Community Brag Posts

With another baby boy arriving in August, my one and three year olds are moving to a "big boy" room. My oldest decided he wanted a bunk bed and as they both are obsessed with tractors, when I saw the "John Deere Tractor Bunk Bed" plan, I was sold.

We would be needing a twin sized bunk bed though not a toddler. I used the classic bunk bed plans and simply modified them to suit our needs. I moved the ladder to the front, added a rail on the bottom bunk and added a small ladder to the side for my one year old to climb into the bottom bunk.

Once the the frame of the bed was complete, I added the tractor accessories. A couple of storage cubby shelves with fabric baskets for toy tractors which act as stairs up to the ladder and make the tractor bucket at the front. Also, the wheels which are made from joined 1x6s as I find plywood hard to sand and paint to the quality of finish I like. A cab & roof from 1x4s framed together. A side mirror that I decoupaged a picture of another tractor on. I used push lights for the headlights as well as a reading light above each bed (they're on timers so they'll turn themselves off). A steering wheel (play equipment access from toys r us). Also, I built and mounted by the head of both beds a "flat wall book holder" so they would have somewhere to store a few books.

My boys and I are fairly new to building so I spent a lot of time planning and measuring to ensure it would all come together in the end. It paid off because it all went smoothly (even with "help" from my boys). It's not perfect but they're very happy with the result. We also built a John Deere themed "Just my size closet" and even finished with over a month to spare before the new baby arrives! :)

Just want to say a quick thank you to Ana both for the amazing plans and also the inspiration to take on these projects. The time spent with my boys building as well as the resulting treasures are priceless and I would have never realized what we were capable of had I not stumbled upon your website and been so inspired by you and everything you've accomplished. Thank you!

This was the second building project I've ever completed. I had to make a few adjustments to make it fit the size of ray's closet, but it was totally worth it. most of the work was in the measuring, sanding, and sealing of the wood. Ftting the frames can be a little tricky if your planks aren't perfectly straight. Otherwise, this project was pretty straight forward and can be done in just a few days depending on how much time you have to dedicate to it. Thanks Ana!

This is the cooler stand presented by Jenny from Birdsandsaoap. Very easy to build and always ends up with someone asking to buy it or have you make them one.

Watts Built on Wolfe Way

I loved the look and design of Ana's Simple Bunk Bed but due to limited space in our home, needed a triple bunk bed. I wasn't interested in the hassle of a trundle so I decided to modify the simple bunk bed plan and make it a triple. I have to say, I was a little worried about how sturdy it would be but this plan is so solid with the 4x4 posts that there is no need to even even think about that for another second!
I changed the ladder so that it was attached to the side rails of the bunk bed as someone had posted they did earlier and decided to add another little ladder for the middle bunk so my little one wouldn't have to leap from the ladder to get into her bed. ;D

In order to do a triple in our home (with 8 ft. ceilings), I needed to bring the height down so I made the bottom bunk sit on the floor with the legs only being as long as the height of the headboard. I also made all the headboards and footboards only as tall as the footboards in Ana's original Simple Bunk Bed plans.

This was my first build and there are definitely things I would do differently to make this work better if I had it to do all over again. I would make the legs a little shorter on the 2nd and 3rd bunk so that there is more head room for the person on the top bunk.

All in all though, I had a great time building this and can't wait to try some more of Ana's plans!!!

Super easy! I love it!

This was a fun little project that I built for a friend, whose son was turning one year old. I used 5/4 cedar deck boards and ripped them down to size. For a finish I used Watco's teak oil. I love the way it brings out the cedar's natural tones. You can see in one of my pictures the before/after when applying the teak oil.

I found these plans online and was just waiting for the kids' grandpa to come out and build it. Could be built in one afternoon (depending on how many trips to your local Home Depot, and availability of the correct tools)
Modifications from original plan:
6x6 instead of 4x4
Brackets to hold patio umbrella for shade
Added seat gussets for additional support
Added "wooden flange" around bottom of box to run lawnmower on
One additional center back support on each bench
One centered handle (instead of a handle on each end)
Stapled landscape weed barrier fabric onto the bottom
Sanded all exposed edges

Materials:
4@2x10x8'
12@1x6x6'
2@2x6x12'
8 hinges
2 handles
3 1/2" decking screws (for attaching 2"x boards)
1 5/8" decking screws (for attaching 1"x boards)
2+ 1 1/4" 2-hole straps for metal conduit (for attaching patio umbrella*)
*Our patio umbrella pole was 1 1/2" diameter, but 1 1/2" straps had too much play, so we used 1 1/4" straps and misc flat washers to adjust the snugness to the pole
Cut lengths:
2@2x10 cut to 72" (long sides of the box)
2@2x10 cut to 69" (short sides of the box)
Cut one each of the following out of a 12 footer:
2@2x6 cut to 75" (long side "flange")
2@2x6 cut to 64" (short side "flange")
No cuts were made to the 12 1x6's
Used one leftover 2' from the 2x8x10's ripped in half cut to 11.5" for arm rests
Used two leftover 2' sections from the 2x8x10's ripped in half cut to 21" for back supports
Used the last 2' cutoff to make two seat gussets (cut about 9 1/2" off and then ripped it at 45 degrees)
Used the remaining piece (ripped in half length-ways) to attach to the center of the backrest for additional support and as the attachment point for our handles
We decided to do one handle in the center of the backrest so one reasonably strong adult could open the lid
The bottom "flange" was assembled with the box upside down. Basically a 2x6 screwed to the bottom edge of the box allowing 1 1/2" overhang all the way around
After making cuts, but before assembly, we recommend using a quarter-sheet pad sander (or similar) with 60 grit paper to break all of the edges and round over any ends or corners that will be in contact with sandbox users
Followed other general assembly instructions

I was in love with the RH Merida set because of its clean lines and modern style. Also, the plan seemed simple enough that I could re-create it without a pattern. The only thing that I did not like about it is the lack of arms. I really like to have a place to put my arm or my beverage :) - so I added arms to the design.

I used pocket holes to hide the screws. I made an ottoman out of the outdoor coffee table plans to my dimensions that can be used as a coffee table when we need it.