Community Brag Posts

Garden Shed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/07/2021 - 16:20

This was my first big Build! Thank you Ana for the free and easy to read plans.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Doll Bed

This is the doll bed from Ana's plans! My 6 year old wanted to make one for her friend's birthday. She helped with nailing, sanding, painting, sanding, painting oh and painting! 

We did a base coat of a dark pink, then top coat of lighter pink, then sanded to distress it a little. Also instead of sewing a "mattress" I used spray adhesive to adhere the fabric to the plywood, then sewed a pillow and little blankie to match.
Estimated Cost
$5
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
primed,sanded, base coat dark pink, top coat light pink, then sanded in some places to reveal dark pink
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

We did it! Our first every project!

Submitted by parwald on Sun, 05/03/2015 - 10:58

We are in desperate need of toy storage in our playroom. We are planning to build several more of these bulk bins.

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

Comments

kcasabella

Sat, 04/09/2016 - 21:03

They turned out beautiful! What type of wood did you use, if you remember, and did you paint before assembling?

parwald

Sun, 11/20/2016 - 10:39

It was just standard pine. We painted afterwards with grey paint leftover from a kitchen project.

Cedar planters

Submitted by mmarsha9 on Sun, 10/10/2021 - 14:08

My wife wanted some planters for the front porch. Thanks to Ana whites page for these plans. Also loved the top modification that I think is a must.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Childs table & chairs

Built this set for our 2 year old for christmas!!! He loves it and it is sturdy enough for me and my hubby to sit at to.. Of course the brothers fit around the table as well and they all color or play with playdough. 

Estimated Cost
$40 for everything
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
3 coats of stain and poly and painted chairs and base of table.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Rustic X end table

Submitted by damonawsgt on Tue, 06/04/2013 - 18:58

My first attempt at making something this caliber!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Apple Cider vinegar and steel wool. Lots of thin clear coats of poly sanding in between to get the high gloss on the top.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Extended and Customized Sausha's Laundry Pedestal

Submitted by jtshaver on Tue, 05/05/2015 - 07:44

This was my first ever project. I would have done a good amount differently if I had to reconstruct it now, but it came out pretty good and definitely serves its purpose.

These are the changes I made compared to the original design:

  • Increased the length to 69" to fit our room
  • Added center posts to support the extended length
  • Doubled the top thickness
  • Routed an ogee on the underside of the top
  • Extended the top and bottom deck by 1' all around
  • Increased the post height to 12"
  • Chamfered the corners of the vertical posts
  • Enclosed the sides with inset panels
  • Painted to match our baseboard trim
  • Added furniture slider feet to make it easy to move on the tile

It definitely took longer than I would have liked, but I could do it much faster if I had to do it again.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Oil based primer with semi-gloss Behr "Swiss Coffee" enamel on top. 2 coats of each, and an extra coat of paint on the top.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Simple Kitchen Island Poplar Top

Submitted by sc.kennedy on Wed, 09/20/2017 - 09:41

First project in a quite a while for me so wanted to go with something simple.  Was able to complete on a Saturday.  Only thing I wanted to do different was 2" thickness on the top.

 

 

 

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Krylon and Mineral Oil Food Grade
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Simple Farmhouse Bed Single

Submitted by lindslar on Fri, 10/15/2021 - 05:40

This was my first project and I’m beyond proud. Thank you for the instructions!!!

Comments

Our new Ladder Shelf!

Submitted by mtgirl31 on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 22:36

This is our first piece of furniture we built!  My husband William is pretty handy and really enjoys wood-working, and I stumbled upon the Ana White site and this plan a while ago.  Printed it out, gave it to hubby, and he went right at it.  He built it, I sanded, primed, and painted.  We painted it the same Behr 'Creamy White' color that is on the trim and doors in our house.  We love it!  He did modify the plans so it is 19" wide.  Although I wish we would have built it to be the narrower size, we originally intended it for our master bathroom, and 19" wide fits in the spot, but it just ended up looking a little too big and crowded.  Well, the guest bathroom is delighted to see a cute storage shelf in there :)

Estimated Cost
$25-35
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Primed it with a spray on primer, then painted on Behr Premium Plus- eggshell- in Creamy White. Sanded lightly in between coats. Used a spray Krylon Clear coat to finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

One of my first projects!

