Community Brag Posts

Red library cart

Submitted by Nomads on Sun, 10/06/2013 - 10:59

I've been eyeing the Land of Nod library cart for months!
...However, I wasn't sure about the price tag, so I started researching how to make it myself.
This is our first of many projects!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr Premium Semi-gloss
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Simple Farm Table

My mom and o completed this weekend project together! It was so fun to complete! The table is customized to 7ft and the benches made smaller than the original plans so they slide under the table when we’re not using it. We made it for our homeschool room. The kids are excited for this space already and we all have the room we need to get our work done! Under $200 start to finish! I used a prestain to prep the wood and then stained with watco danish oil in a natural finish.

Comments

Farmhouse Table - Thanks Ana!!

I tackled the Farmhouse Table over a long weekend while my boyfriend was away - he was surprised needless to say!
I have not attempted any woodwork projects since grade 8, but this was alot of fun - I did not find it very difficult and loove using power tools :)
I made the matching bench, however I guess I did not stir the bottom of the can well enough and my bench is now red :/ soo I am going to either stain it dark or paint it white and use it as a mudroom seat!

*I also made mine shorter - 7ft long to fit in our dining room and adjusted the bench to fit.

Estimated Cost
$160 for table & bench inc. wood, screws, stain, sand paper
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I sanded it until I was pretty sure the risk of splinters was eliminated. After pre-stain conditioner, it got a coat of Minwax 'Ipswitch Pine'. The result was perfect on the table (two coats), however I must not have stirred the can well enough as my bench turned out dark red :/ I wanted it to look like it's 100 years old.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Maggie Jaye

Fri, 10/07/2011 - 17:15

Thank you so much Ana! We are in the process of renovating our house and your website has inspired me to take on so many more projects now!! :)

Margaret Kubiszyn (not verified)

Sat, 10/08/2011 - 19:46

I love your choice of stain - it is beautiful!

Guest (not verified)

Wed, 11/02/2011 - 04:52

I built a similar table and I am having problems with my kids getting food in between the pieces of wood. Do you have this same problem, is anyone having this same problem? Does anyone have any suggestion as to how to fix it, how to keep food and other particles from getting trapped between the cracks? Thanks! You did a great job!!

Guest (not verified)

Wed, 11/23/2011 - 15:00

I am building this table as we speak. The thought occurred to me as well concerning the cracks attracting crumbs. I believe using clamps to make the fit as tight as possible will help. Also some poly finishes may be appropriate with children which may even seal the cracks... if sanded and clamped well.

Maggie Jaye

Wed, 11/23/2011 - 15:11

I did try my best to clamp the wood together as tight as possible - due to the pieces of wood not being completely straight, they are there.

I haven't had this problem yet. I do use place mats when eating at the table, that generally stops any crumbs etc.That's probably the easiest way to avoid it :)

Thank you for your comments!

Handmade by horseminded

Only change to original plan was width of top.  Used 2  2x6 boards with 2x8 for middle board instead of 3 2x6 boards. One note: deck or porch spindles are less than 2 inches and will not fit tightly against the shelf boards. .Cut the lengths form 8ft 2x2 and sand smooth.

 

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Weathered Oak stain with 3 top coats of waterbased Polycrylic, semigloss
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Blue Nightstand with Open Shelf

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/06/2019 - 18:22

Awesome night stand designs we needed. We increased the height to match our bed height. We finished with honey stain on top and Anne Sloan chalk paint that we distressed for the body

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

King Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by Pswag on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 14:08

Modified the bed so that is was not as tall as the original project plan. We also changed the molding on the top to a 2x4 with a angle cut and then a 1x4 on top. The bed can only be positioned one way in the room and we didn't want to cover the window with a real high head board. Thank you Ana! You rock!!

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
We used Cabot Red Oak stain and sprayed with Polyurethane clear gloss spray.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Picnic Table for Two

I've got a full how-to and FREE PLANS at
http://www.iliketomakestuff.com/two-person-picnic-table/

The whole thing was built for under $60 and could be done with only a circular saw and a drill, in an afternoon.

(optionally, a router and sander can smooth out corners)

Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Laundry Pedestal

This was a pretty simple project that saved me hundreds and is more functional.  I built it to fit our laundry baskets, unfortunately I didn't take a photo of the washer/dryer in place.  I've used it for several years now without any issues.  This was one of my first builds and it was a good one.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

First real project: Tryde Media Console - success!

Tryde Media Console plans, with slight modifications.

This was my first real project after building a very basic woodworking bench. It might look a bit daunting but is actually very simple - build the box and add some legs. Keep your cuts square and accurate and have a lot of wood filler (putty) on hand for mistakes :)

Tricky parts of this project were:

1) building it here in Australia - our wood sizes are different, and untreated 4x4's are not easily available.
2) hinges - I hate them! Still can't use 'em and may never do again.

I began this project sticking pretty much to the plans Ana posted, just making the width of the console a little narrower as my tv is 36" wide only.

Then I saw a post by the Shanty2Chic sisters who made a Apothecary Media Console with stained doors project and I fell in love. To be honest I wasn't crazy about the open sections on each side of the Tryde Console anyway, and I thought adding doors would be easy. Plus the glass knobs used by the S2C sisters were gorgeous! So I guess you could say this is a Tryde/Apothecary Media Console hybrid.

