Community Brag Posts

Shanty Side Board and Hutch

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 03/24/2023 - 09:05

This is the Shanty Chick Side Board and Hutch that some of my high school students chose to build. It is going to the Texas state contest in Corpus Christi next week.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Farmhouse Coffee Table

This was my first project and while I prepared to build it I had to endure some real negative forces coming from people who knew my building skills. But I was heart set on doing this and proving people wrong.

As you can see from the pictures I made some adjustments to the table as I did not want a square table rather a rectangle to fit perfectly in front of my sectional, LOL.

I could not believe how well it came out and how easy it was to build. Thank you Ana for this site as I know I would never have taken on this project without finding this site. Furniture building is something I always wanted to do and have as a hobby. I will NEVER purchase another piece of furniture from a store again!

I have included a few pics to show the progress.

Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Initially stained using Ebony minwax then painted over with Pottery Barn Blue (Van Courtland Blue). Then scuffed with sandpaper to give some distressing.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Loft bed with stairs

Submitted by Rory1976 on Mon, 11/04/2013 - 11:38

I've made three of these loft beds. The plans are very easy to follow, and once assembled, they form extremely solid structures. Thank you very much Ana, what you are doing us very much appreciated.

Estimated Cost
£150
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Redwood wood stain three coats
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Wood pallet wine rack

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/19/2016 - 20:15

My wife showed me this wine rack on a you tube video so I checked it out. She really wanted one so I made her two of them. I also made a longer one for liquor bottles as well, ill post it as soon as I hang it on the wall.

Estimated Cost
$10 for the stain
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
The stain was English chestnut
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modern Cubby Shelf with hairpin legs

I built this modern cubby storage shelf by making a few modifications to the Rolling Cubby Bench plan. It's a quick project with extra bright paint to add a bit of fun. Check out all of my tips for building this fun storage bench at https://mamaneedsaproject.com/modern-toy-storage-project/ . 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
White paint, Minwax Polyshade - Mission Oak, Pink paint - Cerise by Sherwin Williams (SW6580)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

An adaptation of the Rustic Bookshelf!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/28/2023 - 16:44

During Covid, my husband and I renovated our mountain house. After taking down a wall enclosing a staircase, we were left with awkwardly long pony wall. Originally we planned to do built in bookshelves, but then I decided the x bookshelves would look good and be a lot easier. So we customized the measurements and built them. Then I decided we really needed a bar space, so we built another x bookshelf around the measurements of an inexpensive bar fridge and voila! They look great and we get lots of compliments on both!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Easiest Chalkboard Shelf from Scraps

Submitted by jlamorey on Wed, 12/14/2011 - 10:19

I loved this when I saw it posted the other day, it really doesn't take long to make and adds character to our kitchen! I added a dowel that i sanded a little on one side to the long end of the 1x4 so that the chalk won't slide off, just something that I can see happening here.

Estimated Cost
$6 - can of chalkboard paint and hooks
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
primed and then spray chalkboard paint. I sanded the corners and edges a bit.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Full Open Kitchen cart

Submitted by 914934 on Thu, 01/21/2016 - 10:27

Mom wanted an island for her new large kitchen but something that could be moved out of the way. With all her cabinets and drawers, we omitted the shelves and drawer from the original plan. We also wanted it full across the inside, not just half way. This allows her to put her stool on the shelf out of the way if needed. However, after getting all her furniture into her new home, she decided that she had enough in her new kitchen so she scoots it under the breakfast bar for now. 
This was made on a tight budget. We only had to purchase the 2x4s and casters.
We also used tongue and grove blue pine left over from our house for the bottom shelf and staggered scrap pine 1x4 & 1x6 boards for the top and then routered it to give it smooth rounded edges on top. 

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Unfinished. Mom hasn't decided if she wants to paint it or not.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Indoor Picnic table for grandchildren

Submitted by tcm9966 on Thu, 06/27/2019 - 08:09

Easy build- used Coated boards for top and seating to reduce finishing work and potential splinters . It can go outside but shouldn’t LIVE outside.

I’m a little in love.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modern clock

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/07/2023 - 13:51

From a picture I found on Pinterest

Comments

Gift crate (aka man crate)

Submitted by JoanneS on Sat, 11/09/2013 - 13:31

This is the prototype builds for the Plywood Gift Crate (man crate) plan. I had a great time developing and building this plan! I read a forum post about these and was inspired to do up a plan and build. When you give these as a gift, present it with the top nailed shut, and a crowbar for getting it open!