This was one of my first projects. I had some challenges with the cuts... I rushed through (since I had my 1 & 3 year old assisting) and didn't make exact cuts... as a result, there was a lot of trimming to do on the legs. Also, the pressure treated wood that we purchased was very weak and even with drilling pilot holes, I experienced quite a few splits when putting together the legs of the benches. (This is why I only have one bench, actually... I still need to buy more wood...) Otherwise, I love the table!!! I think I attached the legs of the table differently than instructed, though I can't recall what I did.. and we ended up cutting a 2x2 to tie in the legs (from mid-X to mid-X) for extra support. (My 3 year old son was leaping from the table and we wanted to make sure it could meet his demands.) We LOVE it overall!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
No finish
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Little Bear's Loft Bed

My daughter had talked about wanting a loft bed for a long time so after of plenty of research, we went for it. The shelves of the bookcase, except the top and bottom, are made from 3/4 plywood I had laying around. I did my best to utilize as much lumber that I already had in the basement to reduce costs.

Underneath the bed is LED Rope Lighting and the gaps under the rails were stenciled with the bear paws since my daughters nickname is Little Bear.

People have loved it enough I think there's a couple people that are going to buy the supplies so I can build it for them. The one thing I wish I had during the construction was an oscillating multi-tool to trim off the Kreg plugs. I now have one and plan on using it a fair amount.

On to the next project!!

Ben

Estimated Cost
Around $200 since I used higher quality lumber and Ohio is expensive
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Semigloss paint and bear paw stencil
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Sliding Door Media Console

Submitted by BobC on Sun, 10/08/2017 - 11:26

Built this to replace a shorter, store-bought media table that was just a dust collector.  I really enjoyed building this, especially making the hardware by hand. Thanks to one of the other builders for the plans to build the iron door hangers.  

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

My first build I Love this closet

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/21/2021 - 11:32

When I wanted to unpack I found this amazing design by Ana White. I transformed my living room into my workshop. And voila my first build was accomplished
Thanks for all your amazing designs

Comments

Toddler Picnic Table

I was dying to try this little picnic table out for my boys.  It was such a quick and easy build, though without clamps, I had to enlist my husband's help to hold things for me while I drilled!

I had envisioned the table in blue, but the 3 year old was very insistent on green.  So Gamma Sector Green it was...and I LOVE how it turned out.  Turns out my 3 year old is better at picking colors than I am!  :)
Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$25 but wood is more expensive in HI!
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr - Disney's Gamma Sector Green. It took about 3 coats. I applied it with a foam brush, which gave me a nice smooth finish. We sealed it with a spray poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Triple Pedestal Farmhouse Table

Submitted by blmalloy on Sun, 06/09/2013 - 08:27

This table was actually our very first project! It took us longer because of that, but really, this table isn't very complicated at all! Cutting the arches were probably the most difficult part of the whole thing (hence why we left them off of the matching bench).
We modified this table down to 7.5 feet, but still kept the three arches because we loved the look of it. This table can still easily seat 8 people.
We modified the bench by not framing the top and leaving the arches off, but kept the same look of the legs so it would still match and keep the time/difficulty low.

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
We used Rustoleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Dark Walnut and Rustoleum Ultimate Poly in Gloss. For some reason, the bench stained a bit lighter than the table even though the same wood and stain was used. The tabletop actually has four coats of poly because we initially went with Satin (using three coats) but really wanted the shine, so added a fourth coat of gloss. Next time we will just use gloss. :)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Ana White Admin

Sun, 06/09/2013 - 12:12

Hard to believe this was your first project! You did an amazing job. Love the white tufted chairs to bring a rustic elegance to the set!

Bookcase wall unit

Submitted by kwhitt on Tue, 05/12/2015 - 08:38

This is the project that inspired me to start woodworking. I'm a bookaholic and have always used cheap, particle board bookcases from Walmart for storage. They're fine for the price, but over time the shelves bow and they NEVER survive a move. When I outgrew the three units I had, I balked at buying a fourth, which I didn't really have room for anyway. Enter Ana White! This is actually based off a brag project under the IKEA Lack Inspired Bookcase. What I love best about building my own is that I can customize to suit my needs. I was able to put almost twice as much shelving into about the same area. And if I outgrow these, I can just build another!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
about $175
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Miniwax Espresso Stain, Varathane Satin Triple Thick Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

3 hook coat rack

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 11/03/2021 - 12:40

Thank you for this - I just made it slightly longer.

Comments

Farm House Bench

Submitted by toes on Wed, 03/30/2011 - 14:25

First bench to match the Farm House table I have built.  Istill need to finish my table now to match the bench.  

Estimated Cost
$35
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I first started my staining this bench with ZAR Moorish Teak (looked like I had painted it brown) sanded it down a little added Minwax dark walnut LOVED it! Added 3 coats of Deft stain lacquer.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate