Easy to Build Outdoor Wood Furniture

Really easy to follow instructions. Thank you!
Really easy to follow instructions. Thank you!
I have been dreaming about building so many things featured on this website, and I finally buckled down and built something. I figured that an outside garden shed would be a bit more forgiving than a project requiring a bit more precision, and from the picture, you can see that it's not perfect! I'm still working on trimming the shingles and I still have to stain/seal it. I've got to admit, when I first picked up the wood for the project at the store, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. But I just jumped in, and here it is.
Thu, 10/11/2012 - 10:45
What a perfect spot for it as well! Really good job with your first project.
Built this laundry basket storage/folding cart - after watching Ana White videos I put swivel casters on it so I can roll it where I want it in our laundry room. This was my first time building anything! Thanks Ana for giving me the confidence to do it!! - Stephanie Minton on Facebook Community
I modified the plans for the Classic Bunk beds by making them 74" tall instead of 63" and added a fourth slat all the way around to add more protection from potential falls. I created one opening in the front for my youngest to get into the bottom bunk, and built slats about 2/3's across the front to act as a gaurd rail. I created another opening on the side for my oldest to get into the top bunk with stairs instead of ladders to again prevent falls. I had to modify the Sweet Pea stairs to accomodate for the extra height in the bunk beds, simplified the railings, and I created each cubby to be big enough to use cloth storage totes that were 11x11x11. Sanded the whole bed and stairs so the corners and edges were all rounded and smooth, and put two coats of white Deck and Porch paint to stand up to the the boys running up and down. I used brackets to secure the stairs to the bed, and sixteen 3" bolts to bind the bed together. Precut and drilled 17 slats for each bed seperated them 2" apart. Spent a few hours every night during the week measuring, cutting, glueing, drilling and assembling the bed and stairs. Spent an entire weekend sanding and painting. Very happy with the way these beds turned out. Overall cost of the project including the paint was around $400.
I made the original plan higher and wider, and added an extra shelf. Very pleased with the outcome!
Wed, 02/12/2014 - 09:11
This looks sweet. Do you have the dimensions to this upsized kentwood bookshelf? I'm afraid I'll screw it up if I try to add lengths to the original plan.
My wife loves to garden or as she puts it: "Play in the dirt." But, age is creeping up on us and it's getting more and more difficult to get up from the ground. I built this planter for her so she still gets her hands dirty but not have to get down & up from the ground. Now all we've got to do is place it, fill it with dirt, and let her get her hands dirty putting in selected flowers. - Bob Boesl
Planter Bench with String Lights - Facebook Community
I'm a French woodworking. It was so easy to buid this adirondack chair. I'm using my lovely kreg jig. I want to redo two other chairs... Thank you so much Ana ;-). Sory for my bad english !!!
Picture of my own version of the Ana White Design linked here
http://www.ana-white.com/2017/01/DIY_furniture/farmhouse-style-toy-box-…
Added Gas Shocks from Amazon 100N/18lbs.
This is the second Farmhouse Table we've built and this one is sooooo much nicer than our first one. The build went smoother the table top turned out more straight with less high spots. The oxidized finish is super gray due to the cold weather here.
So beautiful!
Tue, 11/05/2013 - 12:40
Nice Job! Looks great! Was there something that you did that helped prevent high spots in the table top? I will be building a table in the near future and was curious if there is a trick to it. Thanks!
In reply to Nice Job! Looks great! Was by RN woodworker
Tue, 11/05/2013 - 13:39
It was really a two person job. My husband held the boards perfectly straight and flat while I screwed in the pocket hole screws. You should definitely build a table, they are relatively easy and super beautiful. Plus when you get compliments you can say "Yeah. I made that."
In reply to Nice Job! Looks great! Was by RN woodworker
Tue, 11/05/2013 - 13:39
It was really a two person job. My husband held the boards perfectly straight and flat while I screwed in the pocket hole screws. You should definitely build a table, they are relatively easy and super beautiful. Plus when you get compliments you can say "Yeah. I made that."
