$350
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
The plywood was already white, but after filling the holes I went ahead and painted the whole thing white so that it would all be the same color.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Ari Z (not verified)

Thu, 06/23/2011 - 11:12

What a fantastic design for your daughter! She must pretend she's Rapunzel every time she gets into bed. The little cubbies to store toys were an excellent idea.

fsmumford

Mon, 07/11/2011 - 19:32

I started out by building the back and outer walls just like the stairs, just slightly narrower to fit my space and the side walls longer, coming out into the room more since the slide sticks out into the room farther. I then also did the top platform of the slide like the top step, having the top stair trim, cleats, and plywood support underneath the front of the platform. Then, I did some calculating to figure out how long to make the slide and what angle to use. I wanted it to come out into the room farther than the rest of the bed so that the slide wasn’t too fast, but I didn’t want it to stick out too far. So I used a piece of melamine board (nice and slick wood) that was 56” long. At the bottom of the slide, I put a piece of plywood that went from the ground up about 8 inches, so that the end of the slide would be up off the ground. So the slide ended up dropping a total of 34”, from the platform down to the plywood 8 inches off the ground. This made a fairly quick slide, but perfectly doable for my little ones. Then, before mounting the slide, I attached 1x2’s to each of the sides of the slide under where the slide was to be to support the slide from beneath. Then, I used a kreg jig to attach the slide to the sides and then screwed the slide into the supports. This made a very stable slide. If you have any more questions, I would be happy to try and help. I hope I’ve made sense ☺

Guest (not verified)

Sat, 07/16/2011 - 15:45

Hello Slide! My daughter screamed when she saw this bed...can you please tell me how to build it all? I would love it if you could share...

fsmumford

Sat, 07/16/2011 - 20:54

I'll try :) I started by building the towers. It was just deciding how wide I wanted them (I did one narrower and one wider to use like a window seat). Each tower is essentially three sides of plywood with one having shelves in it and the other having one shelf to make a seat. I also put a shelf at the bed's height so that my daughter can use it to put things when she is in bed, such as her alarm clock. Then I knew how long I needed the bed to be and how wide each of the towers were, and I made the middle front section to be the remaining width. The rest of the bed is very similar to the Play loft bed with storage steps, but instead of making the steps storage, I just attached them down and then cut out on the inside underneath the stairs to allow access for storage from within the castle. I used a jig saw to cut out the window. The top pink parts of the tower are just decoration, so I bought a thin piece of plywood and used a jigsaw to cut the up and down cuts. And then on another post I talked about making the slide. I hope I helped some :) If you have any more questions, feel free to ask and I will try and help.

Guest (not verified)

Sat, 10/01/2011 - 12:53

*I'm willing to pay you for your help*

I wish to start making this bed, but need some help. I'm novice and need more instructions. If I were to email you measurements, could you elaborate more in depth?

Please respond.

Thank you for your consideration.

Guest (not verified)

Sat, 10/01/2011 - 12:53

*I'm willing to pay you for your help*

I wish to start making this bed, but need some help. I'm novice and need more instructions. If I were to email you measurements, could you elaborate more in depth?

Please respond.

Thank you for your consideration.

fsmumford

Thu, 10/06/2011 - 10:04

I would love to help in any way I can (free of course!) I have wanted to do the plans on the computer, but haven't been able to figure out the program :( So feel free to ask away and I'll try and help. You can post questions here, or email me at [email protected].

jkcd513 (not verified)

Tue, 07/19/2011 - 13:01

I was wondering what the dimension for your room are (especially the wall the bed is against. Just trying to figure out if the slide idea would work in our little room. Also would you mind telling me how wide the the n_n_n (That is my attempt to show the part of the castle that has the little rectangles/squares and then a space and another rectangle/square (the pink and purple parts of the bed) I have been drawing some trying to get spacing right and they never seem to look right, but your spacing looks great. And is the purple part that has the shield painted on it a seperate piece from the rest or is it cut out with the main part of the bed- if it's seperate how wide across and length down is it? We are in the process of attempting a similar bed for our little one and I have been playing around with ideas and so far yours looks like what I have been trying to show my husband in my drawings, only yours looks a lot closer to what I had in my mind than what I have on paper. Any help would be appreciated.

fsmumford

Mon, 07/25/2011 - 09:27

The wall the bed is against is 125.25", so a little over 10'. I still have a few inches of wall left and wish I had made the slide a little wider (the slide I made is 14.5" wide), but thought I would be tighter on space. For the pink on top of the tower, I first used 1 x 3 that I attached to the front of the tower. Then I used 1/8" plywood for the part that I cut the up and down parts. It is 6.5" tall, but part of it sits behind the 1x3, so only 5" is visible. I then cut the plywood 3" down, 3" across, 3" up, 3" over, etc. to make that up and down look at the top of the towers. And the purple part with the shield is separate. It is again just a thin piece of plywood that I nailed to the bed. When I put this up, part of the shield thing was sticking above the bed and I didn't think anything of it until someone broke off part of it. So now I've added a piece of wood behind the shield (the same width of the shield) so that it keeps the shield from being broken. The shield's overall size is 23.25" wide x 27" high. I hope this helps :) If there is anything else I can help with, please just ask. Good luck with your adventure :) !

Guest (not verified)

Sun, 08/21/2011 - 22:19

I am incredibly curious to know if I can get plans for this bed. I have looked extensively throughout various internet pages for a bed/playhouse like this. I would like to make it with a queen mattress on top. I have look through your posts and haven't gathered enough information to proceed. I am willing to pay for the plans.