So this project is pretty much as Ana wrote it except it's narrower, and has doors with faux drawer fronts. And as it always goes the longest part of this project was doing the finish.

Please please read about this on my blog - I go into a lot of detail about the build and finish process and I make a lot of mistakes so you don't have to.

I will be posting the matching hutch project soon as I've finished that too.

UPDATE: You can read all about the matching hutch here

Estimated Cost
Approx $100AUD (not incl hardware, paint, stain)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Wattyl oil-based indoor stain in 'Wenge'
Taubman's Endure interior paint (satin) in 'Milk Paint'
Custom 'glaze' (see blog posting for details)
Cabot's wood putty in 'Radiata Pine'
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

hammertime

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 06:54

This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing all the details on your blog. :-)

Farm House Bed-Headboard

Submitted by V Woodcock on Sun, 10/13/2013 - 16:09

Hello,
I made the head board from the farm house bed project. I used western red cedar for this project and I bolted it to a standard metal bed frame. It came out really well and I'm very pleased with the plans and the results.
Thank you,
V. Woodcock
Minnesota

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax whip on polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Corner media cabinet

Submitted by Jodie on Sat, 01/02/2016 - 09:45

I used the Rustic x console table plans and modified them to make this corner media console. I closed the sides with plywood instead of leaving them open with the X detail. Then I closed it in further with doors to keep all our video game systems hidden and dust free. It's a good addition to the Man Cave.

Estimated Cost
50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Yay!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 20:01

I made a simplified version without the arches, worked out great!  Thanks for the plans!  I used oak so cost was a little higher than necessary. :)

Estimated Cost
$90
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax weathered oak
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Wine Rack with Live Edge Wood Top & Shelf

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/08/2023 - 10:23

Made this wine rack for our basement rec room using live edge wood, 1x2s, and 3/4in wood dowels. Full dimensions and write up at the link below!

Comments

Ten dollar ledges with reclaimed wood

I love how this project turned out. My neighbor is a collector of of old pallets/fences. Now he is trying to clear his yard. I just had to pull out the old nails, cut and nail. The wood was perfectly weathered.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
FREE!
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
none
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Farmhouse Storage Bed

Submitted by dmather82 on Wed, 10/16/2013 - 16:41

The first piece of our replacement bedroom set. We have this hand me down set from the 70's that is just awful looking. I have dressers, bed side tables, a wardrobe, and closet doors to do still. I love the way this turned out. I tried the oxidized finish from Hillary and with some trial and error I found the right colors. I replaced the standard slats with a one-piece frame that can be lifted out for the storage space below. I can't wait to replace the rest of that awful blonde furniture and repaint the room. I made wood slides like those on my built in dresser although this time they are positioned beneath the drawers. The front of the drawer boxes make up the drawer faces with a face frame. I changed the front of the boxes to 1x12 to achieve this concept. The drawers work flawlessly and will be perfect for seasonal clothes accessed less often.

Estimated Cost
$350
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Black tea, Vinegar, and Steel wool Oxidized finish. The top coat is simply SEJohnson Wax. I had never used either and couldn't be more pleased with the result. I really liked the oxidized colors but the wax made me love them. The only issue I ran into was with the edge banding on the plywood frame. Initial attempts came out black or cobalt blue. Shame on me I used Red Oak banding. After sanding and playing with it I ended up adding a quick coat of Rustoleum Classic Cherry I had leftover. It worked pretty well to fix the color.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Kentwood Nightstand

Submitted by Wiscogrl on Thu, 08/29/2019 - 12:04

I made this nightstand and one other from the Kentwood plans. The handles are diamond willow from Wisconsin. I used 1x2's for the door.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Haven't decided yet :)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Queen Size Storage Bed with Drawers

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/22/2019 - 12:33

My husband and I built this bed over the course of several weeks working on it a few hours at a time due to long work days. It came out beautiful and is exactly what I wanted and how I had it pictured for our new bedroom redo. We added the Queen Storage Bed Drawers from the Ana White plans but had to make a modification as the drawer plans did not account for the trim as shown in the picture for the bed. Then we took things a step further and built matching nightstands. I LOVE how everything turned out.

Estimated Cost
$300 for the bed and another $150 for the 2 nightstands.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Two coats of Valspar Ultra White paint with a coat of polyurethane on top.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Fireplace with recessed TV mount

Submitted by medicscott on Thu, 02/16/2023 - 07:46

This is a very custom fireplace that I built for my wife as a 40th wedding anniversary gift. It is built around a Samsung 55” Frame TV and a Vivo motorized mount. The motorized mount allows the TV to be lowered to a better viewing height than the standard above mantle position which is usually too high for comfortable viewing.

In order to maintain the flush mount effect with the TV in art mode, I recessed the mount into the fireplace. That required building a “back” frame for the TV mount then the outer frame for the surround. I covered the outer frame with ½” OSB then ship lap. The mantle and hearth is made from Poplar with walnut stain and Polyurethane satin top coat. The hearth opens for storage.

This was sourced from several different plan sets with a lot of customization and input from the Technical Support Staff at Vizo-US.

Comments

Ana White

Thu, 02/16/2023 - 09:46

Happy Anniversary!
This is a beautiful, well thought out project.
I was hoping someone would do the recessed mount, and you nailed it! It's so much better with the tv flush like yours.
Also love the motorized mount.
Thank you very much for sharing photos.
Ana