We are remodeling our 3 bedroom house into a 4 bedroom. In doing so, my youngest is getting the smaller room. We decided to go with a Murphy bed to allow more play time space. I do not particularly like the fact that this bed doesn’t sit off the ground but overall love the simplicity of making it. We turned it horizontal and just love the overall product. I can mot wait to make something else from this site!
Tams
I didn’t want to have to paint or cut the metal angles - plus I wanted 4 basket tall so I used pre-drilled melamine for the sides making the unit 48” tall. Then cut top and bottom same as plans and bought 5mm L shelf pegs and had shelves cut 24 1/4”. Used white wainscot panel for back. Very easy - especially since I had big box store make all my cuts! Just have to make sure you have peg holes lined up at bottom or you won’t be level.
Deb D.
Wed, 09/13/2023 - 09:38
Thanks for sharing, it looks like the perfect fit and solution for your laundry room!
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
Used 2x6s for the arms. if I were to make them again I would make the arms 1” longer so they overhang a little over the front legs. Tapered the back to “wing” the arms in a little. Arms and seat slats were rounded over with router for a more finished look. Also made chairs just 1” wider all around and love how comfortable they are. Black semi-transparent stain and black deck screws. - Jake
We needed to add a table to our outdoor living space. This was a super easy build, I opted for a 2x4 top and I built it to match the height of my deck railing so it could be moved around and slid into a corner and used where needed. It also provides a nice tabletop space while we use our blackstone or grill to set food items on as we cook. Overall we are very happy with this sturdy outdoor table that only took about 1 hour to build! This plan was very easy to modify for the exact size that we wanted.
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.
Mon, 04/10/2017 - 08:51
This is exactly what I'm looking for !! Fantastic build and re-purposing is always better.
I built a entryway table out of knotty alder the base is stained with Java jell top satyclear jell - Lee
Thank you so much for your plans, Ana! I made some modifications, but all of your measurements, instructions and the material list were spot-on. Chicks move into their abode next week! Thank you, thank you!
Phil Birnie
Worthington, Ohio
I wanted something special for my foyer. I didn’t think I could do it but it came out great. - Wilma
Great bench
I stumbled on this site a while back as I was looking for ideas for an enclosure for my grill. I decided that my current table was fine, but found a TON of great ideas here on this site.
This patio table was first on my list. We enjoy having people over and I really like the built in coolers. We've started using our patio so much more already now that we have a good place to sit.
I modified the plans slightly: Extended the table so that we could fit up to 8 people, used 4x4's for the legs instead of 2x4's, and added a hole in the middle for an umbrella.
I need to build a couple benches (the chairs are a little low). That's the next project on the list!
Tue, 05/28/2013 - 17:02
Yes, I added the extra 2x6's to each end and extended the skirt about 6 inches to help bear the weight.
It's wide enough for us so far. If you were planning on setting the table with a lot of extra food you might want to widen it or you can just keep one side covered.
Tue, 05/28/2013 - 17:02
Yes, I added the extra 2x6's to each end and extended the skirt about 6 inches to help bear the weight.
It's wide enough for us so far. If you were planning on setting the table with a lot of extra food you might want to widen it or you can just keep one side covered.
Mon, 06/10/2013 - 14:11
Did you create your own plans for the grill enclosure? I think it's great! We have an old Weber grill and it would be ice to have it as a back-up for foods that we want cooked over charcoal rather than gas. This dresses it up a bit. :)
GOOD JOB!
Thu, 06/13/2013 - 11:55
I'm loving the idea but am curious about the melting ice....dripping, clean up, etc....Would it be possible to drill a hole and put a plug in?
Sat, 01/23/2016 - 18:50
Ryan, fantastic job. I am for sure going to mirror everything you did here. I also want to make it a bit wider so we can fit a few more folks around it. Do you have to have the additional measurements that you implemented?
