Community Brag Posts

This was a fun and pretty easy project.  My oldest son has been asking for some bunkbeds for awhile now, so I was glad when I ran into these plans.  

The project was realitively cheap, but if I could do it again, I would have used nicer material to avoid some of the finishing work.  I built this in one day, but spent sevral weeks on the finishing work, which included two coats of primer and LOTS of wood filler.  I took all the edges through my router, so everything would have a nice rounded edge.  I also decided to put a cap on the headboard, footboard and rail to finish off the project a little.  I liked the look of thes being added.  

The original project does not include slats in the pricing and knowing that firrying boards were not strong enough for this task I really wondered what I was going to do.  Buying a ton of 1x2's can add up fast, so I decided to make them out of cheap 2x4's.  I bought a few 10' 2x4's that allowed me to get six slats out of each of them after I ripped them on my table saw.  They ended up being very sturdy 1 3/4" x 1 1/2".  

******If I was going to do this project again, I would mark the location of every screw, as I hit some of the screws holding the 2x6's of the headboard and footboard with the lag bolts I used to hold the main rails.  I would have also painted all of the pieces individually, put it together and than touched it up, as there were many hard to reach areas with the paint.  This would have improved the finish*******

Honestly think it needs a new name, because when all said and done works and looks great.
Going to be making another one at some point, and make some alterations to it to fit a need, and suggestions.
It took me longer then it probably would for some, but then again I am disabled and can only work for short bursts.
Hard to see in the photos, but i used brass knobs on the drawers. I also used briwax on the parts that slide, (the rail, and bottom of drawer edges..  works nicely..  

Just finished up this table. I'm probably going to sell it as the wife would rather have the Pedestal Table. So, it will remain in the house until it sells. Then, I'll get to work on the other one. Thanks Ana!

We finally bought a wonderful King size bed but couldn't afford a headboard.  After seeing this one on Ana's site I knew I could do it.  Purchasing a compound miter saw helped.  For some reason the thought of using a circular saw sets my teeth on edge.  I've found that using the much sturdier miter saw on a workbench has been a piece of cake for me!  I adjusted the plans for the width of our mattress/box springs and didn't go quite as high.  But I'm VERY pleased with the results!  And I swear we slept MUCH BETTER last night with the headboard installed...LOL. 

Handmade pine tables with dark walnut stain

Note: I think the plans were slightly incorrect. Add 2 more 2x4s @8' long (construction studs will do, you don't need 96" length) to be certain you have enough wood. I bought 15, planning to add the lower rear support rail, but then I found I didn't have enough decking. So I scabbed it for decking. Then I didn't have enough for the stairs, so I found some 2x4s in the garage that gave me 5 out of the 6 stairs. The next day I made the last stair. So buy 2 or three more 2x4s than the plan says. The worst that can happen is you have an extra 2x4 sitting around for a while. As for all the other cut items, just don't mess up your cuts and there is enough material.

This was pretty easy to build. It took a lot of work for just me, working by myself. I think the thing is VERY sturdy. We had about 200 lbs of adult and kids up there and it didn't seem to be complaining at all.

I used no glue. I think I was too focused on getting the project completed that I forgot to apply glue at the several steps where she mentions to apply glue.

I did not use Kreg(R) brand screws. But I used the nearest equivalent available at my local home store. It turns out there is another specialty woodworking shop in town which sells the Kreg brand screws, and it turns out they are pretty much the same price. So next time, I will make a special trip to that store because the Kreg screws seat much more solidly in the pockets than the regular pan head screws.

Finally, after 21 months of having no place for extra rolls of toilet paper in the toilet area of our new home, I convinced my husband to make this for us. Now he wants one in his workshop bathroom! I've had the plans printed for almost a year!  

We couldn't find a 1x10, so we used the table saw to cut down a 1x12 into a 1x10, 1x8 and a 1x6 for the shelves. Also, couldn't find 2x3s for the legs and ended up buying a 2x6 and ripping it in half.

It came out more beautiful than I imagined. Almost done with the Squatty Potty, that we also found on Ana's site, to complete the room :)

I was sitting down looking through the pottery barn catalog one day and saw the Eli fort bed. My sons name is Eli so I found it funny it had his name but also decided he had to have one! I of course was not going to pay the pretty penny of $1400 that pottery barn wanted so I knew if he was going to have it , I would need to build it. He is 2 years old btw. I decided to google Eli fort bed to see if I could get any other measurements. Then I saw Ana Whites website for the first time. I was in my glory and super excited when I saw the clubhouse plans. Though I changed alot of things, her plans gave me a great layout to give me the confidence I needed to go and do it! So here is my building before and after pictures. Just thought Id share and of course the last picture is my son super excited about his new fort bed!

