Community Brag Posts

Building a storage shed was quite a jump for me but because of the confidence and experience I gained from Ana's  site I decided to give it a shot.  I acquired the plans online. It has 8 foot high walls and 3 feet of "attic space".  The shed is 8'x12'.  I used cement board lap siding.  It took about seven weeks to finish working a few hours here and there.  I really like it.  Even has a little window flower box.

If you'd like to find out how I modified the laundry dresser to hold four baskets and how I hung the board and batten wall, check out the details on my blog. http://isteppedoutofmycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2011/02/and-did-spontane…
After I hung the boards with Liquid Nails I found out that if I ever want to take them down, the sheet rock is coming down with them! So I would probably skip that step...just incase!

I modified the Small Old English Style Farmhouse Dining Table plan to build a writing desk.   I used five 1x6 boards for the top for a width of 27.5 inches.   I made my desk 56 inches in length.  I put the drawer on the long side like a pencil drawer.   I did use the legs that Ana recommended in the plan.   I love how it turned out.  I used dark walnut danish oil and dark wax for the finish.  

Due to limited space and inclement weather, this table took us a bit longer than a weekend....in a perfect world, we would have been done a lot sooner...however, it was completed just in time for Thanksgiving dinner...hence the mis-matched chairs. I LOVE my new table. It turned out even better than I had hoped. Thanks Ana!

I started baking my own bread a few months ago, and storage was an issue. My husband decided to build me an old fashioned bread box and set out designing one on his own to fit in our small galley kitchen. I love it. It is a double decker, so I can fit two loaves in it just fine. The inside is coated with a food-grade sealer.

I mostly followed the plans except for a few modifications in order to use the wood I got for free. I did use 4x4s instead of 2x2s for the legs because I wanted the chunkier look. I might chop them off and put on some fancy feet, but for now I think they look fine. The most expensive part was the foam cushions. I got the good stuff because I wanted the chairs to be comfortable, and they are!

My son needed more room in his bedroom...and to be rid of the very girly furniture he inherited when he moved into his "big boy-ish" bedroom. At 10 yrs old, it was high time he got a bed that wasn't pink-tinged, white washed pine with 4 posters and enough curlicues to choke a forest. He also needed a desk which I couldn't really fit in his room with the armoire and chest of drawers that came with the Queen sized bed.

So off to Ikea we went and I saw a black loft bed for $300, but it was really, really high which meant I would have to cut it down and it was not sturdy at all. I looked at PB and saw the $1800 bed. Um, no - that wasn't happening. So, off to Ana-White I went and I'm so happy I did!

I built the full sized version of these plans and, to keep costs down, used wood I had on hand. This meant I had to work a bit at the cuts, but it all worked out.

Mods:
1) I modified the railings to have the ladder at the end of the bed to keep away from the ceiling fan.

2) Because I put the ladder at the end of the bed, I got very nervous about having a soon-to-be teen climbing on to a ladder secured to a 1x10 that was only connected to the side railings with glue and screws. So I sandwiched extra 1x3s over the bottom rails and attached them to the top railing.

3) I was very nervous about making sure that the bed was adequately supported so I put a 2x4 down the center instead of the 1x2.

4) I went a wee-bit overboard screwing things together to the point where it's a bit embarrassing and now I have to paint over the screw heads.

5) I made the ladder treads with 2x4's, modifying the inside spacer board cut lengths.

Because I had quite a bit of lumber on hand, the bed only ended up costing me about $90.

For the bookcase, I did end up buying the 1x12s and the adjustable shelf railings. I made the book shelf the entire width of of the bed and split the two sections based on width of the 1x24 board I bought for the desk. I only put the backer board up half way so that the daylight could get underneath the bed and make it not so cave-like.

The book case cost me about $70.

The desk was the easiest...but most costly item. A 1x6x24, 4 table legs and the table leg mounts ran me about $80. The plexiglass top that I had cut for the top cost me about $80.

Time wise, this would have taken me a lot less time than the 4 months it took - but I worked on it as I could and when I could, by myself. I got some friends to help me bring it upstairs and put it back together, but it was mostly done when I could fit in some time.

My son LOVES this and it really does give him so much room!!! Thanks Ana - I really appreciate it!

I'm trying to revamp our family "launch pad" in time for the start of school and was hoping to have a box for each kid to drop off their school forms and stuff. The "numbered cubbies on the wall" plan is just not practical for us -- I don't need a lot of little cubbies, just a few big ones! So I modified it to work for us. The letters are each of my boys' initials.

Also, I used scrap wood and leftover paint. So basically the cost was almost nothing, just a few nails and some wood glue.

I used the armless chair plan, and altered the one armed plans to make two chaises. Then I increased the size slightly to accommodate the 25x25 pillows I bought. This took about 12 hours with one person working. I am super proud of it! Finished today, and will eventually stain after the wood has dried out a little. Thank you, Ana, for making straightforward plans that gave me the confidence to do my first woodworking project!

Andrea in Michigan

I decided to try and use the plans on Ana's site but with a twist. I wanted to limit myself to using only pallets. I think it turned out great! I can't upload all the photos because they exceed the maximum size limit. If I was able to you could see how each chair is slightly different and has a lot of character. I finished them with a waterproofing oil which I highly recommend over other finishes. 

I built a entryway table out of knotty alder the base is stained with Java jell top satyclear jell - Lee

I wanted something special for my foyer. I didn’t think I could do it but it came out great. - Wilma

Great bench

I was able to take the end table plan and modify it slightly to accommodate the kennal. I added the detail to the sides using a couple 2x2. The for door and rear I made a frame and then cut down some wire shelving. I think it turned out quite nice. Now the dog has a good place to sleep and I don’t have to have an ugly kennal in my great room.