Thanks, Matt
I recently published my first foldable farmhouse table last week here: http://ana-white.com/2013/06/foldable-farmhouse-table The first one I made was very heavy because I used 2x6 tops and 4x4 legs. I decided to make another one that would be lighter and easier to transport. The plans are basically the same just instead I used 1x6 for the top and put 2x4s together for the legs. I also shorted the length by about a foot. The only issue with making the table shorter length is that the legs don't fold completely flush. You could easily make the legs short enough to fold flush, but then the table was a little too short from the ground up for us. The same as before I simply used kreg joints to join the top boards together. I then made a 2x4 frame and attached it to the bottom. I made each of the legs separately by joining 2x4s together and sanding everything down. Everything was stained before putting the legs on using Miniwax Dark walnut stain. I used 2 coats of Miniwax water based clear coat to seal it. A notch was cut out on each of the bottom 2x4 supports on the legs and I glued in a small piece of wood cut to size. These are so I can put in a 2x4 support board under the table so that the legs do not fold in on themselves when it is standing up. The legs are just attached using door hinges you can buy in packs in the hardware section. Be careful when screwing into the 1x6 top not to use too long of screws or else you will over screw and have them come through into your table top. Table design was by Amber Veatch Designs and photographed by Andi Mans Photography
Tue, 07/07/2015 - 06:41
We have built something very similar and we have a good bit of wobble at the top, even though the stretcher down the center of the table is holding solid in there and secred with clasps. Were thinking of some sort of sliding pin into the top of the leg to the apron. Anyone run into this before?
I spent a couple of weekends making the knockoff West Elm Doll Houses using these free plans, as Christmas gifts for my 3 year old honorary nieces. The plans made building the doll houses quite easy! I opted to add trim pieces on the door and window openings, which saved me some headache, since they didn't need to be cut perfectly straight, and I also decided to cut the door and window openings out before attaching the front side to the rest of the house, just in case I messed up. The furniture was a bit harder without any plans (it's noted that the plans will be available soon, but they weren't when I did this build), but I just looked at the photos and made things up as I went along, using scrap wood and wood glue, which was pretty fun. Total cost was about $75 for both of these doll houses, the furniture and spray paint. For the finishing, I used Minwax Wood Finish Oil-Based in Ebony for the roofs and exterior window and door trim, which I stained before attaching. The rest of the house is Benjamin Moore Advance in Chantilly Lace, since that's what I had on hand, followed by two coats of Rust-Oleum spray paint in Satin Clear Enamel. For the furniture I opted to spray paint it all in satin white or black, also followed by two coats of the enamel spray. I used acrylic craft paint on the faucets, to give them a pop of silver. And I added some scrapbook paper for wallpaper and some cut up rug samples, for a little color! Both of my friends' 3 year olds are a little on the young side for these, but they've been enjoying learning how to play with them!
Tue, 01/04/2022 - 14:07
These are darling and all the detail and work is stunning, bravo!
I had been dying to make this bed for awhile but first I needed to convince my husband that it really would be okay to let his sentimental old headboard go. He doesn't like change. Obviously I eventually won. This bed is absolutely bomb proof! I built it as a platform bed and plunked a brand new memory foam mattress on it. We love it!
I needed sturdy stairs for my 2 60lb dogs. My bed is 33 inches from floor to top of mattress. So, this is my very first project completed by myself! Custom size pet stairs 24inx24inx24
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.
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
I needed a closet organizer for my daughter's room that could grow and change with her age. Right now it needed to have lots of shelves at her height to hold the massive amount of stuff an 8 year old can accumulate.
Once she transitions out of the toys, I plan on moving the shelves all to one side or the other for shoes, and adding another rod. Another possibility is shoes in the door organizer and 4 sections of hanging clothes...regardless, the end result has options that will grow with her!
I was able to keep the cost of this down because I used all scrap plywood to make the drawers. I did splurge in S4S pine lumber rather than trying to make rougher cuts nice.
On the left door is Ana's Behind Closet Door Storage plan as well :)
Sun, 02/05/2012 - 11:17
I love the idea of the stuffed animals on the door! Those things multiply so fast and get in the way of making the bed - great closet!
Sun, 02/05/2012 - 18:58
Right now DD's room is a blank canvas. One of the first projects (after getting her window in) is to figure out the closet. I think this will be my inspiration!
Looks great!
Sun, 02/05/2012 - 19:25
Thank you! I am loving how organized her whole room is because of the closet being in good shape. And everything has a spot now, so it's easy for her to get it back where it needs to go!
Oh, those stuffed animals. I mentioned to her the idea of paring her collection down and she was horrified at the idea!