Tue, 11/05/2013 - 17:27
Is the table top also douglas fir? The finish of the top came out great. Is it the same finish as the base? I love the top and hope I can do the same!
In reply to Is the table top also douglas by bclute
Tue, 11/05/2013 - 17:35
Thank you! The table top is douglas fir as well. I just bought the cheap framing lumber from the blue store which I believe is doug. fir. The finish is the same except that I waxed the top 2x with dark wax and 2x with clear wax and then buffed it. I only waxed the legs once with brown wax so it does look a little bit lighter.
I read and studied every comment and brag post about this shed. I must have read the plans a hundred times before I got up the courage to tackle it. It’s a very attractive and affordable shed design. I thought a double wide version would be perfect for our long, narrow side yard, and it is! I mostly stuck to the plans except for a few things. I made it 10” taller overall so there would be plenty of head clearance under the doorway. That was a very easy modification. I used 2x4s for the walls instead of 2x2s because we have high winds in our area. That modification was a little bit more challenging, but I planned it out and it worked! Also I used 2x6s for the headers instead of 2x4s. I also added 2x4s at the thresholds because I couldn’t image making it stay square without them. I basically made two sheds joined by a common wall in the center. I did not increase the depth, mostly because I was afraid to mess with the angles and how that would change the pitch of the roof. Joining two sheds together meant that I didn’t have to put the exterior pickets on the middle wall. But it also meant that I had to build 4 doors. Yuck. They were difficult to get lined up and level, but I was amazed it actually worked and that all the doors operate properly and smoothly. I was questioning the wisdom of my decision to do 4 doors while I was in the thick of it, but now that all the work is done, I love that I can open all 4 doors and have easy access to absolutely everything in the shed. Very convenient! I told my dad I was building a shed and he recommend that I add cross braces. It seemed sturdy enough without them but it certainly can’t hurt. My dad knows everything about building and I know nothing, so I took his recommendation. If I were to do this again, I would overlap the cedar pickets by 1” instead of ½”. My pickets were not quite wide enough. I could swear they shrunk after I applied the stain/uv protection. I used liquid nails along each lap but it didn’t hold. Where the glue DID hold tight, the wood split lengthwise. Anyway, for whatever reason, gaps appeared and I spent a fortune on clear silicon applied on the interior walls to make it water tight. I had to keep going back for “just one more tube.” So with hind sight I would have been better off just buying a few more pickets and increasing the overlap. Another thing I might do is make it deeper. I decided against it initially because I was worried that increasing the depth would make it flimsy. Now I don’t think that would be a problem. This shed is sturdy. I can’t say thank you enough. Great plans and a great website! I am completely hooked.
Mon, 11/11/2013 - 14:51
Thank you Ana! I can't thank you enough for introducing me to the best hobby ever. Your plans are the best!
Mon, 11/11/2013 - 12:01
Great Work. Any estimated cost of what this would cost to build?
Mon, 11/11/2013 - 14:56
I kept every receipt from caulking gun to stains and brushes. I just now added it up and it came to (cringe) just under $900. But I have lots of left overs for another shed and it's still a huge bargain. Other sheds that are similar to this plan are much smaller and start at $1,999 and up! I think it was well worth it to have a sturdy bargain shed that's also beautiful.
Sat, 01/22/2022 - 23:01
It looks great with the stain. I think your Dad's advice was good. Also I like that the heavier timbers add rigidity to the frame.
Inspired by Ana's Pull-out Cabinet Drawer Organizer I made pull-out drawers for all of my lower cabinets and for my pantry cabinet. My pantry cabinet is 22" deep which makes it very easy to eventually come across soup that expired four years ago, or to find three bags of sugar when I thought I was out. The pull-out drawers make it so easy to access and organize everything in the cabinets. Absolutely love them! In the organizing spirit I also made spice racks for the cabinet doors and hangers for measuring cups/spoons. The hardest part for me was installing the drawer slides - they have to line up perfectly!
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 09:22
That looks so good! What a great way to start the New Year!
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 10:10
Looks great! I've been thinking of doing the same thing myself, I just need to get motivated and convince myself that I won't be "destroying" my kitchen cabinets if I screw in a few drawer slides.
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 13:58
Not only will you not be destroying them - you will be amazed at the increased organization and convenience! Putting away/getting out dishes and pans is so much easier and organizing the pantry is awesome!
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 14:20
Just one bit of advice for future projects, concerning drawer construction. It's better to have the sides come out to the front, rather than stop at the drawer front, and run the screws/pins through the side and into the front.
Another option, if you own a router, table saw or rabbet plane, is to cut a rabbet into the fronts and pin or screw through there, so you still show a solid front, but have the security of pinning through the sides.
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 17:02
Great job on organizing! It looks really nice - I'm adding these to my to-do list (which is now a mile long LOL).
Wed, 01/18/2012 - 11:01
I'd love to know the savings by doing it yourself as opposed to buying them somewhere. I'm in the research phase of our home organization project and trying to plan everything out!
Sat, 01/21/2012 - 05:00
Teresa, there's no way to make useful plans for this, because your cabinets are most likely a different size than the original builder's cabinets. That doesn't mean you can't build these though.
The hanging hook racks are trivial. Cut a strip slightly less than the width of the opening in the cabinet face frame, attach hooks as desired, and then attack to the doors, making sure to mount them level and inside the opening.
Drawers are slightly more involved, but not much. Buy the drawer slides first, because they will determine how much clearance you need. Typical clearance is 1/2" on each side, for a total of 1", but there's no solid rule.
Once you have the slides, build a set of boxes as deep as your cabinets and as wide, minus the necessary clearance. There are plenty of different ways to build drawers. Any good furniture construction book will discuss ways to do it. There is even a whole book on the topic.
You'll mount the slides and then put the drawers in. Kreg makes a nice jig you can use to mount the drawer glides. You can order the jig and the glides from Rockler.
Sun, 01/22/2012 - 20:15
Thanks for the advice. I have just purchased the Kreg master kit and can hardly wait to get started on this. Although hubby has told me first I had to build him a set of corner shelves for his collection. This will be my first project with drawers so I am a bit apprehensive, but still going to try.
I do have one more question though. My cabinet drawers seem to not have alot of support. You can push down on the center and it gives. Should I take those out and reinforce them before I start?
Thanks to everyone here, as there always seems to be someone willing to help out, and also thanks to Ana for this site.
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 04:37
A lot of commercial drawer bottoms are made out of very cheap material. You can make better bottoms out of hardboard or luan, and if the drawers are going to be holding heavier items like pans, you can build bottoms out of 1/4" plywood.
It's very hard to change the bottoms out of an existing drawer. For a strong drawer bottom, it needs to ride in a groove on the sides and front. If the existing bottoms ride in grooves on the three sides, you can probably pull the securing nail out of the back and replace the existing bottom, if you have replacement material that will fit in the existing groove. Otherwise, you'll need to build a new drawer with grooves sized for the bottoms you have.
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 21:09
Teresa -
I don't know why the link above doesn't work, but if you will go to Ana's home page and do a search for Wood Pullout Cabinet Drawer Organizer, that is the basic plan that I used, just changing the measurements to fit my cabinets. They were very easy to make, the hardest part being sure to get the drawer slides even on both the drawer and the cabinet, but that just takes patience and adjusting. Good luck with it - you can do it!