Two crates are shown. These each took a little over an hour to build. The 3/4" plywood one was entirely from scraps, and I purchased the poplar craft boards ($2 each) for the 1/2" plywood one. New wood would cost about $15. I left them unfinished like the inspiration. The picture just has the text added to it as a graphic. I do plan to stencil "man crate" on them though. The first prototype with 1/2" plywood scraps was made with a 1/4" scrap plywood top and poplar trim boards. My scrap top wasn't wide enough to cover trims on the sides, which is why the sides on that one are plain. The 2nd prototype was with 3/4" plywood scraps and uses strips of 1/4" thick scrap plywood for the trim boards.

If anyone is interested in different size crates, I've created a project calculator in Excel, that you can key in the desired dimensions and sizes of wood you plan to use, and the spreadsheet will give you the sizes for the pieces and a cut list. I couldn't figure out a way to attach that to the plan, but if you would like one, just send me a note through the contact form, and I'll email it to you.

I hope you build these, it was a fun and easy build!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$8
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
These are both unfinished, just sanded smooth. I'm planning to stencil "man crate" on them in black.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

King Farmhouse Bed Frame

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/24/2016 - 13:26

I spent 3 weekends building this for a friend. It was alot of work but it came out great!! He got the plans from Shanty-2-chic. We modified the plans alot to make it a truly unique piece. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
varathane ash
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Bench

This bench is a perfect addition to our front porch.

This is one of the first projects that I tackled, and its holding up beautifully!

Estimated Cost
30
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Outdoor Paint and Primer in one.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Our farm house table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/27/2016 - 03:23

This table took me a few days to build and finish over my Christmas vacation. It's made completely of reclaimed wood. I left as many defects as I could to give it character. I'm finishing a bench for it now. Building this has brought the family together again. We are now eating at the table each night instead of in front of the tv. This table Is going to be in our family for many years to come. Thanks for your great plans Ana.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$20 for pocket screws and stain.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Golden Pecan stain on top. Three coats of Minwax Satin Laquer.
The base is painted with some old off white semi gloss latex I had in the garage, then rubbed with some dark walnut stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Dream Doll House

Dream Doll House

Estimated Cost
$150.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Linseed oil and latex paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Easy Jewlery Box Current(unfinnished)

some minor changes in the box height and added fronts to the drawers,

currently working on this project will update when completed.

thanks for checking it out.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

JoanneS

Thu, 11/14/2013 - 16:33

Love this! It looks awesome. What a fab idea to add the basswood drawer fronts! Definitely copying that! Thank you for posting, great job!! :)
Joanne

Media Center - Built-in

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 01/30/2016 - 20:20

We built and designed this as we went.  All the wires are concealed behind the back of the center and all the media equipment is in the cabinet.  Everything was custom built for roughly $400 and it took about 2 days.

Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Simple Potting Bench

I originally built this potting bench in 2014. It was the very first project I built completely on my own! After 5 years of being outside it needed a little makeover. I sanded and refinished it, and made a couple modifications.

The last picture is the before :) 

You can read about the whole building process here: https://mamaneedsaproject.com/2x4-potting-bench-makeover/

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

DIY Shelves

Love how these turned out and LOVE that I had almost everything in my garage already! Here's a tutorial for those of you who would like to make it!

http://sawgrasshome.com/?p=731

Estimated Cost
Less than $30
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
White Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Rustic Table

My wife and I wanted a rustic looking table for our cabin and didn't want to pay a fortune for it! This was my first project and I found it pretty easy to make. The finish is Briwax Rustic Pine and I was so happy with how it turned out I had to build some chairs to go with it! The chairs were made from a plan I found for making chairs using 2x4s

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Briwax Rustic Pine.

Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

JoanneS

Sun, 11/17/2013 - 07:30

These look awesome! Love the finish - how many coats of Briwax did you need to achieve that sheen? It's just the perfect amount of shine. And those chairs! Can you post some close-ups of those designs on the backs? Those look sooo cool, how did you do them?

Turned Leg Coffee Table with Shelf

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/03/2016 - 06:56

We combined the plans for the Turned Leg Coffee Table and the Corona Coffee Table to add the storage shelf for toys. Visit my blog for more details and pictures:

Estimated Cost
Using low-grade pine, we spent about $180.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Faux top stain using Minwax Gel Stain and Behr paint. Details are at www.renovatedfaith.com
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner