Community Brag Posts

modifications to plans: legs not tapered; shortened table by two feet.

I made this as a gift for my niece. I fully assembled it, instead of presenting it as a kit. When I made the frame, I hadn't quite figured out how to make perfectly straight cuts with my circular saw, and I cut all the pieces before I came across Ana's tutorial on using a circular saw. So the bed is not perfectly square. Fortunately, a few pieces of thin craft foam glued to the bottom of a couple of the legs eliminated most of the wobble. That, and a generous application of pocket holes and screws. Each side rail is attached to the headboard/footboard with (6) 1 1/2" screws! I could probably jump up and down on the frame and it wouldn't budge. And I think I over-painted. Not to good with my spray painting technique yet. Plus, I forgot to sand between coats, and I didn't have time to add a clear topcoat.
When I look at this project, I see every flaw and mistake and feel dissatisfied. But, I just remind myself that I am my own worst critic. My niece, on the other hand, loved it. And no one else seemed to notice the mistakes: I received several nice complements. And the best part: it was practically free! I bought a can of pink spray paint, but everything else came out of my wood stash or my fabric stash. A present made with love, not money. And my first "real" building project.

This was a Christmas gift for my husband, who has resurrected his old turntable. I wanted the stand to be the same height as the chest I had previously refinished to house our stereo and cds. I also wanted to have two shelves for vinyl, so I modified the Channing bookcase to fit.

Okay, I hope you like this... it was the second and third thing I ever built!!! The table is made from 2 doors hinged together with accent hinges screwed on top. In the middle there are locks (hook and latch) for design. The frame is oak. measures 81X 56 and fits a good 10 people around.

The bench is an old cherry tree slab that someone I know did not want. its about 72 inches long and it is slighly curved. I ushed a shilac and kept the same color....  I just sanded it down.

I wanted a window seat that would fit my window. There was no way I could afford to buy anything. Ana's site inspired me to modify her plans to create what I wanted. My husband and I worked on this during the weekends and between my son's nap. The piece is so large that 2 people were needed just to pick up the wood. The finished piece is 8' long, 2' deep and 18" tall. If we ever move, it might have to stay with the house.

Love this bench, you can fit lots of kids on it and it is very sturdy.

Two big dogs, so two big houses . Long project but so cute. Don't worry, they are inside /outside dogs...

This was the second part of my Tryde media center build. You can read about the console build here.

This part of the project was very quick to put together, I spent a lot of time reading the brag board and looking at pictures of what others produced.  I really appreciate when people upload high res pictures of their builds so you can really look at the details - I've tried to do the same on my blog post about this project in case you needed further information (see link below).

I made the plan as per Ana's original, with some modifications.  These were:

• added a back kickboard at the base for stability
• added trim around the back and sides at the base to stop it toppling over
• added felt to the feet to avoid scratching my console underneath (worked so hard on that one!)
• added 'L' shaped brackets to join the two pieces together, for added stability (check my previous post for more details on this)
• changed the orientation of the beadboard on the back to be vertical and not horizontal (I just preferred it this way)
• after seeing Perchik's build of the Tryde media center I shamelessly copied his idea to extend out the trim around the top.  It looks much better wrapped around than jutting out the front, a little less severe I think

I hope you would give this project a go, as a hutch it is very simple to put together for a beginner and quite satisfying.  To get more information about my build please read my blog post where I go in to a lot more detail (and leave a comment too, I'd love to know what you think!)

Happy building!

Made this with an oversized removable center top. Wanted this to double as a vanity and art table, so I made this with a 20" deep center top. By being removable (set into slots) the two end pieces can later be used as separate storage shelves or night stands, as these are made from solid alder wood.

Full timelapse and thoughts in the imgur album.

I painted the entire cabinet a dark blue, then painted over it again with an antique white. After it was completely dried I sanded it all down to give it a distressed look. I used antique label holders for the drawer pulls.

I love my new photo ledges. I had a huge space on my wall and these ledges are perfect. The ledges were so easy to make. I got a kreg jig for my birthday (I never thought I would ask for a tool for a birthday present) and I have gotten so much use out of it. I saw similar ledges at pottery barn for 10 times the cost of this DIY project. I saved so much with these ledges. The kreg jig has already paid for itself. The ledges make it super easy to switch out photos and I love being able to display so many fun photos. Everyone who sees these ledges loves them!! This was my first project. Thanks Ana for the great plans!

I used the rustic x coffee table for my inspiration for this project. I found the mechanism for the lift top table on the web and was able to work it into my design. I used oak plywood for the top instead of the 2x6's and trimmed out the rough edge, however, I have thought about redoing the top with the 2x6's to match my tv stand and end table. I am still really happy with the way it turned out though. After posting this I decided to upgrade the top as I had described and I am way happier with the look of it!!

This is the 5-board bench and project #2 mirror from Ana's "The Handbuilt Home" book. The bench was shortened to fit the space that I wanted it for. 

This was my first build and I think it turned out pretty nice. I had been considering a new bookshelf for my daughter's room for some time because the one we had was large and clunky. This takes up significantly less floor space which makes her room seem so much larger.

The hardest part of this I found was cutting the arches out of the 1x2s. I noticed a lot of other people omitted that part, but I thought it was a neat way to add some interest so I really wanted to keep it. Unfortunately, they aren't exactly symmetrical and the cuts were very jagged. But I knew I was going for a dark paint in those spots so with a little bit of sanding you can barely tell.

Speaking of paint, I didn't realize how much even a small quart was going to cost me, and I bought two colours! But it was definitely worth it I think. The white with plum purple accents is really sharp, and my daughter loves it. In fact, I'm already planning on building a complete bedroom set for her in the same colour scheme. Hopefully it works out.

Thanks for taking a look! :)

built ins for my office-based on basic bookcase plans, and pieces from rustic bookcase plans.  I got a kreg pocket hole jig for this one- best money ever spent!!!  My husband didn't think I could do it but I did!  ❤️❤️❤️

I'm a furniture builder now! This is actually the fourth project built from Ana's plans, but the first one complete and gifted. I bought my materials in the morning, and had it together by late afternoon. Now choosing colors, trim and do-dads to embellish was a whole nuther thing. I opted for chalk paint with a wax finish, and distressed her. She has mirrors on both sides as well as two, double hooks for hats, belts and jewelry.

My grand daughter is one pleased princess. Me too! I'm proud of myself.

Thanks Ana for the terrific instructions, encouragement and education you provide.