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 09:30
@Sarah - I saw where you had a question about the price of making the cabinet drawers. I have seen them priced anywhere from $35 a drawer on up. Most of mine are made of 1x4's and the pricing is as follows. A 1x4x8 at my local lumber yard is $3.29 and that will make one drawer. A sheet of 4x8 1/4" luan is $11.49 and that will make bottoms for 8 drawers. A 2x2x8 is less than $2.00 and that will make rails for the slides for 2 drawers, so that would be about $6.00 for one drawer plus $6.00 for the slides, total of $12.00. On the drawers for my pots and pans or anything heavy I used 3/8" plywood which would be slightly higher. Hope this helps!
Dolores
OK, I think this build may be my biggest project yet! It is definitely the heaviest. With the strong winds we can get here in Florida we needed substantial outdoor furniture.
I did make some modifications along the way measurement-wise so the sofa would fit my front porch better. All in all, this took 2 full days. I built the sofa first, stained it the next day and then decided (due to trying to get stain in all the nooks and crannies) to stain the chair pieces first before putting it together.
I am so happy with the results and so far, almost a year later, this furniture looks great and hasn't moved an inch in any of the thunderstorms we've had! Thank you Ana!!
Cupcakes for my daughter’s graduation party displayed beautifully on Ana White’s stand I built.
We needed storage for my son's room, and this project provided the perfect shelves for all those legos.
built to fit mudroom locker and bench unit using a combination of Ana's plans
Sat, 03/23/2013 - 20:48
I LOVE the look of this. Cannot wait for us to get our addition done to add something like this. Definitely a need with 5 kids in the house!
I used the Julia Nightstand plans but added textured wallpaper to the side panels and also decoupaged scrapbook paper on the inside of the drawer. The back was wainscoting which was painted the same color as the nightstand (this was a chalk paint). I added a thin support piece of wood above each side of the drawer to prevent it from flipping downward while it was open
I have not built a project in a while but we needed shelves for our homeschool room. I decided to pick something and build it so we started with this one! I love working with my hubby doing these things and he still loves me after we're done ;) so I guess we did alright!
It looks great in our room holding our games and will add some books soon. Thanks Ana for empowering me to go again in building!
Combined two plans found on this wonderful site with our own revisions to provide a larger desk work area (20" deep). I also added a small shelf to allow for setting a book, water, whatever on it without getting out of the bed. As my first "indoor" project there were several lessons learned - one is to buy the higher grade lumber for the primary components including legs and beams. I did not do this and I had to spend more time than I should've finding good square, straight wood. Another lesson was that staining and polyurethane coating are a skill that requires a lot of practice and time. I and my daughter are thrilled with the final result but choosing to stain/poly it likely doubled the overall build time. Still no regrets, though. My 12 yo daughter just loves her new bed and thanks to this site for the spectacular ideas.
Ana, First time I have every attempted any kind of woodwork/building furniture other than building Ikea stuff. The plans were very easy to follow and now I want a chop saw for xmas. I roped my daughter in to help me and we completed the project in 2 days. Husband was totally blow away by our achievement. I love it and feel accomplished. Away to work on the table and further benches/seating over the next few weeks. Pauline
This is my biggest build yet! I combined plans from this site and then modified them slightly to create two twin storage beds, a corner headboard unit with cubbies, and a secret hideout underneath!
The beds are two benches - I left off the headboard and footboards to allow for a secret passageway for my girls to access the space under the headboard unit. I also left the backing off of the benches on the wall side of each bed so that they can be used for storage. (I also left the backing off of one of the cubbies on the room-side bench to allow additional access/exit points for the hideout.)
For the hideout, I followed the Corner Unit plans, except I stopped the headboard pieces at the level of the beds rather than making them go all the way to the floor.
I added trim on the edges of the headboard unit - partly to cover imperfections, but I love the look of it!
Now the girls have a secret hideout (complete with a light and pillows for lounging and reading), the space under the headboard unit is not wasted, and MOM did it all! :) I'm so proud of this project and I love the example it sets for my girls that powertools are for everyone!
Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:46
Hi!
Your beds arefabulous! Where did you find the benches? ??
Thanks!
Holly