Is there anything different you would do, if you did this project again?

Thank You,

Guest

Guest (not verified)

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 08:43

Hello:
First of all I have to say THANK YOU. I found the plans for the playhouse (which are fabulous) are there plans available for the princess castle?

fsmumford

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:54

Hey all, I added the plans for this under the plans section of this website. Please let me know if you have any questions, and have fun building!

CherylBella (not verified)

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 15:40

I would love your directions or plans to build this my little princess. Thanks for any help. Just love this bed!

Potting Table

Submitted by cassiet717 on Fri, 08/02/2013 - 20:46

One afternoon and $0 spent!
I had wanted a potting table for my front porch, and finally got it done one afternoon while my son was napping! I wanted a table that was functional but pretty enough to be front and center.
My table is a combination of Ana's and the one I found on 2 Crafty 4 My Skirt (http://2crafty4myskirt.blogspot.com/2012/04/mothers-day-potting-table.h…). I combined and modified the plans so that I could use scraps (could easily be built with pallet wood, too), so my dimension are a little weird, I know. My table is 39 1/2" from bottom to top (the top shelf sits at 36") x 44" wide. It's on the tall side, but it works well for our space.
Tools Used:
Compound miter saw
Kreg Jig system
Ryobi driver
Kreg screws

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
scraps
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
On frame: Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer, Olympic Paint (can't remember the color!)
On Shelves: Minwax Prestain Wood Conditioner, Minwax Stain in Walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Outdoor sectional for the veranda

Submitted by happybunny on Sat, 08/22/2015 - 22:35

First ever woodworking project!

I wanted to add a sectional in my veranda, but all the models at stores around my place were at least a 1000$ and didn't had the proper dimension. The plan given on this website was ideal for my space, since my veranda is limited in space (was converted from a balcony, 7'x14').

The whole project went slowly since I did it part time, but overall it went well. However, the entire project from A to Z was time-consuming since I decided at the beginning to do the wood working AND the sewing part, and I'm a beginner that doesn't have any experience in any of these fields. I did literally everything by myself, from cutting 148 pieces of wood with a rented mitre saw, sanding each single one of them, staining the assembled chairs and table after assembly, cutting various pieces of foam for my cushion with 72"x30" sheets of foam, and lastly do the sewing of all the green cushion AND the smaller squared cushions. That was a lot of things to learn for a first timer and fortunetely I was enough motivated to do them, and most importantly patient. I had the moral support of my girlfriend during the whole project and showing the progress of the project to my friends, family and coworkers did help a lot to keep me motivated to finish the project.

I learned a lot from this project, whether it's wood cutting, sanding, assembly, staining or machine sewing. These skills will help for future projects for sure!

Thank you very much Ana for helping me, with these simple plans, learn new skills that enabled me to create something amazing!!!

Estimated Cost
Wood: 90$
Screws: 30$
Wood filler: 8$
Stain: 40$
Foam: 175$
Fabrics: 150$

Total: around 500$
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Sico semi-transparent English oak outdoor stain, applied after assembly.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Harriet Outdoor Dining Chair with Cedar Slats

Submitted by kmatt55 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 16:49

This chair was pretty easy to make with Ana's plans. I plan on making four more just like it (updated: completed). The only modification I made was adding another slat to the back of the chair. I used a miter saw for all cuts which really helped with the speed of the project. The 2x2's are treated pine and the 1x3 slats are cedar that I got from the "orange box store" for about four bucks a stick. I also primed and painted the 2x2's (legs) before I assembled. I could not imagine trying to paint the legs white and not getting at least some on that beautiful cedar. The contrast really pops in person. Thanks ana-white.com! $20 per chair.

Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Semi-gloss exterior white, outdoor seal.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

sgilly

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 10:35

Love the chairs! and like the painted body with the natural pine slats.

CreativeBaggage

Wed, 08/03/2011 - 08:03

I love that you added the extra slat on the back. Such a simple change that made a big impact. The contrast is also very clever! They look great :)

kmatt55

Wed, 08/03/2011 - 11:29

Thanks CreativeBaggage! I finished the dining table yesterday, I'll have to post that soon. As a couponer myself, I really like the standing can rack you made on your blog. Brilliant!

Tryde outdoor kitchen surface

Submitted by OH3 on Mon, 08/05/2013 - 08:30

This is my second project - I made an outdoor cookng surface modeled after the Tryde coffee table. The 4x4's are 36" tall and made it 21" deep - this is great for my outdoor grilling station.

I truely enjoy this desig, and I try to use it for anything going forward.

I love the deep color that the minwax red mahogany stain brings - this has 3 coats of polyurethane.

If you notice the table next to the tryde table - my father in law came up with a design to make the grill tops taller than the standard configuration - I will try to send a cad version of this to Ana so that she can post it up on the site.

the ground is not level with the slate.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax red mahogany
minwax poly urethane glossy
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Handmade by Tim

Submitted by Tjmac924 on Tue, 08/25/2015 - 17:36

Really handy for getting more storage space without taking up extra floor space

Estimated Cost
$500
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
MinWax Dark Walnut,
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Comments

Tjmac924

Tue, 08/25/2015 - 17:39

A plate (biscuit) joiner is really helpful for building the cabinets, especially if you're going to have the drawers.