Mon, 02/06/2012 - 06:40
A shocking notion. I think there's a box in our storage area with my wife's stuffed animals somewhere. Keep in mind, my wife isn't a 20-something who just moved out of her parents' house. We have a grand-daughter. Stuffed animals are forever. In fact I think one of my nephews still has my teddy bear.
In reply to Paring Down Stuffed Animals?! by claydowling
Mon, 02/06/2012 - 09:04
...at the bottom of the basket where her stuffed animals used to live, were two of mine from when I was little, lol!
But you bring up a good point about forever. I think I need to put a ban on any new ones joining her stuffed animal family from here on out. Pretty soon I'm going to need to add another closet to her room just for those!
In reply to drawers by Guest (not verified)
Sat, 06/30/2012 - 20:46
Hi--sorry I missed this comment somehow this spring! I blogged the entire build, but here are the posts specifically on the drawers:
http://pinktoesandpowertools.com/2012/01/28/how-to-build-a-closet-organ…
http://pinktoesandpowertools.com/2012/01/30/how-to-build-a-closet-organ…
http://pinktoesandpowertools.com/2012/02/01/how-to-build-a-closet-organ…
Here's the reveal post with links to all the other posts:
http://pinktoesandpowertools.com/2012/02/05/how-to-build-a-closet-organ…
Thu, 02/23/2012 - 19:12
The easiest way to do a quick drawer, if you don't know how to do dovetails (and that's a simple skill totally worth learning), is to drill holes through the sides and into the front, and pin it with hardwood dowels. Use a domestic hardwood, you'll be a better dowel and a dimension that matches drills you own. The cheaper white imported dowels don't match any drill diameters that I can find.
In reply to Me likie! by hoffer5353
Sat, 06/30/2012 - 20:53
Here is the post with the plan mock-up with dimensions:
http://pinktoesandpowertools.com/2012/01/24/how-to-build-a-closet-organ…
It says 65.5" wide on there, and I don't believe I made any changes, so that should be accurate. I think you could get away with having an approximately 46" wide closet. You could have the drawers in the middle and then 12" wide shelves on either side that would fit sweaters, jeans, shoes. If you made them adjustable like mine, then you could really maximize the space in there. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of room in front of the shelves if there is wall there--you want to be able to easily take things in and out.
Good luck!
Tue, 02/05/2013 - 15:08
I'm looking forward to doing this to my closet too!! It's a good project to take on once you want to try out drawers for the first time--since it's behind doors, it doesn't have to be perfect. Good luck!
I've finished my swing but my porch don't have enough clearance so I built A frame stand for it.
Fri, 03/02/2012 - 07:09
You did such a great job on your swing! I hope I can build up to making one someday.
In reply to I love this swing! by beachmama79
Thu, 05/10/2012 - 14:02
Thanks and you will. I just added the dimensions in case
Fri, 04/19/2013 - 15:37
I love the idea of adding the A-frame considering that where i live there are no real trees to hang it on and building a porch where one doesn't already exist is a pain in the butt! Lol. How wide do you think we could go before it starts compromising the frames integrity? And how much weight can it hold?
I followed the directions to a "T" from the originial post, but some of the cut list specifications were off. I purchased an already finished sheet of wood for the top and ended up making a full shelf for the bottom.
Super excited to start on my list of projects now that I have a work bench.
Tue, 04/17/2012 - 08:50
Woot Woot! So excited! This was my first project :)
Fri, 06/15/2012 - 23:04
Super excited to start on my list of projects now that I have a work bench. www.ahappydeal.com/product-67365.html
more details on my blog. I built 2 of the laundry dressers. adjusted the placement of my baskets due to restrictions in the overall height of my unit (I have a ironing board cabinet built into 1 wall that I still wanted to be able to open and use :) I used MDF, but it was a bear to work with and next time I would spend the extra $$ on birch. i painte the bottom in a semi gloss. and plan to add the doors (which will have a beadboard backing) they will be painted white with a dark walnut glaze. The top and shelf /brackets are all done in a distressed finish with ebony and mahogany stain mixed then 2 coats of poly very sturdy even filled!
Fri, 06/26/2015 - 00:00
I have been wanting to make the laundry basket dresser but am holding off because we are moving. What color did you us on the walls, I love it.