Some of my changes:

I added 7 inches to the posts height to give more space underneath it and to give me space to lower the mattress .Then I changed the angle of the peek as well to make it shorter to make up for the height difference as well.

I used plywood that looked like panels for the walls instead of pine planks. Im not sure if the cost is cheaper or more but I wanted wood above the door instead of just a piece of trim like in the Clubhouse plans and this I believe was much faster then cutting planks and putting them all together.

I dropped the mattress height down 6 inches because I wanted the railing to be taller after the mattress was in the bed for extra safty since he is only 2. It is easier for him to climb up into the bed with the mattress being lower in the doorway as well. I hid the fact that is was much lower behind the 2x8 trim in lou of the 1x6 trim the plans called for.

I also added the top step to the ladder as well because 3 wasn't going to get him up there. :)

Thanks Ana White for the plans!! They helped to give me a starting point so that I knew which bases to cover when I altered something!

My husband and I were able to build this project one night after putting our kids down. It took us 3 1/2 hours to build. I love how long it is. I wanted a TV console that was pretty long and this one is 8 feet. It's perfect. We didn't change anything about the plans...except we haven't put casters on the bottom and I can't decide if we ever will. Thx for these plans Ana!

For the grandkids

My friend's 7 year old daughter custom ordered this bunk bed! She asked for a bunk bed for her 3 dolls and she even picked the color! I had a lot of fun building it and learned a lot in the process. As usual, finishing took longest. Lucky for me, my hubby likes spray painting :-)

4c4 truss with dark walnut top 4" thick, base stained dark walnut with white wash and shabby etching.

I live in a small mobile home, so I didn't make the dresser as wide. I also used a little combo of the 2x4 look from the Rustic X Console (which I already made a modified version of) I liked the 2x4 look and I wanted the dresser a little sturdier because I was making it a little taller without a bottom shelf. It's 44" wide and 40" tall. I wanted a space where my dog could have her bed out of the way (you can already see her in her spot :) ) Because I didn't make it as wide I also thought 3 drawers to the top would be too busy, so I put two to the top and one large bottom drawer. It is already given me more room for clothes.

I have to estimate on skill level and time, because I do it here and there, but I probably finsihed this with in a week. I haven't been real good at keeping track of costs because I have bought wood here and there, but this may have been around a $100 more or less?

This was also my first project with drawers. The first was a toughie...but the other two went right in (???).

But I am proud of it and love it! Without Ana and her website I wouldn't have been able to do it....

I also have 4 other dogs who started out as fosters....so more space saving projects on my list....tons to do! So, please don't look at any mess, still lots of work in progress :)

This project is built from a/b sanded plywood, pine select trim, and pine 2x2 furing stirps.  I was a little scared to do the drawers as i have not had great luck with them in the past.  But after watching some videos and reading the tutriol for the slides i tackled it and it came out great.  I didnt want the wheels so i made the side 2" taller and it worked out great.

Love this desk and have gotten so many compliments!

We used Ana’s plans in the Grade 12 Custom Woodworking class this semester at St. Theresa of Lisieux CHS in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Surprisingly the all boys class really enjoyed the project and there effort shows in the final products. We built them to order and sold them at cost to the other teachers to replenish the ever shrinking lumber budget.

For the first few bookcases we used wood screws,dowel plugs, and biscuit joints, but quickly smartened up and purchased a Kreg Master System. If you were on the fence about getting this system, then take our advice and go out and buy one. We now have a second system on order.

We added customizations with mitered trim pieces, custom colours, wallpapering (see pink shelf), and choice of a backer board or choosing to leave it open with trim all around. The project is such a hit, we now have 6 more shelves on-order for next semester.

Thanks for a great website.

A rustic x table for our cottage!

I used wacman's idea for faux reclaimed lumber to make this headboard by using a saw to score lines in the long boards to make it appear to be smaller pieces ( http://www.ana-white.com/2017/01/DIY_furniture/farmhouse-faux-reclaimed… ) 

I played with different stains, mixing some, overlaying others. I darkened the "seams" in the boards with some java glaze

The 1x3s and 1x4s were from the bottom of the stacks at HD, so they had lots of gouges, nicks, and imperfections that were perfect for the "rustic" look.  Had to do a bit of sanding, but overall the "ugly" lumber ended up looking great.

One change to the plans I'll make next time.  the top & bottom 1x4 boards end up getting covered by the final trim 1x4s.  Next time I'll use 1x3s for the trim pieces so that a bit of the top/bottom 1x4s show.